Wed, 02 Sep 2015 14:06
Pronouns are a part of language used to refer to someone or something without using proper nouns. In standard English, some singular third-person pronouns are "he" and "she," which are usually seen as gender-specific pronouns, referring to a man and a woman, respectively. A gender-neutral pronoun or gender-inclusive pronoun is one that gives no implications about gender, and could be used for someone of any gender. Some languages only have gender-neutral pronouns, whereas other languages have difficulty establishing any that aren't gender-specific. People with non-binary gender identities often choose new third-person pronouns for themselves as part of their transition. They often choose gender-neutral pronouns so that others won't see them as female or male.
Arabic neutral pronounsGender-neutral pronouns in Arabic language (عربÙ) include:
ÙÙ
ا means "they, originally dual, can work as a neutral singular third person."[1]
اÙتÙ
ا means "second person dual."[2]
Bulgarian neutral pronounsGender-neutral pronouns in Bulgarian language (бÑÐ>>Ð"аÑÑки език) include:
Ñе/ÑÑÑ
/ÑеÑ
ен/им "generally used for a group of people, could be used as singular as in 'they'"[3]
о/неÐ"о/неÐ"ово/Ð¼Ñ "means 'it', informal"[4]
Chinese neutral pronounsGender-neutral pronouns in Chinese language (ä¸æ) include:
na4ge4ren2 (traditional: é£å人) (simplified: é£ä¸ªäºº) means "that person."[5]
zhe4ge4ren2 (traditional: éå人) (simplified: è个人) means "this person."[6]
Gender-neutral pronouns in Mandarin Chinese (æ®éè¯') include:
tÄ/ta1 is the standard pronoun for people, which when pronounced aloud is gender-neutral. However, the written characters (either ä>> or 她 depending) aren't gender-neutral. Another written form of tÄ is å® meaning "it," but this can be derogatory, so only use it for a person with their permission. Similarly, tÄ ç is a pronoun "used for non-human animals."[7]
Gender-neutral pronouns in Cantonese (å¹å·è¯') include:
keºih/keoi5 ä½ meaning "them/him/her/it"
Czech neutral pronounsGender-neutral pronouns in Czech language (ÄeÅtina) include:
onikn, "which was used in the past as gender-neutral pronoun when refering to someone of lesser status. it's oni/je/jejich/se they/them/their/themself and the use is: Oni jsou moc mil½m ÄlovÄkem. - They are a very nice person."[8]
Danish neutral pronounsGender-neutral pronouns in Danish language (Dansk) include:
de, dem, deres[9]
hen, hen, hens[10]
Dutch neutral pronounsGender-neutral pronouns in Dutch language (Nederlands) include:
ze, hun, ze "note: literal translation of they, but ze is often used as 'she'"[11]
zij, hen, hun[12]
English neutral pronounsSee also: gender neutral language - English, glossary of English gender and sex terminology
In English, people are usually called by a pronoun that implies their gender. For example, she for women, and he for men. The use of singular they as a gender-neutral pronoun has been documented as standard usage in English throughout the past thousand years. However, prescriptive grammarians in the late eighteenth century decided that it was bad grammar, because it works like a plural, and because it isn't done in Latin.[13]
Prescriptive grammarians of the late eighteenth century instead recommended using "he" as a gender-neutral pronoun when one is needed, instead of "singular they."[14] However, "gender-neutral he" results in writings that are unclear about whether they mean only men or not, which makes problems in law.[15]
Seeking a solution to the problem of a lack of a gender-neutral pronoun in English that satisfies all needs, people since the mid nineteenth century have proposed many new gender-neutral singular pronouns.[16] For example, sie, Spivak pronouns, and others. None of these new words (neologisms) have become standard use or adopted into books of English grammar. However, some sets of these neologistic pronouns have seen use for real people with non-binary gender identities, and for characters in fiction. These neologisms are the main topic explored in this article.
There have been some native English dialects that have their own gender-neutral pronouns, such as a, ou, and yo. These aren't widespread.
This list is of third-person singular pronouns in the English language only. (Pronouns in other languages should go on a different page.) These pronouns have all been used in English, or at least have been proposed to be so. Please add more, but only if you give links to sources. List pronoun sets in alphabetical order by their nominative form, or by the name of the set. In this list, a question mark means that one of the forms of that pronoun are unknown.
*E*e, h*, h*s, h*s, h*self.[17][18] Called "splat pronouns," these all use an asterisk to represent ambiguity between "he" and "she." Some software and Internet resources in the 1990s used them informally as gender-neutral pronouns. LambdaMOO offered these "splat" pronouns in addition to "Spivak" pronouns. In 2002, 10 out of 4061 people on LambdaMOO used splat pronouns.[19]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke *e laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug *er.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, *es hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow *es.Reflexive: Each child feeds *eself.On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/*e/h*/h*s/h*s/h*self
Aa, ?, ?, ?, ? (forms other than nominative form are not known, and might not be used). "In 1789, William H. Marshall records ['...] Middle English epicene 'a', used by the 14th century English writer John of Trevisa, and both the OED and Wright's English Dialect Dictionary confirm the use of 'a' for he, she, it, they, and even I. This 'a' is a reduced form of the Anglo-Saxon he = 'he' and heo = 'she'.'' Source: Baron, Dennis (1986). Grammar and Gender. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-03526-8. as cited by: Williams, John (1990s)." [20] Some living British dialects still use the gender-neutral "a" pronoun.[21]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke a laughs.Accusative: (N/A?)Pronominal possessive: (N/A?)Predicative possessive: (N/A?)Reflexive: (N/A?)Aeae, ?, ?, ?, ?. "In David Lindsay's Voyage to Arcturus (1920) a man from earth meets people on another planet who are neither man nor woman so he invents a new pronoun ae to refer to them."[22]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke ae laughs.Accusative: ?Pronominal possessive: ?Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: ?AiSee nounself pronouns.
Alaala, alum, alis, ?, ?. Created in 1989, "Michael Knab, of Goodwin, Knab and Co., Chicago, derives these from [Latin] al, 'other' and feels they resemble the Hawaiian sex-neutral pronouns oia, ia."[23]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke ala laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug alum.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, alis hair grows long.Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: ?Alternating pronounshe, her, his, herself (for example). Instead of using an alternative or neutral pronoun set, some people prefer an alternation between the binary-gendered sets. Justice Ginsburg is in favor of alternating "he" and "she" pronouns to make legal documents gender-inclusive.[24]
Use in fiction: In K. A. Cook's short story "Blue Paint, Chocolate and Other Similes," in Crooked Words, most of the story involves the narrator Ben moving from one set of pronouns to another for Chris as he tries to figure out Chris's gender. When the narrator is trying to determine whether Chris is male or female, Ben alternates between thinking of Chris as he or she. Upon recognizing that Chris identifies as nonbinary, the narrator begins using ze pronouns for Chris. Then, Ben finally finds a good moment to ask for Chris's pronoun preference.[25]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell her a joke he laughs.Accusative: When I greet her I hug him.Pronominal possessive: When he does not get a haircut, her hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If my mobile phone runs out of power, he lets me borrow hers.Reflexive: Each child feeds herself. or Each child feeds himself.BleSee racial pronouns.
BunSee nounself pronouns.
Cece, cir, cir, cirs, cirself. Created by Taz (Tumblr user jackalwedding) in 2014 (or earlier?),[26] who went by these pronouns cirself.[27]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke ce laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug cir.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, cir hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow cirs.Reflexive: Each child feeds cirself.On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/ce/cir/cir/cirs/cirself
Cheche, chim, chis, chis, chimself. A set of gender-neutral pronouns listed in Merriam Webster's Dictionary of English Usage under epicene pronouns.[28]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke che laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug chim.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, chis hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow chis.Reflexive: Each child feeds chimself.On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/che/chim/chis/chis/chimself
Coco, co, co's (cos), co's, coself. Mary Orovan created these in 1970, derived from the Indo-European *ko.[29][30]
Use in real life and non-fiction: "Co" is used in some intentional communities, such as in the legal policies of Twin Oaks in Virginia, which provides information on the pronoun in its visitor guide. It is sometimes used as a gender-blind pronoun by people who oppose gendered pronouns.
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke co laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug co.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, co's hair grows long. (Or cos hair grows.)Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow co's.Reflexive: Each child feeds coself.On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/co/co/co's/co's/coself
EThere are several very similar sets of pronouns with the nominative form of "E," which have been independently proposed or revived over the last hundred years.[31][32] Sets of E pronouns listed in alphabetical order:
E, Em, Eir, Eirs, Emself. These are sometimes called spivak pronouns. In 1990, Michael Spivak used them in his manual, The Joy of TeX, so that no person in his examples had a specified gender. These pronouns became well-known on the Internet because they were built into a popular multi-user chat, LambdaMOO, in 1991. Many users enjoyed choosing pronouns that didn't specify their gender. The pronouns then became a common feature of other multi-user chats made throughout the 1990s. Although many other variations have been attributed to Michael Spivak, this is the actual set Spivak used in The Joy of TeX in 1990 or 1991. Note that he always capitalized all forms of it, but not all users of these pronouns do so. [33] Spivak doesn't indicate whether he created these pronouns, or adopted or adapted them from somewhere else. Spivak is credited with having created these pronouns, although his book doesn't outright say that they're of his own creation. (Compare Elverson's ey pronouns, which are very similar, with only a small spelling difference in the nominative form.)
