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Ind. as a Gender-Neutral Title?
12 years ago
General
This is cross posted from my Tumblr. Be sure to share it! I'd love some feedback.
http://unrealisk.tumblr.com/post/76.....-neutral-title
Ind. as a Gender Neutral Title?
I am a genderless identifying individual. I’ve always strongly disliked titles such as ma’am and sir. Sadly, these gender-appointing titles are so commonly used and abused in daily life that it’s hard to escape them. On my quest to find an English gender-neutral title, I discovered M., Mx. and a small variety of other cleverly shortened titles but unfortunately, these choices did not satisfy me. I decided to think about a proper substitution that I would be comfortable, proud and satisfied with. This is what I discovered.
"Ind." short for "individual". Example: “Ind. Kody Black” shortened for “Individual Kody Black”.
"Individual" is a powerful word that resonates with me. Rather than being gender specific or non-binary gender identifying, this is an all inclusive title and is applicable to just about anyone with any type of identity. When said in length to accompany a name, "individual" might sound a bit cumbersome which may lead one to dislike this gender neutral replacement for ma’am or sir. However, my opinion remains that "individual" is fair, neutral and has an honorable quality. It stands out.
"Would Individual Mae Brunn please stand."
"Let us welcome Individual Torin Unrealisk to the stage."
"Excuse me, Ind. Smith, may you please help me with this math problem?"
I’d love to know what you all think about this proposed gender-neutral title. Share!
Thanks.
-Tor
http://unrealisk.tumblr.com/post/76.....-neutral-title
Ind. as a Gender Neutral Title?
I am a genderless identifying individual. I’ve always strongly disliked titles such as ma’am and sir. Sadly, these gender-appointing titles are so commonly used and abused in daily life that it’s hard to escape them. On my quest to find an English gender-neutral title, I discovered M., Mx. and a small variety of other cleverly shortened titles but unfortunately, these choices did not satisfy me. I decided to think about a proper substitution that I would be comfortable, proud and satisfied with. This is what I discovered.
"Ind." short for "individual". Example: “Ind. Kody Black” shortened for “Individual Kody Black”.
"Individual" is a powerful word that resonates with me. Rather than being gender specific or non-binary gender identifying, this is an all inclusive title and is applicable to just about anyone with any type of identity. When said in length to accompany a name, "individual" might sound a bit cumbersome which may lead one to dislike this gender neutral replacement for ma’am or sir. However, my opinion remains that "individual" is fair, neutral and has an honorable quality. It stands out.
"Would Individual Mae Brunn please stand."
"Let us welcome Individual Torin Unrealisk to the stage."
"Excuse me, Ind. Smith, may you please help me with this math problem?"
I’d love to know what you all think about this proposed gender-neutral title. Share!
Thanks.
-Tor
Remember, if you wish to sport this group's icon on your profile page, simply paste :icongenderless*: and remove the * before you save.
It should appear as
genderless
It should appear as
genderless 
The problem I had (I used to identify as genderless), with gender neutral pronouns is that some of them just sound kind of bizarre and outlandish, but that doesn't sound too bad at all! It has a good meaning, and wouldn't take that long to adapt to pronouncing.
Reminds me of military titles/identifiers in a way. I like it. :)
"Ind." makes sense, but so does "Hu/Hum/Hus" and "Ey/Em/Eir," and I don't personally like either of those pronoun sets. And every time I've tried to get someone to use one of them I've met a lot of resistance. But the same people who have resisted those pronouns have easily accepted Mx. as a title, and that's really the litmus test for me. Mx. seems more likely to enter actual use than Ind., regardless of how reasonable Ind. is.
That said, this is just my opinion. I try very hard to keep my gender identity personal and not push it onto other people in ways that become burdensome or annoying to them. "Mx." has been accepted in a lot of places, so that's the one I, personally, prefer to use.
I also share your feelings about keeping gender more personal and not being a "bother", if you will. I grapple with asking people to use "they" and "them" because I don't want to be a pest, but, I attend transgender meetings. These groups want nothing more than for you to be comfortable with who you are and to let everyone know what the proper and respectable way to address you is. The more I vocalize to the groups about myself and the more I am properly addressed, the more I subtly crave it in regular life. I know I do not want to be a mister or a misses no matter how quiet I am. Maybe one day I'll be more adamant about pronouns. I just want to be comfortable. This, I feel, is where it starts.
Still looking for a decent title, and it's hard to say how long the search will go on.