since mrs, ms, and mr are all descended from the latin word magister, i propose the gender neutral version should be mg, short for “mage”
some people think this is a shitpost so i want to clarify that i am dead fucking serious. make mage the official gender neutral honorific NOW. i want it on my passport. i want it on my bank account. i want doctors and judges to use it for me. i don’t care if it sounds a little silly. people thought “missus” sounded crass at first. call me mg.
benefits of mg:
- easy to pronounce, even for children (though kids 4 & younger may pronounce it more like “mayd” or “maygh”)
- ONE SYLLABLE!!! (“individual” is too goddamn LONG.) you have to be able to say it quickly and casually
- ends in a soft vowel sound, so it’ll flow right into the next word (“ind” halts the whole sentence)
- fits neatly into the existing structure as a relative of master/mistress that can be abbreviated down to an m and one other letter
- distinct enough that it can’t be mistaken for either gendered term (if you call me mix I’ll kill you. it sounds like miss with extra steps)
- wizard.
drawbacks:
- there aren’t any
- yes, i know about milligrams and magnesium. i don’t give a shit. ms can also mean microsoft. who cares.