Use in real life and non-fiction:
When a programmer added this pronoun set to LambdaMOO in 1991, he used the same spelling as Spivak, but not capitalized.[34] Regarding LambdaMOO, John Costello wrote, "I know the wizard who originally included the spivak pronouns on the MOO. He says he did it just on a whim after having read the Joy of TeX '-- he never thought they'd acquire the sexual and political nimbus they have over the years."[35] LambdaMOO's "help spivak" command explains that these pronouns "were developed by mathematician Michael Spivak for use in his books."[36] Programmer Roger "Rog" Crew tested the LambdaMOO system by putting more pronoun options into it in May, 1991, including Spivak's set he remembered from The Joy of TeX. Crew didn't delete the pronouns after testing them, and later expressed "dismay" that the spivak pronouns became popular.[37][38]Spivak pronouns became such a part of 1990s Internet culture that a handbook to that culture, Yib's Guide to Mooing (2003), uses spivak pronouns whenever speaking of a hypothetical person whose gender need not be specified.[39]In Internet environments, spivak was categorized not only as a set of pronouns, but as a gender identity, which Thomas describes: "The spivak gender [...] is more representative of an emotional and intellectual state than of a physical configuration. It should be pointed out at the start that the sexuality available to a spivak is a bonus of online life, but it isn't the raison d'etre. Rather, it's a subtle notion of a gender-free condition. It's not androgynous. It's not unisexual. It's simply ambiguous."[40] Some self-described spivaks use spivak as a proper noun for their non-binary gender identity.Use in fiction:
Steven Shaviro's theoretical fiction novel Doom Patrols (1995-1997) uses spivak pronouns at times.[41]The English translation of Sayuri Ueda's science fiction novel The Cage of Zeus (2011) uses spivak pronouns for genetically engineered characters with non-dyadic bodies and non-binary gender.[42]Use for real non-binary people:
In 1996, 74 out of 7064 users on LambdaMOO went by spivak pronouns, making it the second most popular nonbinary pronoun there.[43] In 2002, 108 out of 4061 users on LambdaMOO used spivak pronouns, making it the most popular neologistic pronoun set there.[44]In 1996, 10 out of 1015 users on MediaMOO went by spivak pronouns, making these the second most popular nonbinary pronoun.[45]The author Bogi "prezzey" Takcs goes by spivak pronouns.[46]Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke E laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug Em.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, Eir hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow Eirs.Reflexive: Each child feeds Emself.On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/e
e, em, es (e's), (e's), emself. Created in 1890 by James Rogers of Crestview, Florida.[47][48] In about 1977, version where all forms starts with capital letters was independently "created by psychologist Donald G. MacKay of the University of California at Los Angeles."[49] In 1989, independently created by Victor J. Stone, Professor of Law.[50]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke e laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug em.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, es hair grows long.Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: ?E, em, ir, irs, ?. Created by Anj Kroeger in 1989, in response to a highschool essay prompt on things to change about the English language. Kroeger proposed this gender-neutral pronoun set based on a mixture of "he" and "she" pronouns. Only the nominative form, E, is capitalized. Ir is pronounced like the word "ear." The paper didn't mention a reflexive form.[51]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke E laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug em.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, ir hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow irs.Reflexive: ?e, rim, ris, ?, ?. Created by Werner Low, and printed in a 1977 issue of Washington Post.[52]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke e laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug rim.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, ris hair grows long.Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: ?Elverson pronounsSee ey.
Emem, ?, ems, ems, ?. Created in 1977 by "Jeffrey J. Smith, [who] felt strongly enough about them to start the Em Institute and put out the Em Institute Newsletter under the pseudonym 'TIN-TAJL jefry'".[53]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke em laughs.Accusative: ?Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, ems hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ems.Reflexive: ?Etet, et, ets, ets, etself. Created by Aline Hoffman of Sarnia, Ontario, and published in Brave New Words (1979).[54]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke et laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug et.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, ets hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ets.Reflexive: Each child feeds etself.On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/et/et/ets/ets/etself
Eyey, em, eir, eirs, emself. (Compare the spivak pronoun E, which is very similar, with only a small spelling difference in the nominative form.) Called the Elverson pronouns, these were "created by Christine M. Elverson of Skokie, Illinois, to win a contest in 1975. (Black, Judie, 'Ey has a word for it', 1975-08-23.). Promoted as preferable to other major contenders (sie, zie and singular 'they') by John Williams's Gender-neutral Pronoun FAQ (2004)."[55]
Use in real life and non-fiction: The Elverson pronouns were used by Eric Klein in the Laws of Oceania, 1993, to be gender-inclusive in a nonfictional micronation. Sometimes this pronoun set is mistakenly called "spivak pronouns," which differ only in the nominative form.
Use in fiction:
CJ Carter's science fiction novel, Que Ser Serees (2011) is about a species of people with a single gender, who are all called by Elverson's "ey" pronouns. Carter encourages other authors to use these gender-neutral pronouns.[56][57]In K. A. Cook's short story "Misstery Man," the self-described non-binary character Darcy asks to be called by "ey and eir" pronouns.[58]Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke ey laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug em.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, eir hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow eirs.Reflexive: Each child feeds emself.On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/ey
FaeSee nounself pronouns.
FawnSee nounself pronouns.
Female pronounsSee She.
Haha, hem, hez, ?, ?. Coined in 1927, [59] and "attributed by H. L. Mencken to Lincoln King, of Primghar, Iowa."[60]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke ha laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug hem.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, hez hair grows long.Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: ?Hehe, him, his, his, himself. Often called male pronouns, grammarians acknowledge that this standard set of pronouns can also be used as gender-neutral or gender-inclusive pronouns for unspecified persons, such as in instructions and legal documents. In the eighteenth century, when prescriptive grammarians decided that "singular they" was no longer acceptable as a gender-neutral pronoun, they instead recommended "gender-neutral he." "Prescriptive grammarians have been calling for 'he' as the gender-neutral pronoun of choice since at least 1745, when a British schoolmistress named Anne Fisher laid down the law in A New Grammar."[61] The use of "gender-neutral he" can make problems in how laws are interpreted, because it's unclear whether it is meant to be gender-inclusive or male-only. For example, in 1927, "the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that women were not persons because its statutes referred to 'persons' with male pronouns."[62][63] In the USA in the nineteenth century, suffragists Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton fought for laws to stop using the "gender-neutral he," because there were cases where this pronoun had been arbitrarily interpreted as a "male he" in order to exclude women from legal protections, or from the right to a license that they had passed exams for. This abuse of legal language happened even in if the documents explicitly said that "he" was meant to include women.[64] Thanks to work in the 1970s by feminists Casey Miller and Kate Swift, "gender-neutral he" has been significantly phased out of use, replaced by the more inclusive he or she.[65]
Use for real non-binary people: There are non-binary people who ask to be called by "he" pronouns, such as comedian Eddie Izzard, writer Richard O'Brien, songwriter Antony Hegarty, and guitarist Pete Townshend.
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke he laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug him.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, his hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow his.Reflexive: Each child feeds himself.On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/he
He'erhe'er, him'er, his'er, his'er's, his'er'self. An inclusive pronoun that was proposed in 1912 by Ella Flagg Young.[66][67]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke he'er laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug him'er.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, his'er hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow his'er's.Reflexive: Each child feeds his'er'self.HeeshSeveral sets of pronouns use "heesh" in the nominative form, the oldest from 1934. The idea is to combine "he" and "she" to create an inclusive pronoun. In alphabetical order:
heesh, ?, heesh's, heesh's, heeshself. Poul Anderson used these in a science fiction story, The Day of Their Return (1973) to refer to a species with three sexes.[68]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke heesh laughs.Accusative: ?Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, heesh's hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow heesh's.Reflexive: Each child feeds heeshself.heesh, herm, hiser, hisers, hermself. Created in 1978 by Leonara Timm, in the International Journal of Women's Studies.[69][70] Caution: herm is also an offensive word for an intersex person.
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke heesh laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug herm.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, hiser hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow hisers.Reflexive: Each child feeds hermself.heesh, himer, hiser, ?, ?. Created in 1934.[71]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke heesh laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug himer.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, hiser hair grows long.Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: ?heesh, hir, hir, ?, ?. This was the earliest recorded example of the gender-neutral pronoun "hir" on the Internet, which was in a science fiction fan newsgroup in 1981.[72][73]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke heesh laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug hir.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, hir hair grows long.Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: ?He or shehe or she, him or her, his or her, his or hers, himself or herself. These are very commonly used as gender-neutral pronouns for unspecified persons, such as in instructions and legal documents. Although grammatically acceptable, and a step more inclusive than only using "he" in these contexts, its length soon makes it cumbersome.[74] It almost always puts the "male" pronoun before the "female" pronoun, which is a little less than equality. It gives the impression of including binary genders, while excluding the possibility of other genders.
