[NEW] Gendered Pronouns & Singular “They” | his her him – NATAVIGUIDES

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Gendered Pronouns & Singular “They”

Summary:

This section has information about how to use pronouns correctly.

What is a pronoun? Why do people use different ones? Why are he and she not enough?

Linguistically, pronouns are words that refer to people by replacing proper nouns, like names. A pronoun can refer to either a person talking or a person who is being talked about. Common pronouns include they/them/theirs, she/her/hers, and he/him/his. Pronouns indicate the gender of a person; traditionally, he refers to males while she refers to females. The English language does not have a gender-neutral third-person singular personal pronoun, but in recent years they has gained considerable traction in this role. They has been officially recognized as correct by several key bodies such as the Associated Press. Similarly, the Chicago Manual of Style now notes that the singular “they” is common in informal communication (while acknowledging that it has yet to attain the same ubiquity in formal spaces).

Knowing that “they” can be used to refer to individual people allows writers to avoid defaulting to he in regular use. It is also important for people whose genders are neither male nor female. In the words of the Chicago Manual (17th ed.), “Some people identify not with a gender-specific pronoun but instead with the pronoun and its forms or some other gender-neutral singular pronoun; any such preference should generally be respected.”

What is gender inclusive language? What does it have to do with the OWL?

Historically, the OWL has had resources on gender inclusive language that mainly focus on incorporating women into general language—for instance, using “he or she” or just “she” as the pronoun for a general subject, rather than always defaulting to “he.” Now, the conversation on gender inclusive language has expanded further to include people whose genders are neither male nor female (e.g., gender-nonconforming, gender-neutral, genderfluid, genderqueer, or nonbinary individuals, though this list is not exhaustive). In basic terms, this means that he and she are not sufficient to describe the genders of all people, because not all people are either male or female. As such, the phrase “he or she” does not cover the full range of persons.

The alternative pronoun most commonly used is they, often referred to as singular they. Here’s an example:

Someone left his or her backpack behind. → Someone left their backpack behind.

Since we don’t know the gender of the person who left their backpack behind, we use they to include all genders as possibilities for that mystery person. In addition to being respectful of people of all genders, this makes the sentence shorter and easier to say. In fact, almost all of us use this language on a regular basis without even thinking about it.

While they is already a common part of the English language, especially while speaking, there are other third-person singular pronouns in use that you may encounter in writing. Some of these include zie/zim/zir and sie/sie/hir. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s LGBT Center has a chart with more options, but even this is not exhaustive.

Some things to keep in mind when using gender-inclusive pronouns:

Introducing Your Pronouns: If you are unsure of how to best ask for someone’s pronouns, you could introduce yourself and the pronouns you use. Thus, you invite the individual to give their pronouns as well if they so choose. For example:

Hello, my name is [insert], and my pronouns are she/her/hers; he/him/his; or they/them/theirs; etc.

Privacy: The main thing one should avoid is making assumptions about an individual’s gender identity. There is a small danger of outing someone who is trans or nonbinary who might not want that information disclosed. Pay attention to the situation and to how people refer to themselves. Ask everyone what pronouns they use (even if you think you know). Try to get into the habit of introducing yourself and your pronouns.

Mistakes Happen:As long as you are earnestly putting forth effort to be respectful to someone’s pronouns, small mistakes can be forgiven as long as you learn from them. Being aware of gender pronouns expresses to individuals that you are an ally. People are allowed to be people and ask how to be addressed since that is inherently their right.

Why should we use this kind of language?

Isn’t this incorrect grammar?

In short, no. Grammar shifts and changes over time; for instance, the clunky he or she that a singular they replaces is actually a fairly recent introduction into the language. Singular they has been used for a long time and is used in most casual situations; you probably do it yourself without realizing it. We are simply witnessing a reorientation of the rule, mostly with the intention of including more people in language.

When individuals whose gender is neither male nor female (e.g. nonbinary, agender, genderfluid, etc.) use the singular they to refer to themselves, they are using the language to express their identities. Adopting this language is one way writers can be inclusive of a range of people and identities.

Isn’t this political?

