Pronoun Backlash

[Kitan Etos]

[awty]

I have to admit to being confused by the pronoun thing. I am not totally in the dark about current things but that is one that trips me up. So, please no "okay boomer" snark.

My niece's half sister wants to be referred to as they. That befuddles me. How many of "her" are there?

I have no idea what would be a better choice. I'm afraid due to lack of exposure this is one I am probably going to screw up...it certainly won't be due to a lack of respect.

I may have to resort to "Hey, you."

[Kitan Etos]

I have to admit to being confused by the pronoun thing.  I am not totally in the dark about current things but that is one that trips me up.  So, please no "okay boomer" snark.

My niece's half sister wants to be referred to as they.  That befuddles me.  How many of "her" are there?  

I have no idea what would be a better choice.  I'm afraid due to lack of exposure this is one I am probably going to screw up...it certainly won't be due to a lack of respect.

I may have to resort to "Hey, you."

You're not alone. I am one who rocks the boat on the pronoun issue. For one, if informed, I will respect the individual's choice to be referred to as what s/he, it, they, broken pottery piece wants to be called. On the other hand, neither do I understand the need to be referred to a pronoun other than he or she. After all, as you pointed out, a single person cannot be more than one person, to which "they" would refer in the English language. I have heard the argument that "they" is often used in literature to describe a single person, and my guess is that to what is being referred is a butchery of the English language by writers who aren't properly adhering to semantic rules. Granted, sometimes rules are meant to be broken in literature, but this pronoun case is not one of them.

Picturing Emily Gilmore trying to figure out the pronoun situation:

Lorelai: They are coming next week, too.
Emily: She and who else?
Lorelai: They. *points to daughter*
Emily: It's just your daughter there. Are her friends hiding behind her where I can't see them?
Lorelai: Yes, mom, she has multiple personality disorder now. It must be the stress of these Friday dinners.

[The Architect Of Fate]

[Kitan Etos]

Stupid English language.

[awty]

[The Architect Of Fate]

Stupid English language.

I know right 

---

Pretty sure you mean except unless you want us to accept that "they" was once a singular pronoun.

And what if I did?

[Rev. Rye]

[awty]

[Rev. Rye]

About that wife, does she show signs of... The Man Who Never Was in either her voice or her physical appearance, or did you know her back when she was still pretending to be a man?

I'd be lying if sometimes, I find myself thinking about using the wrong pronouns about the given transperson under those circumstances, but when it happens (which isn't really that often, since it's very rare I actually meet one in the Flesh World [the NB from the previous post didn't really stay on in the group and I haven't been back since shit got real in March], I don't know much about the transpeople on this forum that they themselves don't let me know about, and, frankly, I haven't felt much of a need to talk about Elliot Page or Abigail Thorne in the past couple months), I always catch myself. Well, I don't think I've failed yet.