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke he or she laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug him or her.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, his or her hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow his or hers.Reflexive: Each child feeds himself or herself.HeshSeveral sets of neologistic pronouns use "hesh" in the nominative form, in an attempt to combine "he" and "she." In alphabetical order:
hesh, himmer, hizzer, ?, ?. Created in 1927.[75]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke hesh laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug himmer.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, hizzer hair grows long.Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: ?hesh, hiser, himer, himer, hermself. Created by feminist Jan Verley Archer in the 1975 issue of Media Report to Women.[76][77] Caution: "herm" is also an offensive word for an intersex person.
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke hesh laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug hiser.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, himer hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow himer.Reflexive: Each child feeds hermself.HesheSeveral sets of neologistic pronouns use "heshe" in the nominative form, in an attempt to combine "he" and "she" to create an inclusive pronoun. Caution: "he-she" is also an offensive word for a transgender person. In alphabetical order:
heshe, hem, hes, ?, ?. Created in 1981, combining "he" and "she".[78]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke heshe laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug hem.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, hes hair grows long.Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: ?heshe, himmer, hisher, ?, ?. Created in 1977.[79]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke heshe laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug himmer.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, hisher hair grows long.Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: ?Heyhey, ?, heir, heirs, ?. Created in 1979 by Paul Encimer, with the intent to combine "he" and "their" to create an inclusive pronoun.[80][81]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke hey laughs.Accusative: ?Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, heir hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow heirs.Reflexive: ?HiSeveral sets of gender-neutral pronouns use "hi" in the nominative form. In alphabetical order, they are:
hi, hem, hes, ?, ?. Created in 1884 by Francis H. Williams.[82][83]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke hi laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug hem.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, hes hair grows long.Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: ?hi, hir, hir, hirs, hirself. According to Kip Manley, this set of pronouns was used in some science fiction in the 1980s. However, Manley wasn't able to give any examples.[84]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke hi laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug hir.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, hir hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow hirs.Reflexive: Each child feeds hirself.Hiehie, hie (?), hiez (?), ov hie, ?. In 1914, Mont Follick created this pronoun set, based on the pronunciation of "he" pronouns. Follick proposed that we reform the language so that these replace all third person singular pronouns in English.[85]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke hie laughs.Accusative: ?Pronominal possessive: ?Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ov hie.Reflexive: ?Hoho, hom, hos, ?, homself. Derived from Latin homo, "human", and the prefix homo-, "the same, equal, like." Created by Donald K. Darnell in a 1976 issue of Persons Communicating. [86][87]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke ho laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug hom.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, hos hair grows long.Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: Each child feeds homself.Huhu, hum, hus, hus, huself. A set of gender-neutral "humanist" pronouns, based on the word "human". "Used in several college humanities texts published by Bandanna Books. Originated by editor Sasha Newborn in 1982."[88] The creation of these pronouns is also attributed to "DeAnn DeLuna, who teaches literature at Johns Hopkins University," who pronounces them like "huh." When DeLuna "recently edited a book of essays about historian J.G.A. Pocock [she] insisted that the book's writers use the [hu] pronoun," and many people use the hu pronouns "in the online forums of the Chronicle of Higher Education's Web site."[89] Jake Shivery runs a small web-site about the hu pronoun, hupronoun.org, which says it's pronounced "hyu," like the beginning of the word "human."
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke hu laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug hum.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, hus hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow hus.Reflexive: Each child feeds huself.On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/hu
HumanistSee Hu.
Idid, idre, ids, ids, idself. Used by Laurie Marks for characters of a genderless species in all three books of the Children of the Triad fantasy novel series: Delan the Mislaid (1989), The Moonbane Mage (1990), and Ara's Field (1991). Marks uses these pronouns for the title character and protagonist of the first book.[90]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke id laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug idre.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, ids hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ids.Reflexive: Each child feeds idself.Itit, it, its, its, itself. This standard English set of genderless pronouns is used for inanimate objects, animals, and human infants. During Dickens' time, these were also acceptable pronouns for older human children and spirits of the dead, as these permutations of humanity were seen as not really male or female. This pronoun is not male or female. Using it for an adult human is often seen as an insult, dehumanizing. While considered offensive by most, some nonbinary people use "it" as a means of reclamation and to challenge the idea that genderlessness is inherently dehumanizing.
Because "it" pronouns are the default on LamdaMOO and on similar multi-user environments, they tend to be common there, but less common than "he" or "she." In 1996, "it" pronouns were the most popular non-binary pronoun choice on LambdaMOO (1162 out of 7065 player characters) and MediaMOO (280 out of 1015 player characters).[91]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke it laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug it.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, its hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow its.Reflexive: Each child feeds itself.On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/it
Ipip, ip, ips, ips, ipsself. Proposed in 1884 by Emma Carleton, probably derived from "it."[92][93]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke ip laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug ip.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, ips hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ips.Reflexive: Each child feeds ipself.Irir, im, iro, iros, iroself. A set of English gender-neutral pronouns from 1888.[94][95]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke ir laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug im.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, iro hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow iros.Reflexive: Each child feeds iroself.Kaikai, kaim, kais, kais, kaiself. A set of English gender-neutral pronouns created by novelist Janet Ganus for nonbinary characters, in 1998 or earlier.[96] Ganus also created a matching gender-neutral title, Kaiet, which is also a proper noun that serves the gender-neutral counterpart of "man" or "woman."
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke kai laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug kaim.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, kais hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow kais.Reflexive: Each child feeds kaiself.Lele, lem, les, les, lesself. A set of English gender-neutral pronouns proposed in 1884 by Edgar Alfred Stevens, borrowed from French.[97][98]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke le laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug lem.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, les hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow les.Reflexive: Each child feeds lesself.Male pronounsSee he.
MemevectorSee ze, em, zeir, zeirs, zeirself.
Nana, nan, nan, nan's, naself. June Arnold's story The Cook and the Carpenter, 1973, used this set of pronouns exclusively, for all people. Arnold may have created the pronouns.[99]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke na laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug nan.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, nan hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow nan's.Reflexive: Each child feeds naself.NameSee no pronouns or Nounself pronouns.
NeSeveral sets of pronouns use "ne" in the nominative form. In alphabetical order:
ne, nem, nir, nirs, nemself. In Spectra, a science fiction comic by Cori Walters, characters with nonbinary genders are called by these pronouns. Walters uses this pronoun for one of the three gender roles in a species that has only one sex, and all people voluntarily choose their gender roles. The comic started in 2013 and is still in progress.[100]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke ne laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug nem.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, nir hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow nirs.Reflexive: Each child feeds nemself.ne, ner, nis, nis, nemself. In a 1974 issue of Today's Education, "Mildred Fenner attributes this to Fred Wilhelms."[101][102] Veterinarian Al Lippart independently proposed the same set of pronouns in 1999, recommending them for use when it would be inappropriate to specify the gender of a human, animal, or deity.[103]Lawyer Roberta Morris also independently proposed this same set of pronouns in 2009, saying that these pronouns would be more efficient for within the 140 character limit of Twitter than "he or she." Morris also pointed out that the "n" can refer to "neuter."[104]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke ne laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug ner.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, nis hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow nis.Reflexive: Each child feeds nemself.ne, nim, nis, ?, ?. Created around 1850,[105], and appeared in print in 1884.[106]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke ne laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug nim.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, nis hair grows long.Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: ?No pronounsMany people prefer not to be referred to by pronouns, and may feel dysphoria otherwise. Thirty-six percent of the lottelodge survey answered "Just my name" to the question "What are your preferred pronouns?". (Multiple answers were permitted.)
While the grammatical labels on the sample sentences below are no longer correct, the sentences can be adjusted to exclude pronouns while still talking about a specific person.
