One of Britain’s largest banks is to offer “gender-neutral” options for filling out forms, so as not to offend those who do not identify as their birth sex.
HSBC will offer 10 “gender-neutral” titles in addition to the standard ones of Mr., Mrs., Ms. and so on.
The titles include “Ind.,” short for “individual,” “Mre.,” which is short for “mystery” and “Pr.,” which means “person.”
Christian Concern’s Andrea Williams has described the new options as a “denial of reality” that will “confuse people.”
Titles Will Be Used on Bank Cards
The titles, which came in this week, will be applied across a customer’s account, including their bank cards and correspondence.
The bank said that it has also made it easier for customers who wish to “change” their gender on their bank account.
Customers now only need to bring a passport, driver’s license or birth certificate showing their gender “change.”
HSBC’s move follows Metro Bank, which last year became the first bank to allow customers who do not identify as male or female to open an account. This was a result of pressure from a Scottish teenager, who could not open a bank account because they did not want to identify as their birth sex.
“Playing Into a New Political Ideology”
LGBT pressure group Stonewall claimed: “The banking sector has taken huge strides towards making lesbian, gay, bi and trans employees and customers feel valued.”
But Andrea Williams, Chief Executive of Christian Concern, said that HSBC’s decision is simply “playing into the hands of a new political ideology.”
She continued: “HSBC thinks this is progressive, but it is actually regressive and absurd and will confuse people. I think it’s sad if people want ‘mystery’ as a title. It is a denial of reality.”
“Major public institutions are beginning to pander to this latest fad of political orthodoxy for fear of being seen as illiberal.” {eoa}
This article originally appeared on Christian Concern.
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