Conversations around gender and sexuality have always been political, as Dr. John d’Emilio, Professor of History and Gender and Women’s Studies Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has discussed in his numerous publications, which have impacted national public policy. However, using gender-inclusive language and gender-neutral pronouns is not just a move for the sake of political correctness. As mentioned above, these practices are becoming officially recognized by language organizations and other official bodies. Recently, the Chicago Manual Style and the Associated Press (AP) style book have both announced that they will be accepting they/them/their as an example of a singular and/or gender-neutral pronoun. The American Dialect Society crowned singular they its word of the year in 2015. That same year, the Oxford Dictionaries website added the honorific Mx, defining it as “a title used before a person’s surname or full name by those who wish to avoid specifying their gender or by those who prefer not to identify themselves as male or female” (OED Online).

Is this just a trend?

Gender neutral pronouns were not invented in the modern period—they have a vast and long history. The Oxford English Dictionary’s first citation for a gender-neutral, indefinite they is from about 1375 from the romance of William of Palerne. The use of they as an indefinite pronoun which refers to people in general has been used even longer. They appears in 1382 in Wycliffe’s translation of the Bible. Additionally,in Much Ado about Nothing, Shakespeare uses they in the line, “To strange sores, strangely they straine the cure” (see OED Online).

However, it has only been recently, with the changing conception of gender and society’s growing acceptance of non-binary individuals, that gender-neutral pronouns have been more widely discussed.

How can I learn more about gender inclusive language?

The Chicago Manual of Style on Singular They

Oxford Dictionary Entry for They

NCTE Position Statement on Gender-Fair Use of Language

American Dialect Society on singular They as 2015 word of the year

University of Wisconsin-Madison on Using Gender–Neutral Pronouns in Academic Writing

You might also be interested in these resources:

LGBTQ+ Center at Purdue’s Terminology List

University of Minnesota’s List of Nonbinary Gender Pronouns

American Psychological Association (APA) LGBT Resources and Publications

Works Cited

“They, pron., adj., adv., and n.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, June 2017.

We use personal pronouns in place of noun phrases. We often use them to refer back to people and things that we have already identified (underlined):

( = , = )

A:

.

B:

. ( = )

Personal pronouns show person and number. and show gender. They have different subject and object forms (except , and which have only one form):

subject

object

number

gender

person

singular

first

singular or plural

second

singular

masculine

third

singular

feminine

third

singular

third

plural

first

plural

third

generic

third

Subject and object pronouns

Personal subject pronouns act as the subject of a clause. We use them before a verb to show who is doing the verb. We do not usually leave out the pronoun:

Not: … loves playing basketball.

We use personal object pronouns in all other positions, such as after the verb or after a preposition:

( = object)

( = prepositional phrase)

We also use personal object pronouns as complements of the verb :

( = complement of )

We can use some object pronouns ( and ) as short answers, particularly in informal speaking:

A:

B:

. (or more formally: .)

,

We use and to refer to the speaker or writer. is the subject form and is the object form:

(. is not often used. It is very formal.)

Spoken English:

We sometimes hear used as a subject in informal speaking after another subject + :

(or ; is considered to be more correct.)

We sometimes use to refer to in informal speaking:

We use to refer to the listener or reader. It is both the subject and the object form. can refer to one person or more than one person. It is usually clear from the context whether is singular or plural:

(refers to one person, )

[coach to team]

(refers to a group of people)

We sometimes use to address everyone in a group:

In informal contexts, we also use to refer to people in general, not someone specific:

, ; ,

and are singular third person pronouns. and are the masculine forms. and are the feminine forms:

A:

B:

. .

Traditionally, and were used to refer to both genders in formal writing:

Nowadays, we often see gender neutral forms (e.g. and ) when we do not know if the person referred to is male or female:

(or or )

(or or )

(or .)

See also:

• Sexist language

We use to refer to things:

We use as an empty pronoun, also known as a ‘dummy’ subject, where there is no other subject to put in the subject position, particularly when referring to the weather or time:

We usually use to refer to countries, vehicles and machines. In some traditional styles, was sometimes used, but this is now considered inappropriate by many people:

(or, more traditionally: .)

See also:

• Subjects

• Sexist language

• Dummy subjects

,

We use and to refer to different groups of people, but always including the speaker. and can refer to the speaker + the listener, or the speaker + other people but not the listener, or people in general including the speaker:

( = speaker + listener)

( = speaker + others but not listener )

( = speaker + listener + all other people)

,

We use and to refer to specific groups of people, things and animals:

A:

.

B:

.

We also use and to refer to institutions or authorities, and groups of people in general:

See also:

• Pronouns