Nominative:(Demonstrative + noun replaces pronoun) When I tell someone a joke, that person laughs.Accusative:(Eliminated second reference to the person) I greet my friend with a hug.Pronominal possessive:(Replaced with an "it" that technically has no antecedent but clearly refers to the possessed thing) When someone does not get a haircut, it grows long.Predicative possessive:(Possessive eliminated) If my mobile phone runs out of power, my friend lends me another.Reflexive:(Reflexive emphasizing independence replaced with adverb) Each child gets food independently.Using names or descriptions without changing the sentence structure:
Nominative: When I tell Taylor a joke Taylor laughs.Accusative: When I greet Sylvia I hug Sylvia.Pronominal possessive: When the kid does not get a haircut, the kid's hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow the friend's.Reflexive:Larry feeds Larry.Other noteworthy techniques for removing third-person pronouns from a sentence include
Passive voice: "Taylor's mopping the kitchen. When ? finishes, we'll go for a walk" becomes "Taylor's mopping the kitchen. When it's done, we'll go for a walk." Here "it" refers to the kitchen or maybe the task of mopping, and we use passive voice because there's no need to repeat who's doing it.Second person: Instead of talking about someone in third person, why not talk to them instead? Say you're talking to Kevin and Elisa, who prefers no third-person pronouns, is in the room. You could tell Kevin, "I'd love to go with you for coffee, but Elisa's already claimed me for the evening," but if you do that and want to start expanding on what Elisa's up to, you might be tempted to use third-person pronouns. Instead you could shift to Elisa and say "but you've got me booked for the evening," and then Elisa could tell about the plans without being spoken for.Nounself pronounsStarting in early 2014, or perhaps late 2013, a community of non-binary gender people on the social blogging site Tumblr.com came up with the idea of "nounself pronouns." (Some call these "otherkin pronouns," but few otherkin use them, and not all using them are otherkin.) By adapting any noun of one's choosing into a pronoun, one can create a wide variety of very personal and descriptive pronouns. The sets can be themed around concepts that have nothing to do with gender, such as nature, technology, or abstract concepts. Some of the earliest sets of nounself pronouns, which might actually be from earlier than 2014, are the fairy themed set "fae, fae, faer, faers, faeself", and the bunny themed set "bun, bun, buns, buns, bunself". During 2014, the community created about a hundred sets of such pronouns, and many were adopted as the pronouns of particular non-binary people, so they're seeing actual use. Unlike most neologistic pronouns that are listed on this wiki page, which are intended to be used for all people regardless of gender, nounself pronouns are intended to be used by only a small number of people who feel that they express what is distinctive about themselves. Nounself pronouns are a creative and often light-hearted experiment in gender expression. Nounself pronouns can be especially difficult to use for people who speak English as a second language, or who are neurodivergent or disabled. For this reason, if you ask others to call you by nounself pronouns, it's good etiquette to offer a secondary set of more standard pronouns, for accessibility.[107]
Forms: An example using the fairy-themed fae, fae, faer, faers, faeself set:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke fae laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug fae.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, faer hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow faers.Reflexive: Each child feeds faeself.An alphabetical list of nounself pronouns, and their origins. More of these sets have been proposed than have been used.
ai, ain, aire, aires, aiself. Created by Tumblr user trashqan in 2014.[108] A robot themed set.aqua, ?, aquas, aquas, aquariuself. Created by Tumblr user togamiscontinentaltie in 2014.[109] Zodiac themed set.ari, ?, aires, aires, aireself. Created by Tumblr user togamiscontinentaltie in 2014.[110] Zodiac themed set (Aries).au, aut, auto, autos, autoself. Created by Tumblr user trashqan in 2014.[111] A robot themed set.bee, bee, beets, beets, beetleself. Created by Tumblr user princenstolas in 2014.[112] An insect (beetle) themed set.beer, beer, bier, beer's, beerself. Honorific: Crvza. Created by Tumblr user kleenexwoman in 2012. Ale pronouns.boo, boo, boo's, boo's, booself. Created by Tumblr user boyghostly in 2014.[113] A monster or ghost themed set.bot (bo), bot, bots, bots, botself. Created by Tumblr user plantprincen in 2014,[114] and independently created by Tumblr user birdfae in 2014.[115] A robot themed set.bu, bu, buz, buz, buzzself. Created by Tumblr user princenstolas in 2014.[116] An insect themed set.bud, bud, buds, buds, budself. A plant themed set created by Tumblr user plantprincen in 2014 (or earlier?)[117]bug, bug, bugs, bugs, bugself. Created by Tumblr user princenstolas in 2014.[118] An insect themed set.bun, bun, buns, buns, bunself. A bunny themed set created by Tumblr user bonniebelbubblegum in 2014 (or earlier?)[119]byte, byte, bytes, bytes, byteself. Created by Tumblr user huntersgotellis in 2014.[120] A robot or technology themed set.cancer, ?, cans, ?, canself. Created by Tumblr user togamiscontinentaltie in 2014.[121] Zodiac themed set (Cancer).[122]cap, ?, capris, ?, capriself. Created by Tumblr user togamiscontinentaltie in 2014.[123] Zodiac themed set (Capricorn).compute, compute, computes, computes, computeself. Created by Tumblr user huntersgotellis in 2014.[124] A robot themed set.cub, cub, cubs, cubs, cubself. Origin unknown, please add it if you find it. It was likely created by a Tumblr user in 2014. Animal themed set.[125]cy, cyb, cyber, cybers, cyberself. Created by Tumblr user trashqan in 2014.[126] A robot themed set.dre, droid, droids, droids, droidself. Created by Tumblr user trashqan in 2014.[127] A robot themed set.ecto, ecto, ects, ects, ectself. Created by Tumblr user chemicalgalaxy in 2014.[128] A horror, ghost, or ectoplasm themed set.fae, faer, faer, faers, faerself. A fairy (faery, faerie, fey or Fair Folk) themed set created by Ciel (Tumblr user shadaras) in 2014 (or earlier?).[129] It may also have been independently coined earlier.faun, faun, fauns, fauns, faunself. Created by Tumblr user faerieli in 2014.[130][131] A Greek mythology (faun) themed setfawn, fawn, fawns, fawns, fawnself. An animal themed set created by Tumblr user genderorb in 2014 (or earlier?).[132]fel, fel, felis, felis, feliself. Created by Tumblr user genderviking in 2014.[133] Feline themed set.[134]fey, fey, feys, feys, feyself. Origin unknown, please add if you find it. A fairy (faery, faerie, fey, or Fair Folk) themed set.[135]fin, fin, fins, fins, finsself. Created by Tumblr user boyghostly in 2014.[136] A sea themed set.fluff, fluff, fluffs, fluffs, fluffself. A light-hearted and possibly animal-themed set created by Tumblr user subcinere in 2014 (or earlier?)[137]gem, ?, gemis, gemis, geminiself. Created by Tumblr user togamiscontinentaltie in 2014.[138] Zodiac themed set for Gemini.[139]gem, gem, gems, gems, gemself. A "magical girl" themed set created by Vivid (Tumblr user dadhomura) in 2014 (or earlier?)[140].giga, giga, gigas, gigas, gigaself. Created by Tumblr user huntersgotellis in 2014.[141] A robot themed set.gill, gill, gills, gills, gillself. Created by Tumblr user boyghostly in 2014.[142] A sea themed set.glit, glitter, glitter, glitters, glitterself. A "magical girl" themed set created by Vivid (Tumblr user dadhomura) in 2014 (or earlier?)[143]gro, ?, gross, gross, goreself. A horror themed set created by Tumblr user disinfoagent in 2014.[144]hart, hart, harts, hart's, hartself. A deer themed set created by genderviking in 2014.[145][146]haun, ?, haunts, haunts, hauntself. Created by Tumblr user chemicalgalaxy in 2014.[147] A horror (haunt) themed set.hy, hy, hydras, hydras, hydraself. Created by Tumblr user faerieli in 2014.[148][149] Greek mythological being (hydra) themed set.[150]inter, inter, inters, inters, interself. Created by Tumblr user huntersgotellis in 2014.[151] A technology themed set.kelp, kelp, kelps, kelps, kelpself. A nature themed set created by Tumblr user acedragons in 2014,[152] and independently created by Tumblr user boyghostly in 2014.[153]kit, kit, kits, kits, kitself. Origin unknown, please add if you find it. An animal themed set.[154]leo, leo, leos, leos, leoself. An animal (lion) or Zodiac (Leo) themed set created by Tumblr user genderviking in 2014,[155] and independently created by Tumblr user togamiscontinentaltie in 2014.[156]lib, ?, libras, ?, libraself. Created by Tumblr user nakedmolerat in 2014.[157] Zodiac themed set (Libra).lun, lun, luns, luns, lunself. Created by Tumblr user baramages in 2014.[158] A space themed set.lynx, lynx, ?, ?, lynxself. An animal (feline) themed set created by Tumblr user genderviking in 2014.[159][160]mechie, mechien, mechs, mechs, mechself. Created by Tumblr user trashqan in 2014.[161] A robot themed set.meow, mew, mews, mews, meowself. Created by Tumblr user huntersgotellis in 2014.[162] An animal (cat) themed set.mer, mer, mers, mers (mermai), merself. Created by Tumblr user boyghostly in 2014.[163] Independently created by Tumblr user princenstolas in 2014, but with the "mermai" variation.[164] Sea or mermaid themed pronouns.[165]neb, neb, ?, ?, nebself. Created by Tumblr user baramages in 2014.[166] A space themed (nebula) set.nov, nov, novs, novs, novself. Created by Tumblr user baramages in 2014.[167] A space themed (nova) set.paw, paw, paws, paws, pawself. Created by Tumblr user huntersgotellis in 2014.[168] An animal themed set.purr, purr, purrs, purrs, purrself. Created by Tumblr user huntersgotellis in 2014.[169]ram, ram, rams, rams, ramself. Created by Tumblr user huntersgotellis in 2014.[170] A robot themed set.sagit, sagit, sagits, sagits, sagittself. Created by Tumblr user togamiscontinentaltie in 2014.[171] Zodiac themed set (Sagittarius).scor, scor, scorpios (scorps), scorpios (scorps), scorpioself (scorpself). Created by Tumblr user togamiscontinentaltie in 2014.[172] Independently created by Tumblr user princenstolas in 2014.[173] Zodiac themed set (Scorpio) or animal (scorpion) themed set.spide, spide, spides, spides, spiderself. Created by Tumblr user princenstolas in 2014.[174] An animal (spider) themed set.spiri, ?, spirs, spirs, spirself. Created by Tumblr user chemicalgalaxy in 2014.[175] A horror (spirit) themed set.squeak, squeak, squeaks, squeaks, squeakself. Created by Tumblr user faerieli in 2014.[176] An animal themed set.squid, ?, squids, squids, squidself. Created by Tumblr user enbyprincen in 2014.[177] An animal (squid) themed set.stag, stag, stags, stags, stagself. An animal themed set created by Tumblr user genderviking in 2014.[178][179]star, star, stars, stars, starself. A nature themed set created by Tumblr user bonnibelbubblegum in 2014.[180] Independently created by Tumblr user baramages in 2014.[181]taur, taur, taurus, taurus, tauruself. Created by Tumblr user nakedmolerat in 2014.[182] Zodiac themed set (Taurus).tech, techne, techan, techans, techself. Created by Tumblr user trashqan in 2014.[183] A robot themed set.tik, tik, tiks, tiks, tikself. Created by Tumblr user lysanderandco in 2014.[184] Clock or time themed set.tok, tok, toks, toks, tokself. Created by Tumblr user lysanderandco in 2014.[185] Clock or time themed set.vam, vamp, vamps, vamps, vampself. Origin unknown, please add if you find it. A vampire themed set.[186]vir, vir, virgos, virgos, virgoself. Created by Tumblr user togamiscontinentaltie in 2014.[187] Zodiac themed set (Virgo).voi, void, voids, voids, voidself. Created by Tumblr user baramages in 2014.[188] A space themed set.ware, ware, wares, wares, wareself. Created by Tumblr user huntersgotellis in 2014.[189][190] A robot or technology themed set.whisker, whisker, whiskers, whiskers, whiskerself. Created by Tumblr user huntersgotellis in 2014.[191] A cat or animal themed set.whomp, whizz, whirr, whirrs, whizelf. Created by Tumblr user trashqan in 2014.[192] A robot themed set.wer, wer, weres, weres, wereself. Created by Tumblr user princenstolas in 2014.[193] A monster (werewolf) themed set.wit, witch, ?, ?, witchself. Created by Tumblr user princenstolas in 2014.[194] Tumblr user bigendeer then pointed out that these should only be used by people who identify as witches, out of respect for people with those spiritual beliefs.[195]wy, wir, wire, wires, wirself. Created by Tumblr user trashqan in 2014.[196] A robot themed set.Oneone, one, one's, one's, oneself. This is a standard English set of pronouns used for a hypothetical person whose gender is not specified.
