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The percentage of people requiring a non-(s)he pronoun is small enough it shouldn't negatively affect your life. For those that do, just train yourself. In a s
by berbec 8y ago
The percentage of people requiring a non-(s)he pronoun is small enough it shouldn't negatively affect your life. For those that do, just train yourself.
In a similar vein, it took me a few weeks a few weeks to remember to call an, previously female, employee "he" once they transitioned. It was important to them as a person, so I made it important to me as their employer.
How is this any different to remembering not to use a newly married person's maiden name? Do you complain about being confused with all the "non-original" surnames you need to remember after a wedding?
- andrenth 8y agoWhy are you calling him them?
- romwell 8y ago"They" is a commonly accepted gender-neutral pronoun these days; I use it all the time without thinking - probably the parent did as well.
- andrenth 8y agoHe made a point of specifically “fixing” his pronoun usage and then uses a gender-neutral pronoun when a non-neutral one could be used. What’s the point? Is it to prevent future thoughtcrime in case the person in question decides to use another pronoun again?
- berbec 8y agoIt was a simple mistake, actually. If I had to do it again, I should have used "she" at the beginning of the sentence and "he" at the end to emphisise the transition. I wouldn't say I fixed my pronoun use. I used the term that properly identified the person I was speaking about. Thoughtcrime is something to me that has a very high standard for use. I personally wouldn't apply it to those who wish to be referred to by there chosen gender. IIRC it was government that applied the label, not individuals or groups in society. Why do you mentiong a potential future gender transition? Is there a rash of gender flip-flopers (I couldn't think up a better term!) that make this concerning?
- andrenth 8y agoPeople now say they’re “gender fluid”. So given this fluidity it might make sense to always use the nonspecific pronoun in order to prevent retrospective character assassination due to something said without the ability to predict the future.
- berbec 8y agoI've never thought of retroactively applying gender pronouns. The binary trans people I know don't judge what they used to be call. For a gender fluid person, they is the safe bet. The New Yorker article mentions one such person in such a way
- philliphaydon 8y agoPreviously a female, wanted to be male. This is fine. In NZ/AUS if someone transitioned its just "him/he" or "she/her" now. The problem is the growing trend in the US where its. "Oh I'm totally female, but don't refer to me as her/she, I'm non-binary and want you to use XYZ pronouns". This "non-binary" thing is highly confusing.