SuchFun Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 What pronoun should I use to talk about genderless people? When referring to people, it sounds a bit silly (to me) to call them by their name all the time - "Sarah went to the shop and bought some oranges because Sarah likes them and so does Sarah's family" So I think a pronoun might be necessary. Also, to me "it" makes the person sound less human and isn't very nice. "they" doesn't always make sense in context or sounds like you're referring to more than one person and gets confusing. Is there a pronoun that I'm just not aware of? If not, what kind of word should I use? Or is it just a case of trying to find a word that fits for every separate situation? Sorry if anything I've said is offensive in any way. I'm just curious :) Link to post Share on other sites
dash Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 There are lots of genderless pronouns. "They" is the most familiar to people, at least where it doesn't break up the sentence flow. It's not new; it's been used for a very long time as a singular for people whose gender the speaker doesn't know. Shakespeare used it. Nowadays, some people also use (subject case) e, ey, xe, hir, or other things. Ask the person what pronouns they prefer (if they have a preference), or if it's just in general, you can use "they," like I do. (Like right here in this reply.) Link to post Share on other sites
deltaX Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Unfortunately, there isn't one official gender neutral pronoun. In general, it's usually safe to use a singular "they", but ask the specific person what they prefer if you can. Some people prefer certain pronouns over others, while some people don't care too much either way. Link to post Share on other sites
Beowulf Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 If you know people whose gender is non-binary it is polite to use singular they until you know what they prefer to be called. If they prefer a different pronoun use that instead. Do not use it, that is rude, some people may be okay with it but many are not. Link to post Share on other sites
ghostie Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 There's no rule of thumb when it comes to pronouns. Make sure to always ask the person in question of what they want. Link to post Share on other sites
Random Happenstance Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 use whatever that person is comfortable with. if someone wants you to use "it" for them, then that's fine (and good) to use, and it's worse if you choose a different one for it, because you, personally, think "it" is insulting. there isn't really a catch all pronoun yet because there are different problems with each option we have so far tbh. not to mention that there's more than one non-binary gender. it's also a good rule of thumb not to gender people unless you know their pronouns, so to use "they" for people who's gender you don't know. Link to post Share on other sites
AceEnergy6 Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 They/Them/Themself usually. You can check out some other gender-neutral pronouns here: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender-neutral_pronoun May not be as common as they but it still works. Link to post Share on other sites
Certified Cake Decorator Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Im coming to like Ne Nem Nir Nirs Nemself. Ne like He, Nem like him, Nir like her, Nirs like hers, and Nemself like himself. For pronunciation purposes. They flow and dont create those weird "he likeS, They LIKE" situations where the tense is changed. Does that make sense? Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.