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke one laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug one.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, one's hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow one's.Reflexive: Each child feeds oneself.Otherkin pronounsSee nounself pronouns.
Ouou, ou, ous, ous, ouself. A set of singular gender-neutral pronouns that were first recorded in a native English dialect the sixteenth century. "In 1789, William H. Marshall records the existence of a dialectal English epicene pronoun, singular ou: '"Ou will" expresses either he will, she will, or it will.' Marshall traces ou to Middle English epicene a, used by the fourteenth-century English writer John of Trevisa, and both the OED and Wright's English Dialect Dictionary confirm the use of a for he, she, it, they, and even I."[197]
Use in fiction: In K. A. Cook's short story "The Differently Animated and Queer Society," the character Moon asks to be called by "ou" pronouns.[198]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke ou laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug ou.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, ous hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ous.Reflexive: Each child feeds ouself.Pehpeh, pehm, ?, peh's, ?. Used by Jenn Manley Lee in a science fiction graphic novel, Dicebox, as a gender non-specific pronoun, for when a person's gender is either irrelevant or nonbinary.[199][200]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke peh laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug pehm.Pronominal possessive: ?Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow peh's.Reflexive: ?On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/peh
Perper (person), per, per, pers, perself. Called "person pronouns," these are meant to be used for a person of any gender. Compare Phelps's phe pronouns, which are also based on the word "person." John Clark created "per" pronouns in a 1972 issue of the Newsletter of the American Anthropological Association.[201]
Use in real life and non-fiction: Person pronouns were one of the sets of pronouns built in to MediaMOO for users to choose from.[202] Richard Ekins and Dave King used these pronouns in the book The Transgender Phenomenon (2006).[203]
Use in fiction: In Marge Piercy's feminist novel, Woman on the Edge of Time, 1976, Piercy used "per" pronouns for all citizens of a utopian future in which gender was no longer seen as a big difference between people.[204]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke per laughs. (Or person laughs.)Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug per.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, per hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow pers.Reflexive: Each child feeds perself.On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/per
Phephe, per, per, pers, perself. In Katherine Phelps's 1998 retelling of The Odyssey,Oddyseus, She, in which the genders of people are reversed, Phelps uses these gender-neutral pronouns for deities, because the deities' "specific gender or shape are completely optional." Like Piercy's similar per pronouns, Phelps's "phe" pronouns are "based on the shortening of 'person.'[205][206]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke phe laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug per.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, per hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow pers.Reflexive: Each child feeds perself.Racial pronounsIn Douglas Hofstadter's short satirical essay, "A Person Paper on Purity in Language," the fictional William Satire describes a world in which racism is so pervasive that even pronouns have long been based around race instead of gender. In Person Paper, William Satire criticizes an equally fictional activist (apparently modeled after the non-fictional Casey Miller) who had taken an objection "to the age-old differentiation of whites from blacks by the third-person pronouns 'whe' and 'ble.' Ble promotes an absurd notion: that what we really need in English is a single pronoun covering both races. Numerous suggestions have been made, such as 'pe,' 'tey,' and others, These are all repugnant to the nature of the English language, as the average white in the street will testify, even if whe has no linguistic training whatsoever."[207] In the essay's hypothesized world, where racism is even more deeply embedded in language than it is in the real world, non-racist language and race-neutral pronouns are seen as controversial changes. Hofstadter uses this imagined scenario to make it visible to us how much sexism is in our language. It demonstrates how the pervasiveness of discriminatory language is taken for granted and used to undermine oppressed peoples. The essay is effective in its intention to show how pervasive sexism is in real life. However, despite the essay's best efforts, it still downplays how racism actually does pervade language and daily life, and therefore makes racism look as if it was a smaller problem than sexism. This flaw is an example of a ethnicity and culture#false comparison, where making a comparison between racism and sexism means overlooking important differences between them.
These pronouns were never meant to be used. Don't use them. In real life, nobody has proposed racial pronouns in earnest.
Rere, erm, rees, rees, ?. In 2002, atheist activist Mike Newdow proposed these to replace all use of "he" and "she" pronouns.[208]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke re laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug erm.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, rees hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow rees.Reflexive: ?SeThere are several similar sets that use "se" in the nominative form, the oldest of which was created in 1938. A list of its versions in alphabetical order:
se, ?, ?, ?, ?. Created in 1975.[209]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke se laughs.Accusative: ?Pronominal possessive: ?Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: ?se, hir, hir, hirs, hirself. In Richard Lupoff's short science fiction story "With the Bentfin Boomer Boys on Little Ol' New Alabama" (1977?), Lupoff used these pronouns for an entity comprised of a female extraterrestrial being inhabiting a dead male human body.[210] In 1992, this set of gender-neutral pronouns was commonly used on the Internet in newsgroups such as alt.sex.bondage.[211]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke se laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug hir.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, hir hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow hirs.Reflexive: Each child feeds hirself.se, sem, ses, ?, ?. Created in 1990.[212] Used for non-dyadic characters in Glenn Grant's story Memetic Drift, "published in Interzone magazine #34, March/April 1990; reprinted in Northern Stars: The Anthology of Canadian Science Fiction, Tor hardcover, 1994, edited by the author and G. Hartwell."[213]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke se laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug sem.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, ses hair grows long.Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: ?se, sim, ser, ?, simself. Created in 1973 by William Cowan, of the Department of Linguistics, Carleton University.[214][215]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke se laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug sim.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, ser hair grows long.Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: Each child feeds simself.On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/ser
se, sim, sis, ?, ?. Created in 1938 by Gregory Hynes.[216][217]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke se laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug sim.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, sis hair grows long.Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: ?Sheshe, her, her, hers, herself. Often called female pronouns, although in standard usage, they're not used exclusively for women. Grammarians agree that it is standard and acceptable for this set to be used for women, female animals, and ships. The set is also poetically used for countries and fields of studies, which grammarians also see as acceptable. Some feminists recommend replacing "gender-neutral he" with "gender-neutral she." "In 1970, Dana Densmore's article ''Speech is the Form of Thought'' appeared in No More Fun and Games: A Journal of Female Liberation; Densmore is evidently the first U.S. advocate of 'she' as a gender-neutral pronoun, a solution many writers, particularly academic writers, favor today."[218] 1974, Gena Corea recommended replacing the "gender-neutral he" with a "gender-neutral she," and like Denmore, argued that the word "she" would be understood to include the word "he."[219]
Use as a gender-neutral pronoun in fiction:
Anne Leckie's science fiction novels Ancillary Justice (2013) and Ancillary Sword (2014) were set in a futuristic society that is indifferent to gender, so all the characters are called by gender-neutral "she" pronouns, leaving their actual gender and sex undisclosed. Leckie says she had an assumption at the time that gender is binary, so these are likely not non-binary characters.[220]Cartoonist Rebecca Sugar explained that in her animated science fiction series, Steven Universe, the alien people called Gems really have no sex or gender, even though they all look like women. For this reason, the Gems are only arbitrarily called by "she" pronouns. Sugar said, "Technically, there are no female Gems! There are only Gems! [...] Why not look like human females? That's just what Gems happen to look like! [...] There's a 50 50 chance to use some pronoun on Earth, so why not feminine ones-- it's as convenient as it is arbitrary!"[221] This is a gender-neutral use of "she" pronouns.Use for real non-binary people: There are non-binary gender people who ask people to use "she" pronouns for them, such as actor Rain Dove, singer-songwriter Ellie Jackson, musician JD Samson, singer Kieran Strange, and actor Tilda Swinton.
