The New York Times published a story on Nov. 25 in which they referred to someone as “Mx.” instead of “Mr.” or “Ms.”
The gender-neutral language is in the first two paragraphs of the story: (emphasis bolded)
“Are we anarchist?” Senia Hardwick asked. “Technically, yes.” Mx. Hardwick, 27, who prefers not to be assigned a gender — and also insists on the gender-neutral Mx. in place of Ms. or Mr. — is a staff member at Bluestockings, a bookshop and activist center at 172 Allen Street on the Lower East Side. Mx. Hardwick was explaining that the ethos of Bluestockings, which is run by a collective of volunteers, is difficult to classify. But if you must: “Anarchist is O.K.”
Bluestockings opened in 1999 and then reopened in 2003 after a financial downturn caused the original owner to sell it. The collective is made up of volunteers who work three-hour shifts once a week; staff members who work more hours and have had more training; and a third tier of people who handle logistics. Ages range from midteens to late 30s. “Nobody gets paid,” Mx. Hardwick said. “All money made goes back into the store.”
New York magazine pointed out that this not the first time the Times has used the gender-neutral term. The first time they used it was in this story from the summer: (emphasis bolded)
Caleb LoSchiavo, a student leader who was born female but does not identify with either gender and prefers the honorific Mx., said there was less of a generational divide than some expected.
“I think the thing that was most surprising was how supportive and gung-ho a lot older alums were,” said Mx. LoSchiavo, who graduated this year (and would have been admitted under the new policy, having identified as a female at the time of application). “I thought: ‘Oh, they’re older. A different time, a different generation, raised with different ideas.’ But a lot of them were like, ‘No, we need to do this.’ ”
Mx. LoSchiavo was one of those who felt that those who identify as men should not apply to Barnard, which remains a space for women in a way most of the world is not.
The Times‘s style typically involves using “Mr.” or “Ms.” to refer to people on second reference in the story. They still use these terms, as evidenced by this story from Tuesday. But as NY Mag points out, the Times is using “Mx.” when people request them to. “Mx.” is becoming trendy to the point where it is now in Dictionary.com and under consideration for the Oxford English Dictionary, according to NY Mag.
Breitbart’s John Nolte called the Times‘s use of the term “stupid.”
“The media is supposed to be fact-based. Reporting is supposed to be fact-based,” Nolte writes. “If I told a New York Times reporter that I ‘identified’ as a Sesame Street Muppet named Hildegard, the reporter would not kow-tow and patronize to me and take me seriously. Truth matters.”
Later on his piece, Nolte says, “The road to fascism is paved with sensitivity. We don’t alter objective truth to spare the feelings of others. And if we are willing to alter it for gender, what is stopping people from identifying themselves however they like? Why can’t I identify as black or as an illegal alien or as gay or as a lovable Tribble named Witherspoon?”
It is indeed biologically impossible to change one’s gender. But the Times has a history of not caring about facts, including:
- Reporter Walter Duranty being an apologist for Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin
- Reporter/editorialist Herbert Matthews being a mouthpiece for Cuban dictator Fidel Castro
- Burying the Holocaust in their coverage out of fear of being labeled as a “Jewish newspaper”
So using the gender-neutral term “Mx.” is right in line with their leftist ideology.