4 ms·
'Refering to someone as "they" or "them" is an even worse offense.' I've actually tested this. Or rather, I live by this - I default to gender neutral pronouns
by mdisraeli 13y ago
'Refering to someone as "they" or "them" is an even worse offense.'
I've actually tested this. Or rather, I live by this - I default to gender neutral pronouns for everyone. I have done this for many years in customer facing call centres, dealing with 30+ callers a day and working alongside 100+ support staff, and communicating across all levels of business, from shop floor to CEO.
I have had people comment on singular they. Mostly LGBT+ people who understood gender issues and actively had a preference. Everyone else? NOT A SINGLE COMMENT.
You may personally have a preference about people's use of pronouns for yourself, and that is actually a wonderful thing - knowingly having a gender identity is awesome! :) But, at least in the UK, there is nothing offensive about gender neutral 'they'.
- thenerdfiles 13y agoVery cool. I take your experience shared here to stand corrected!
- makomk 13y agoThis does have the, ah, interesting consequence that essentially any policy you could have about when you use gender-neutral pronouns will either offend or involuntarily out at least some trans or genderqueer people. (Even if most of the gender-binary cis populace won't notice.) Using gender neutral pronouns for everyone unless they object seems especially likely to do so though.
- mdisraeli 13y agoGenerally most trans people have commented during QUILTBAG events or private company. I've found that in a formal office environment, they tend to welcome, or at least not notice, gender neutral defaults