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke she laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug her.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, her hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow hers.Reflexive: Each child feeds herself.On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/she
S/heSeveral sets of pronouns use "s/he" in the nominative form. In alphabetical order:
s/he, h/er, h/er, h/ers, h/erself. Singer-songwriter Genesis Breyer P-orridge asks others to use this set of pronouns for h/erself.[222]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke s/he laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug h/er.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, h/er hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow h/ers.Reflexive: Each child feeds h/erself.s/he (sHe), hir, hir, hirs, hirself. A set of English gender-neutral pronouns used in books by Timothy Leary in the 1970s, and then by counterculture writers influenced by Leary. It was used in non-fiction writings about spirituality by the Elf Queen's Daughters and the Silver Elves from the 1970s to the present 2010s. It was also used in fiction in Peter David's Star Trek books.[223] Sometimes with mixed caps, as shown.
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke s/he laughs. (Or sHe laughs.)Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug hir.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, hir hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow hirs.Reflexive: Each child feeds hirself.SHeSee she or s/he.
Shemshem, hem, hes, ?, ?. Created in 1974.[224]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke shem laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug hem.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, hes hair grows long.Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: ?Sheyshey, shem, sheir, sheirs, sheirself. The same set was independently created (or perhaps only used) in 1973, 1979, and 1982.[225][226] The idea is to combine "she" and "they."
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke shey laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug shem.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, sheir hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow sheirs.Reflexive: Each child feeds sheirself.Siesie, hir, hir, hirs, hirself. Pronounced like either "she" and "her," or "see" and "hear." Derived from German pronouns for "she" and "they." [227] Since the early 1990s, this set has been widely used on the Internet for gender-neutral language when speaking of no specific person, for nonbinary gender characters, and by nonbinary gender people themselves. Use in fiction: Elizabeth Bear used these pronouns in a fantasy novel, Dust.[228]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke sie laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug hir.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, hir hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow hirs.Reflexive: Each child feeds hirself.Singular TheySee They.
SpivakSee E.
SplatSee *E.
StarSee either *E or nounself pronouns.
Teytey, tem, ter, ters, temself. A set of gender-neutral pronouns, proposed by feminists Casey Miller and Kate Swift in the 1971 December issue of Ms in earnest as a strategy to avoid "pronoun abuse" (meaning the inappropriate use of male pronouns when it would make more sense to include women as well), as one of many strategies to reduce sexist language. Later, they advocated instead for more widespread use of "he or she" for that purpose.[229]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke tey laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug tem.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, ter hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ters.Reflexive: Each child feeds temself.TheSee ¾e or 3e.
Theythey, them, their, theirs, themself (or theirself, theirselves, or themselves). These are standard English pronouns for speaking of groups. Grammarians question and debate the validity of also using this set as "singular they," a gender-neutral pronoun for an individual whose gender isn't specified, because they feel unsatisfied by how it still works grammatically like a plural. (Similar to how we say "you are," even when referring to a singular "you.") However, "singular they" has been common usage in English for over a thousand years, as attested by many written documents. It was used so by Shakespeare, Jane Austen, the Oxford English Dictionary, Louis Carroll, C. S. Lewis, and others. Grammaticians only recently decided that it was ungrammatical to use in the singular, because it is still used with verbs as though it was a plural.[230] Though the grammar may be questionable, it is still standard use today.
Singular "they" gets a surprising number of complaints, considering people use it all the time for people whose gender is unknown. ("So, your doctor, what have they prescribed?" etc.) However, there are a lot of arguments that it's correct. This article on Motivated Grammar goes through a few reasons, including the fact that it's consistently been in use since Chaucer's time, around 1400.
A most comprehensive article about the history of singular "they" is Henry Churchyard's web-page, Singular 'Their' in Jane Austen and Elsewhere.
Most people are familiar with how singular "they" works, as plenty of people use it all the time without really thinking about it.
There are several versions of the reflexive form of this pronoun: "themself," "theirself," "theirselves," and "themselves." The Oxford Dictionary says that "themself" has been used since the 14th century for a person of unknown sex.[231] Dictionary.com says that "theirself" has also been used for this since about 1300.[232] The Free Dictionary adds that "theirself" and "theirselves" are more common in southern and midland US English.[233] Because both of these are for talking about a single person, they're both considered non-standard or informal usage, despite the hundreds of years of common usage. The plural form of "themselves" is supposed to be more formal, but can sound strange when used for a single person, because they are not several "selves," but one "self". This is another part of the plural/singular "they" problem. People differ about which version of the reflexive form they prefer. If someone asks to be called by "they" pronouns, it might be a good idea to ask which form of the reflexive form they prefer.
Use as a singular in fiction:
In a short sci-fi story by Benjanun Sriduangkaew, "Silent Bridge, Pale Cascade" (2013), one of the characters is described as a "neutrois," and called by "they" pronouns.[234][235]In Kameron Hurley's fantasy novel, Empire Ascendant, all people in a consent culture get to choose which of the five gender roles they identify with. Hurley calls characters who are "ungendered" by singular they pronouns.[236]In K. A. Cook's anthology Crooked Words, the character Chris asks to be called by "they" pronouns. Chris is in the short stories "Blue Paint, Chocolate and Other Similes" and "Everything In A Name."[237]Use for real non-binary people: Some nonbinary people ask to be called by "singular they" pronouns, including writer Ivan E. Coyote, actor Tom Phelan, actor Jiz Lee, singer-songwriter Rae Spoon, and rapper Raeen Roes. Deborah Rogers mentions having a trans male student who asked to be called by "they" pronouns.[238]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke they laugh.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug them.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, their hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow theirs.Reflexive: Each child feeds themself. Or: each child feeds theirself. Or: each child feeds theirselves. Or: each child feeds themselves.On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/they
Thonthon, thon, thons, thon's, thonself. Charles Crozat Converse of Erie, Pennsylvania proposed this pronoun in 1858, based on a contraction of "that one."[239] (The Gender-Neutral Pronoun FAQ gives this pronoun's date as 1884 instead.)[240] The "thon" pronoun was included in Webster's International Dictionary (1910). "Thon" was used throughout the writings by the founders of chiropractic, B.J. and D.D. Palmer, in 1910, and is therefore familiar to chiropractors.[241]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke thon laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug thon.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, thons hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow thon's.Reflexive: Each child feeds thonself.On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/they
Vv, v, v's, v's, ?. In 2011, trans writer, singer, and artist MxJustin Vivian Bond created this set of pronouns for people to use in reference to Bond. Bond created v's own set of pronouns, because v wasn't satisfied with any other gender-neutral pronouns that v had heard of. Bond wrote, "So what I've come up with is 'v'. Since my name is Justin Vivian Bond and since Vivian begins with a V and visually a V is two even sides which meet in the middle I would like v to be my pronoun."[242]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke v laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug 'v.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, v's hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow v's.Reflexive: ?VeThere are several sets of pronouns that use "ve" in the nominative form, the earliest of which was created in 1970. Listed in alphabetical order:
ve, ver, vis, vis, verself. A set of pronouns used-- but not created-- by Greg Egan for non-binary gender characters-- including artificial intelligences, as well as transgender humans who identify as a specific nonbinary gender they call "asex"-- in his novels Distress (1995) and Diaspora (1998).[243] In Alastair Reynolds's science fiction novel On the Steel Breeze, one character is called by these ve pronouns. The novel never gives any exposition about this character's sex, gender, or pronouns, and ver gender-neutrality doesn't influence the plot. The lack of remark gives the impression that a nonbinary gender is unremarkable, but this is also why some readers thought the pronouns were a misprint.[244] In Keri Hulme's mystery novel The Bone People (1984), a character is called by these ve pronouns.[245]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke ve laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug ver.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, vis hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow virs.Reflexive: Each child feeds verself.On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/ve
ve, vir, vis, ?, ?. Created in 1970, and published in the May issue of Everywoman.[246][247]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke ve laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug vir.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, vis hair grows long.Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: ?ve, vim, vis, ?, ?. Appeared in print in a 1974 issue of Washington Post.[248][249]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke ve laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug vim.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, vis hair grows long.Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: ?WheSee racial pronouns.
