Gender Neutral Pronouns
The use of gender neutral pronouns such as ze and xem, amongst others is being encouraged on the campus of the University of Tennessee. Administration wants to be welcoming and all inclusive to new students and I quote, “We should not assume someone’s gender by their appearance, nor by what is listed on a roster or in student information systems,” #down the rabbit hole.
Comments
"They" is a perfectly good gender-neutral pronoun already.
Posted by TheCannyScot in Atlanta, GA on 08/29/15 at 10:08 AM
They´re trying to do this in Sweden but so far they have only introduced one word.....HEN, a combination of han (he) and hon (her) It has English speaking people, which is about 98% of the population, laughing and making chicken noises.
Posted by F.U.D. on 08/29/15 at 01:06 PM
That is funny, especially since it is also gender specific in English. Someone on another site said that nibblings is the non gender specific pronoun for neice and nephew. I do not know if it's true though.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 08/29/15 at 03:28 PM
Eh, English has always had a perfectly usable gender neutral pronoun.
People just don't want to use it when referring to other people, although it's readily used when referring to anything else.
The one exception is when someone knocks at the door; "Who is it?"
People just don't want to use it when referring to other people, although it's readily used when referring to anything else.
The one exception is when someone knocks at the door; "Who is it?"
Posted by Captain DaFt on 08/29/15 at 06:03 PM
Do "moobies" qualify as being multi-gender ? Unfortunately I've lost over 35 pounds and they are disappearing.
Posted by BrokeDad in Midwest US on 08/29/15 at 07:17 PM
"Dumbshit" is gender neutral and could be used, specifically, when speaking of the administrators that came up with this crap.
Anyhow, this subject has been addressed by several S/F writers with more operational grey matter between their ears that the whole lot of the dumbshits.
Anyhow, this subject has been addressed by several S/F writers with more operational grey matter between their ears that the whole lot of the dumbshits.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 08/30/15 at 01:22 AM
Why not combine He, She and It. Heshit!
Posted by BMN on 08/30/15 at 01:12 PM
Wonder how they will handle that in languages such as Spanish, which assign genders to their nouns. E.g., books (el libro) are male and houses are female (la casa).
Posted by RobK on 08/31/15 at 11:42 AM
Perhaps the Spanish speaking countries will have a bit more common sense than is being shown by some here.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 08/31/15 at 11:50 AM
No matter what labels are assigned, someone will be offended. I remember when Ms. caught on for the womens lib movement, I got told by some women not to use that derogatory term when addressing then, while others cited that they preferred it. There is no way you can please everyone. I don't think I care to try anymore. If I'm not sure what you are, I will address you as "hey you", if I know your name, I will use that.
Posted by Gary Foster on 08/31/15 at 12:35 PM
We have definitely become a culture of offended sensibilities. A direct off shoot of the special snowflake attitude which has damaged our children terribly. We have a couple of generations that, most of whom, were never taught how to deal with disappointment and failure. Neither do they know how to take responsibility. The phrase "Its not my fault!" is their mantra. Unfortunately, I do not think there is a way to cure or change it.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 08/31/15 at 01:18 PM
"Oh, the ridiculousness of the modern generation!" Said the old coots of every generation immediately prior since the beginning of time.
Whether any of this will catch on, I have no idea. But if you look at the actual policy, the goal is not to enforce usage of any of the new terms. Rather, it merely recognizes that some people do not neatly fall into the most common gender categories (for instance, those described here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex), and encourages addressing folks in whatever way(s) they prefer. Which hurts no one, and seems to me to fall in the general category of "good manners."
Whether any of this will catch on, I have no idea. But if you look at the actual policy, the goal is not to enforce usage of any of the new terms. Rather, it merely recognizes that some people do not neatly fall into the most common gender categories (for instance, those described here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex), and encourages addressing folks in whatever way(s) they prefer. Which hurts no one, and seems to me to fall in the general category of "good manners."
Posted by Frank on 08/31/15 at 04:38 PM
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