By issuing the country’s first “gender-neutral” honorific “Mx” to a student, National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) University of Law in Hyderabad has taken a first-of-a-kind step towards consolidation of gender fluidity in India.
The title “Mx” (pronounced as “mux” or “mix”) doesn’t reflect the gender of the individual. It is mainly used by people who don’t conform to the conventional feminine-masculine gender binary.
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Anindita Mukherjee, 22, who graduated this year from the law school, didn’t wish to be identified with honorific “Ms” but with “Mx” in her certificates. Mukherjee also prefers to be referred to as “they” instead of “he” or “she”.
“The university sent us our provisional transcripts and asked us to email back within a week with any corrections we might want in it. I responded with a request for the honorific to be corrected… I felt that there was no reason why my transcript needed to mention my gender. Besides, law universities are the spaces where we are constantly discussing justice, rights and identity, so I wanted to see if the university would walk the talk on that point. Mx being a gender-neutral honorific that has been gaining traction, I asked if my transcript could refer to me as ‘Mx Anindita Mukherjee’ instead of ‘Ms Anindita Mukherjee’.”
While use of the honorific “Mx” has been on the rise in the UK in recent years, Indian institutions, like Jamia Millia Islamia, Bangalore University and Delhi University too have allowed students with the option of choosing the transgender category in their admission forms.
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Clearly, educational institutions are trying to rise above the gender binary as the world can’t be defined by ‘men’ and ‘women’ only. The NALSAR varsity authorities readily understood the rationale behind such a request and complied with it too.
Last month, Manabi Bandopadhyay scripted history by being the first transgender principal in India.(Image courtesy: fitnhit.com)Madhu Kinnar became the country’s first transgender mayor early this year. (Image courtesy: colorsmagazine.com)
The decision of being title as “Mx” has nothing to do with Mukherjee’s sexual preferences as ‘they’ clarified.
This step will surely inspire many more to break free of the restrictive binaries.