XeThere are several similar sets of neologistic gender-neutral pronouns that use "xe," "ze," "zhe," or "zie" in nominative form. Regardless of spelling, their nominative form is pronounced "zee," and was based on the pronoun sie. The earliest documented version was created in 1972.[250] In alphabetical order, versions of this pronoun set include:
xe, hir, hir, hirs, hirself. Compare the similar "ze, hir..." set, which is apparently used in more literature and by more people. The "xe" version was "Used on alt.support.intergendered and alt.support.crossdressing," transgender communities on the Internet in the 1990s.[251]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke xe laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug hir.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, hir hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow hirs.Reflexive: Each child feeds hirself.xe, xir, xir, xirs, xirself. This pronoun set saw some use on the Internet at least as early as 1998.[252]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke xe laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug xir.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, xir hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow xirs.Reflexive: Each child feeds xirself.xe, xyr (xem), xyr, xyrs, xyrself (xemself). This pronoun set appears in 1993 in a conversation in an autism mailing list on the Internet.[253][254] The "xem" version of this pronoun set appears in a printed discussion from the mailing list of Autism Network International in 2000, with the explanation that it "was originally used to refer to an intersexed person, but is also used to refer to a person of any gender."[255] This pronoun set was recommended in 2005 by Jonathan de Boyne Pollard, with the version that includes "xem," and both "xyrself" and "xemself."[256]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke xe laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug xem. (Or hug xyr.)Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, xyr hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow xyrs.Reflexive: Each child feeds xyrself. (Or feeds xemself.)On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/xe
Xiexie, ?, hir, hirs, ?. Sarka-Jonae Miller made a Change.org petition asking for Dictionary.com to include these as gender-neutral pronouns, saying these are "widely used by LGBT community members and others who wish to refer to individuals as a person instead of as a gender." The petition didn't give all the forms of these pronouns.[257] Presumably these are a spelling variant of "xe, hir" or "ze, hir" pronouns.
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke xie laughs.Accusative: ?Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, hir hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow xirs.Reflexive: ?Yoyo, (N/A), (N/A), (N/A), (N/A) In addition to an interjection and greeting, "yo" is a gender-neutral pronoun in a dialect of African-American Vernacular English spoken by middle school students in Baltimore, Maryland, the student body of which is 97% African-American. These students had spontaneously created the pronoun as early as 2004, and commonly used it. A study by Stotko and Troyer in 2007 examined this pronoun. The speakers used "yo" only for same-age peers, not adults or authorities. They thought of it as a slang word that was informal, but they also thought if it as just as acceptable as "he" or "she". "Yo" was used for people whose gender was unknown, as well as for specific people whose gender was known, often while using a pointing gesture at the person in question. The researchers collected examples of the word in use, such as "yo threw a thumbtack at me," "you acting like I said what yo said," and "she ain't really go with yo." The researchers only collected examples of "yo" used in the nominative form. That is, they found no possessive forms such as "yo's," and no reflexive forms such as "yoself." As such, "yo" pronouns might be used only in nominative form, similar to another native English gender-neutral pronoun, "a." Either that, or these forms exist, and the researchers just didn't collect them.[258][259]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke yo laughs.Accusative: (N/A?)Pronominal possessive: (N/A?)Predicative possessive: (N/A?)Reflexive: (N/A?)Zhezhe, zhim, zher, zhers, ?. (Compare similar pronoun sets such as xe, ze, and zie.) Created by Fred Foldvary in 2003 as a gender-neutral or inclusive pronoun. In this case, the Z is pronounced as in "azure."[260] In 2014, Deborah Rogers mentioned having a student who asked to be called by these pronouns.[261]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke zhe laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug zhim.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, zher hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow zhers.Reflexive: ?ZeThere are several similar sets of neologistic gender-neutral pronouns that use "xe," "ze," "zhe," or "zie" in nominative form. Regardless of spelling, their nominative form is pronounced "zee," and was based on the pronoun sie. The earliest documented version was created in 1972.[262] In alphabetical order, versions of this pronoun set include:
ze, em, zeir, zeirs, zeirself. Singer songwriter Jennifer Moore (memevector) invented these "memevector pronouns" in 2002. They are meant to sound similar to how other pronouns are pronounced in casual conversation. They are meant to be gender-free pronouns.[263][264]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke ze laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug em.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, zeir hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow zeirs.Reflexive: Each child feeds zeirself.ze, hir, hir, hirs, hirself. Compare the similar "xe, hir..." set, which is the version less attested by print sources. Sarah Dopp wrote a blog post about the "ze" version in 2006.[265] Leslie Feinberg also used the "ze" version in the book Drag King Dreams (2006),[266] Erika Lopez used the "ze" version in The Girl Must Die: A Monster Girl Memoir (2010).[267] M. J. Locke used the "ze" version in the book Up Against It (2011).[268]
Use in real life and non-fiction:Kate Bornstein used them in the books Nearly Roadkill (1996) (with Caitlin Sullivan June)[269], and My Gender Workbook (1998) in reference to hirself, and to other specific transgender people, as well as hypothetical persons of unspecified gender.[270]
Use in fiction:
Kameron Hurley used these pronouns in the fantasy novels The Mirror Empire and Empire Ascendant, for characters who are ataisa, an in-between gender role where their culture puts everyone who has a nonbinary gender.[271]In Seth Dickinson's short science fiction story, "Sekhmet Hunts the Dying Gnosis: A Computation" (2014), a transhuman character of "uncertain ... sex" is called by the pronoun "ze," which only appears in the nominative form.[272]In K. A. Cook's short story "Blue Paint, Chocolate and Other Similes," in Crooked Words, when the narrator Ben recognizes that Chris identifies as nonbinary, Ben begins using "ze, hir" pronouns for Chris, before finding a good moment to ask for Chris's actual pronoun preference.[273] In another story by K. A. Cook, "The Differently Animated and Queer Society," the character Pat goes by "ze, hir" pronouns, and uses them for other characters before finding out each of their own pronoun preferences.[274]The Len'en Wiki, an English wiki about a Japanese video game series, uses these pronouns as standard because nearly all the characters in the game series do not have a known gender.Use for real non-binary people:Kate Bornstein goes by these "ze, hir" pronouns. Leslie Feinberg asked to be called by "ze, hir" pronouns, along with "zie, hir" and "she."[275] In a magazine interview from 2014, Gabriel Antonio and another anonymous person both asked to be called by these pronouns.[276]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke xe laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug hir.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, hir hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow hirs.Reflexive: Each child feeds hirself.On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/ze
ze, mer, mzer, zers, zemself. Created earlier than 1997. Proposed by Richard E. Creel, a professor teaching philosophy of religion courses, to refer a person of any gender, and specifically to God. This was meant to help scholars think of God as neither male nor female. Creel said the M in "mer" comes from that in "him."[277].
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke ze laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug mer.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, mzer hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow zers.Reflexive: Each child feeds zemself.ze, zim, zees, zees, zeeself. Created in 1972 by Steven Polgar of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, explaining that it is based on the German pronoun sie. This was printed in the Newsletter of the American Anthropological Association.[278][279]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke ze laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug zim.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, zees hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow zees.Reflexive: Each child feeds zeeself.Ziezie, zir (zim), zir, zirs, zirself. (Compare the most similar pronoun set, "ze, zir", and other similar pronouns, "xe" and "zhe".) The Gender Neutral Pronoun FAQ says this set (with the "zie" spelling, and accusative "zir") was widely used on the Internet at the time, but doesn't know when it was created.[280] Andr(C)s P(C)rez-Bergquist recommended this set (with the "zie" spelling, and accusative "zim") in 2000, but claims not to have created it.[281]This set (with the "zie" spelling, and accusative "zir") is in the fantasy setting of Bard Bloom's World Tree, for the many characters with sexes other than female or male. Many species in this setting have such sexes, including the protagonist of a book in that setting, Sythyry's Journal, which was first serialized as a blog starting in 2002. The setting also has a role-playing game handbook, World Tree: A role playing game of species and civilization (2001).
