Argos and other leading UK retailers add ‘Mx’ to forms to include non-binary customers
Major UK retailers have introduced the gender-neutral Mx title on customer forms. (Getty/Argos)
Leading UK retailers including Argos, Wickes and Debenhams have added ‘Mx’ to their online forms.
A series of household names have responded to pressure from the LGBTQ+ campaign Include Mx by adding the gender-neutral title to customer forms in an effort to include non-binary customers.
Journalist and campaigner Tom Pashby started the campaign after getting frustrated while shopping online for items at Argos and being forced to use gendered titles.
They tell PinkNews: “At the time, if you wanted to buy something online, you had to select one of a list of binary gendered titles, plus Dr.
“Instead of just firing off a single tweet or message to a customer service agent, I started this whole campaign.”
Include Mx started an online petition in the summer of 2022 and published an open letter encouraging the Sainsbury’s board – the owner of Argos – to include the Mx title. The company finally recognised the importance of the non-binary title and began including it in ordering forms in June of this year.
Since Argos’ announcement, other UK brands like Wickes, Debenhams, and Cotswold Outdoor have all added Mx to their ordering forms.
“I am thrilled that campaigning by Include Mx has led to this immensely positive change for people who use the gender-neutral title,” Pashby continued.
“Non-binary people find ourselves excluded from being able to use products and services when we are forced into using a title that would be inappropriate.”
Pashby argues that as driving licences in the UK issued by the DVLA include the option of Mx, identity check issues can arise when companies force people to default to binary titles.
“Organisations must consider their non-binary customers when designing forms,” they state.
The news that thousands more customers, including the 30,000 non-binary people who live in England and Wales, now have the option to use Mx, came on International Non-Binary People’s Day on 14 July.
Include Mx will continue to celebrate organisations that include the gender-neutral title Mx and encourage those that haven’t to add the title.
