What is a ‘Mx’ title, how is it used, and why are some people mad about it?

Earlier this week, the UK’s education secretary said trans teachers can request to be referred by the gender-neutral title Mx if they wish, but the Department for Education subsequently stated it is not something trans people “can insist on” in the classroom.

Some of you might now be wondering what a Mx title is, why some trans people use them whilst others do not and how you can support someone who uses a Mx title. If you have those questions, fear not, we have you covered.

Speaking with LBC, education secretary Bridget Phillipson promised that long-awaited trans guidance for schools is being worked on by the Labour government, saying it will have all the “practical guidance” needed.

The previous Conservative government under Rishi Sunak published non-statutory guidance in December 2023 which was then the subject of a 12-week consultation followed by a review of the responses by the Tory government, and then Labour, following the general election in July 2024.

Whilst speaking with LBC, Phillipson said trans and non-binary teachers can make the request to be referred to as Mx by colleagues and pupils.

“But of course,” she said, “what we’ll be looking at is making sure that people are able to exercise their views on this topic too.

“This has been the subject of various legal cases as well about people’s rights in terms of how they approach questions of gender identity.

“We’ll consider all areas of the practical guidance that schools need and respond to the challenges that they tell us they’ve faced.”

A Department for Education spokesperson then told LBC: “While teachers can make such requests, the Education Secretary was clear it’s not something that they can insist on.

“Teachers and pupils should be treated with respect”.

What is a Mx title?

Mx is a gender-neutral title pronounced as ‘mix’ which some trans, non-binary, gender non-confirming and cis people use as an alternative to honourifics like Miss, Ms, Mrs or Mr, which in themselves imply rigid gender categories, such as that a person who uses Mr must always be male.

Much in the way the title Ms does not indicate a person’s marital status – opposed to Miss and Mrs – Mx does not indicate a person’s gender. It may be used by people who do not feel their gender neatly fits within, or falls beyond, the gender binary, alongside cis people who oppose gendered categories.

A person who used Mx would use it before their full or surname, such as introducing themselves as Mx Joe Bloggs or Mx Bloggs.

Although it is unknown who coined the term, Mx as a title has seemingly been around since at least the 1970s with the earliest record of it in a written form being in a 1977 short story in The Single Parent magazine. In the story, the main character discusses the titles used for people of different genders and concludes both “should be called Mx”.

In more recent years, Mx has become more widely used and understood, with several large brands in the UK having added the title to their online forms in 2024 following a campaign by journalist and activist Tom Pashby. The Co-Operative Bank now has an explainer on its own website about opening an account with them using Mx title and the Oxford English Dictionary has an official entry for the title, entered in 2015.

Speaking to PinkNews, activist, journalist, author and founder of the Trans Kids Deserve To Grow Up campaign Dee Whitnell, who has also worked as a teacher, said they first came across Mx during their gender journey and “instantly fell in love with it”.

“Using the title Mx was a huge step for me, especially in the teaching world. I wasn’t sure how students or fellow teachers would respond to it, as many of them had probably never heard of it before,” Whitnell explained.

“But luckily my pupils caught on pretty quickly and even corrected teachers who got my title wrong. I was one of the first to use Mx in the school I worked in, so it did take admin a while to get their heads around it and include it on their databases.

“I still use the title in my facilitating today and even changed my official title via my deed poll.”

Whitnell explained that whenever they introduce themselves to someone new they do so using their name, title and pronouns.

They said: “In my facilitating, I let pupils either use my first name or Mx, as most students are more used to using titles to refer to adults in a classroom setting. I also write the title down, and explain how it is pronounced – ‘it’s Mx, but pronounced like Mix, like mixing bowl!’”

“I’ve never had pushback from my pupils, only teachers”

Unsurprisingly, many anti-trans campaigners are against using gender-neutral and alternative titles for people, alleging it will confuse children and is some new-fangled idea created as part of so-called ‘gender ideology’ to indoctrinate children to be trans. All that is, of course, nonsense.

For Whitnell, in their experience, the children and young people they have worked with have been very open and receptive to the Mx title and it has been the adults in the classroom who struggle with it or refuse to use it.

“Young people have always been so supportive of my openness about my gender and title in the classroom. The pushback came from teachers, many who simply would not try to use the correct title for me or find excuses for their ‘mistakes’,” they said, adding other people were curious about the title and where it came from.

“We have multiple different titles for different individuals – Miss, Mrs, Ms, Mr, Dr – the addition of Mx doesn’t confuse pupils if they are educated on why the title exists and why some folks like myself would use it,” Whitnell went on to explain.

“As I said, I’ve never had pushback from my pupils, only teachers. We don’t give young people enough credit in terms of their understanding of what some adults may deem as complex issues – from my experience, young people know more than most adults and are more accepting of others who differ from them.”

Whitnell said it is “vital” for young trans people to “trans representation in the classroom” and those who use Mx titles is day-to-day life.

“A student once told me that they had never seen a trans adult in the flesh before, that I was the first, and I’m proud to have helped that young person to know that trans adults exist in every day life.

“If I had a nonbinary teacher growing up who used the title Mx, I would probably have realised my identity way sooner than in my early twenties.”

How can you be supportive?

Using people’s correct titles is the same as using someone’s correct pronouns or name, it shows you respect both them and their identity – as well as the fact it is also just basic common courtesy.

If you want to be supportive of a someone you know who uses an Mx title, but you are unsure how to go about it, Whitnell says you should always start with being open and honest if you have never used it before because “that shows a desire to learn but also that some mistakes may happen”.

“Mistakes do happen, and as long as it’s not spiteful, I am always happy to help other folks learn!” they said.

Much like accidentally using the wrong pronoun, if you use the wrong title the best thing to do is to correct yourself and move on. There is no need to make it into a big deal with lengthy apologises which draw attention away from whatever else you were doing or talking about with the person in question. The correction can be nice and simple.

For example, if you are corrected by others:

“Have you met Miss Jones–”

“Mx Jones.”

“Sorry, Mx Jones, they will be leading the school assembly this week.”

Or, how to correct yourself:

“This is Mr– Mx Smith, they are a classroom assistant for year six.”

Everyone uses the wrong words sometimes, just treat it as a little slip up and everyone can easily move on with their day.

Mistakes do happen but intentionally and consistently using the wrong title for someone after they have informed you what theirs is can be hugely distressing for anyone but particularly for trans, nonbinary and gender-non-conforming people who face transphobic attitudes in their day-to-day lives.

You can also be a strong ally by correcting others when they get someone’s title wrong, both when the person in question is there and when they are not. True allyship is not performative or conditional on the person being in the same room as you, so it is especially important to advocate for someone when they are not there.