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke zie laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug zir. (Or hug zim.)Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, zir hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow zirs.Reflexive: Each child feeds zirself.On Pronoun Island:http://pronoun.is/zie
e¾e, ¾im, ¾ir, ¾irs, ?. A non-standard set of gender-neutral pronouns created by John Newmeyer, Ph.D, of San Francisco, and printed in The People's Almanac #2 (1978). Newmeyer also created a proper noun for a person whose gender isn't specified, as a counterpart to the nouns "man" and "woman:" ¾ane, or "thane."[282] These use the Old English letter ¾, called "thorn," which represents an unvoiced "th" sound, as in the English word "thin." "Thane" is derived from an English word for a specific kind of land-owner, who historically would have been only male.
In fiction: In Melissa Scott's science fiction novel Shadow Man (1995), this is one of the pronouns used for a specific intersex sex/gender.[283]
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke ¾e laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug ¾im.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, ¾ir hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ¾irs.Reflexive: ?È'e3e, 3im, 3er, 3ers, 3imself. In Melissa Scott's science fiction novel Shadow Man (1995), intersex conditions have become so common that society categorizes people into five sexes (and five corresponding genders), each with their own set of pronouns.[284] Scott says the novel's concept is inspired by feminist Anne Fausto-Sterling's plea for recognition of the existence of intersexuality, "The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough" (1993).[285] In Scott's novel, the people use 3e pronouns for those of the "herm" gender. Although the first consonant looks similar to a 3, and may be printed as such, it is a letter from Middle English called "yogh," and Scott meant it to be pronounced like a Z.[286] Compare similar "ze, zim" pronouns.
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke 3e laughs.Accusative: When I greet a friend I hug 3im.Pronominal possessive: When someone does not get a haircut, 3er hair grows long.Predicative possessive: If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow 3ers.Reflexive: Each child feeds 3imself.e°e, ?, ?, ?, ?. In Melissa Scott's science fiction novel Shadow Man (1995), this is one of the pronouns used for a specific intersex sex which, in that culture, has its own corresponding gender.[287][288] This pronoun uses an Old English letter named "eth," pronounced like the "th." Compare similar ¾e pronouns.
Forms:
Nominative: When I tell someone a joke °e laughs.Accusative: ?Pronominal possessive: ?Predicative possessive: ?Reflexive: ?Esperanto neutral pronounsNormally, Esperanto doesn't have any neutral pronouns for people, only female or male. Some proposed grammatical reforms suggest adding a neutral pronoun. The problem with reforms is that the mean that, since you're not speaking dictionary Esperanto, many speakers won't understand you. Esperanto is supposed to be so uniform that everyone speaks it the same and can understand it. For more information about this issue, see Wikipedia's article gender reform in Esperanto.
Some proposed gender-neutral pronouns in non-standard Esperanto include:
gi. "A popular proposal because it is iconic: in writing, it resembles Ä'i, which it also resembles in meaning, and it is similar to the occasionally epicene prefix ge-. This makes it readily recognizable. Also along these lines is the use of the epicene prefix itself, geli."[289]
hi. Proposed "so that the gendered pronouns hi and Å'i both derive from English."[290]
li. A common proposed neutral pronoun that is "related to the epicene plural ili 'they'".[291]
ri. "Riist Esperanto," or "Riisim," is a grammatical reform to Esperanto that makes the language more gender-neutral in several ways. One of these changes is to replace the gendered pronouns entirely with the neutral pronoun ri. This was popular for some time for the Esperanto community on the Internet in the 1990s.[292]
Å'li (sxli). "Instantly recognizable to most Esperantists ... This is just the reading pronunciation of the abbreviation Å'/li, the equivalent of English "s/he", and is not infrequently seen in informal writing."[293]
Estonian neutral pronounsSome neutral pronouns in Estonian language (eesti keel) include:
tema, teda, tema. Formal.[294]
ta, teda, tema.[295]
Finnish neutral pronounsThe Finnish language (suomen kieli) doesn't have grammatical gender. There are no pronouns that specifically mean "she" or "he". Everyone is called by the genderless pronoun h¤n.
h¤n, h¤nen. Formal.[296]
se, sen. Means "it." Informal.[297]
German neutral pronounsPeople have proposed these neutral pronouns for in the German language (Deutsch):
er*.[298]
er_sie.[299]
es. This means "it," and isn't usually used for people. Only use this pronoun for people who ask to be called by it. Some nonbinary people do reclaim it for themselves.[300][301]
man. This is like "one" in English.[302]
sie. Usually, when this pronoun is used for a person, it means "she." However, it can also mean "they," so some people use it as a neutral pronoun, like "they" in English.[303]
sie*.[304]
sie_er.[305]
sie_r.[306]
sier.[307]
si*er.[308]
si:er.[309]
si_er.[310][311]
sif.[312]
x.[313]
xier, xieser, dier. For a person of any gender. Xier, instead of he or it, pronounced [ksi:É̯]; xieser, a possessive pronoun instead of ihr and sein; and dier, an article and relative pronoun, instead of die and der, pronounced [ksi:zÉ], and [di:É̯]. [314][315]
xier, xies, xiem, xien.[316]
Portuguese neutral pronounsSee also: gender neutral language - Portuguese and glossary of Portuguese gender and sex terminology.
The Portuguese language (portuguªs) doesn't normally have neutral pronouns. However, people have created some new, neutral pronouns, which are used in some groups. These include:
el..., del.... This uses an ... (ae) to show ambiguity of the letter.[317]
el@, del@. This uses an @ (at symbol) to show ambiguity of the letter.[318]
elx, delx. This uses an x to show ambiguity of the letter. This only works in writing. It can't be said out loud.[319]
Spanish neutral pronounsSee also: gender neutral language - Spanish and glossary of Spanish gender and sex terminology.
The Spanish language (espa±ol) doesn't normally have neutral pronouns. However, people have created some new, neutral pronouns, which are used in some groups that are sensitive about LGBT, feminist, and social justice issues. Most of these neutral pronouns work by taking the feminine pronoun, ella, and the standard abstract neuter pronoun ello (which can't be used for people), and substituting a different letter or symbol for the masculine "o" or feminine "a" ending. This approach of substituting a letter is shared by creating other parts of gender neutral language in Spanish, such as neutral-gender endings for adjectives. See gender neutral language - Spanish for information about that. These new, neutral pronouns include:
ell_. A neutral pronoun that can't be said out loud. This is less common. The _ (underscore) means that the "a" or "o" is left out.[320]
ell*. A neutral pronoun that can't be said out loud. This is less common. The * (asterisk) means that the "a" or "o" is left out. Compare the splat *e pronouns in English, which work by the same idea.[321]
ell.... A neutral pronoun. This is less common.[322]
ell@. A neutral pronoun that can't be said out loud, or else is pronounced like "ellao". This is non-standard, but one of the most common of these. The @ (at symbol) is meant to be seen as a mix between an "a" and an "o".[323]
elle. A neutral pronoun that can be easily said out loud. This is non-standard, but one of the most common of these.[324]
elli. A neutral pronoun that can be said out loud. It's uncommonly used.[325]
ellu. A neutral pronoun that can be said out loud. It's uncommonly used.[326]
ellx. A neutral pronoun that can't be said out loud. This non-standard, but one of the more common of these. Note that, unlike English coinages such as "princex," which is only for people of color, a neutral x in Spanish is not only for people of color. "Ellx" can be used by white people as well.[327]
Swedish neutral pronounsIn 2014, the Swedish language (Svenska) officially added a new gender-neutral pronoun, hen, which is popular among Swedish-speaking nonbinary people.
de, dem (dom), deras.[328]
den, den, dens (dess). Means 'it'. This isn't usually used for humans.[329]
hen, hen (henom), hens (henoms). This neutral pronoun was first proposed in 1966, and then independently in 1994, based on the Finnish neutral pronoun h¤n. It came to be used in magazines and books during the 2000s and 2010s. In 2014, it was officially added to the language. Hen is used for people whose gender is not known, as well as for nonbinary people who ask to be called by this pronoun. It's not meant to replace the gendered pronouns hon ("she") and han ("he"), but to exist together with them. For more information, see the Wikipedia entry on hen.
Use for non-binary peopleAlthough many gender-neutral pronouns were created to speak of no specific person, some non-binary people adopt these pronouns for themselves. They ask that other people call them only by one particular set of gender-neutral pronouns. This can be a part of a non-binary person's social transition.
Examples of specific non-binary people's pronounsSome non-binary people ask to be called by gender-neutral pronouns. Other non-binary people ask to be called by "he" or "she" pronouns, some of whom see that as a gender-neutral use of those words. The use of binary pronouns doesn't necessarily mean that someone has a binary gender identity. Some non-binary people have more than one set of pronouns that they are okay with people using for them.
He. Some specific non-binary people who ask to be called by "he" pronouns include comedian Eddie Izzard, writer Richard O'Brien, songwriter Antony Hegarty, and guitarist Pete Townshend.
She. Non-binary gender people who ask people to use "she" pronouns for them include actor Rain Dove, singer-songwriter Ellie Jackson, musician JD Samson, singer Kieran Strange, and actor Tilda Swinton.
They. Some nonbinary people ask to be called by "singular they" pronouns, including writer Ivan E. