What is a third person honerific for nonbinary individuals? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 1 month ago by mlegstrong@sh.itjust.works to c/asktransgender

11 comments fedilink hide all child comments

What word would be the equivalent for sir or ma’am for a person not in the gender norm. I like greeting strangers with it while working retail & have always wondered what would be the right why to respond to someone who did not want to be called either sir or ma’am.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] cheeseandkrakens 7 points 1 month ago

Mx (pronounced "mix") is the one I hear most common.

I'm also partial to Mage (or Mg.). It's a shortening of the Latin word "magister," which means "chief, head, director, teacher." Magister is the root word from which we get "mister" and "mistress"

[-] SkyezOpen@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Mx sounds awful to me and is the result of people trying to use "x" as gender neutral. Like "Latinx" was controversial, both on its appropriateness of use and its pronunciation.

Mage is cool and I like that it has etymological justification.

this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2025

15 points (100.0% liked)

AskTransgender

425 readers

5 users here now

A place to ask transgender people questions and get answers about the trans experience.

Rules:

Respect other people's identities
No Fetishizing Trans people
No Gatekeeping about not being "trans enough"
No Inciting Drama
No personal Agendas
Posts should encourage discussion

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

will_steal_your_username

araneae@beehaw.org

southsamurai@sh.itjust.works