dapper-deoxys:

oldmanmurphy:

dapper-deoxys:

oldmanmurphy:

I wish to understand, which is why I am writing this post.

When I was in english glass, i was taught that he/she and him/her were pronouns for singular people, individual pronouns.

I was also taught that they/them were pronouns for many, plural pronouns.

This is why I get confused when people ask me to refer to them with they/them, my mindset tells me that they/them is plural, that’s what I was taught in ever english class I ever had.

So how many people you got in there? Is there a party going on over there? Can I come over and join the fun? Do I owe anybody in there money?

…this is my confusion. Can someone please explain why they/them is the chosen pronoun?

Thank you in advance.

First off, I would like to thank you for calmly explaining your confusion instead of screaming.

Second, here is my viewpoint as someone who uses They/Them pronouns. You are indeed right that it is for many people but as of recently, it can be used for a singular person.

Example;
“ I’m bringing someone over. ”
“ Who is she?/Who is he? ”

—

“ I’m bringing someone over. ”
“ who are they? ”

In a lesser note, it’s easier to say rather than say “ he or she ” and in a grammatical sense, it could work as these pronouns do not indicate gender. Traditionally, it is for many people, a group and so on. It could be used for a group of people who are all the same gender and it could also be used for a group of people are have different genders.

They/Them pronouns are, understandably, confusing to be used on a singular person as everyone ( Literally everyone ) who has gone to school and has taken the English subject are taught that these are only for more than one person but like I said above, as of recently, it can be used for one person too if you see the example above.

On the other hand, it is much more easier and recognizable than pronouns that are considered bizarre to many such as xe/xyr, e/eir, etc,etc pronouns so many users of They/Them pronouns MAY prefer this to prevent confusion or complications such as how to pronounce said pronouns or how to use them properly in sentences.

Hopefully this can clear things up.

I’ve already had some several conversations with some people explaining their opinion as to why we use they/them, and not the xe/xyr (e/eir I actually have not heard of), and it seems that it’s more of a metathesiophobic issue, an illogical fear of change. 

Other theories is that those new terms just haven’t caught one yet, to which I say, well “badonkadonk” is in Merriam-Webster’s, was submitted in 2007, so that’s not the issue. Some people feel they are too “alien” or “made up”, to which I say… well, he and she were “made up” at some point, right?

This is an exciting time to be alive, for me AND my children, the old norms are falling away and hopefully making way for new and more tolerant ways of life. Ways of life that I can be proud to explain in depths to my kids, when they are older, and to my grandkids.

Yes it’s true.

It’ll take time as there are still rotten apples from the previous generation trying to control the current generation but in the future, I am positive that xe/xyr and other pronouns will actually be up and exposed as much as he and she.

Considering the current LGBT+ movements and debates going on in the current world, and I rarely use this word but uh, feminism and all that jazz happening, it can and will happen. The question is /when/.

They/them can be used to describe someone with an unspecified gender and by extention, non binary genders.