A council in the UK is examining proposals to scrap the titles Mr and
Mrs from its official forms because they supposedly offend the,
transgender community.The plans come after a survey conducted by Brighton and Hove city council into the lives of transgender people.
The council's deputy leader, Phelim MacCafferty, backs the plans, but a Conservative councillor says the idea is, “political correctness gone too far.”
A scrutiny panel will put forward a number of recommendations, including the scrapping of titles, to the council for approval in December, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Mr MacCafferty said, “Trans people aren’t necessarily male or female and sometimes they don’t want to be defined by their gender. Putting Mr and Mrs on a form is completely useless. This is an issue that concerns most institutions from banks to mobile phone companies. Why is Mr on my debit card, for instance? We should at least examine the issue.”
Mr MacCafferty said the change would be, “done sensitively,” and with the backing of the public.
Steph Scott, a lesbian, gay and transgender activist, said, “Being called Mr or Mrs forces me to choose between genders. It is assuming people live in a binary world where you’re either one thing or another and it pigeonholes people. I think it’s a good idea to expand across the city because it’s about getting people to be aware that gender isn’t just male or female.”
Dawn Barrett, Tory councillor for Hangleton and Knoll, said, “It’s completely ludicrous and shows a complete lack of respect. How are they going to address letters properly? This is just political correctness gone too far.”
The Trans Equality Scrutiny Panel was set up to examine issues affecting transgendered people’s safety, welfare and job opportunities and visited support groups throughout the city in July.
The panel’s website, which can be found via the council home page, outlines the main issues for the transgender community when filling out forms.
The panel explains that sometimes, “genderqueer,” people feel there are, “contradictions,” in filling out forms. For example, gender has an, “other,” category but titles e.g., “Mr and Mrs,” do not.
It adds that there are, “no options for non-binary/genderqueer people.”
The advice given to combat this suggests, “no honorifics,” and to, “ask gender only if needed.”
The themes were described as a preliminary, “snapshot,” and are used as, “rapid feedback,” for those who took part.