Recently Sam Smith (I think it was in September 2019) said they would like people to use the pronouns "they/them" after coming out as non-binary. They wrote on Instagram: "After a lifetime of being at ware with my gender, I've decided to embrace myself for who I am, inside and out." The singer added: "I've been very nervous about announcing this because I care too much about what people think." Sam Smith said six months earlier that they did not feel male or female, but flowing somewhere in-between.
I'm joking when I say this, but Sam Smith can ask of me anything they want as long as they keep singing so beautifully. I've probably listened to this single a dozen times. Their voice is so incredible and quite powerful (if that's an adjective that's appropriate to use for a song). Anyway, if you have a moment, please give it a listen. It's worth your time.
Using "they" and "them" can be confusing since that usually means plural. So if you say, "They are coming to dinner" you might think 2 or more people are coming to dinner when really it's just one.
ReplyDeleteThe best solution would be to come up with a new term. Like back in the 90s Star Trek New Frontier books by Peter David an alien race with both genders used a word like "hish" I think it was but I haven't read those in a while.
Pat: I feel like you are definitely onto something there. The people in our society are making up words constantly. Young people (especially) do this in droves. I'm not sure why new pronouns have not been created. It's possible that the LGBTQ population is just too small to have people invested in doing this kind of thing.
ReplyDeleteThe dumbest made up word I've seen is "shero" because there's already a word for a female hero; we don't need to make up a new word for it!
DeleteThere is a "new" pronoun. It's ze/hir (https://www.mypronouns.org/ze-hir). I hadn't heard of it either, and then I ran across someone talking about it. Mostly, people use they because making everyone use a "new" pronoun is more trouble than it's worth, really. And for centuries we've been using they when we're not sure, so they're going with the easiest option.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't care who it is. I will call them by whatever pronouns they prefer. And whatever name (so long as they're not scamming me--kiddos like to scam me with crazy names).
From 2015: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-28/-ze-or-they-a-guide-to-using-nonbinary-gender-neutral-pronouns
DeleteThe Google says something about it being coined in 1996...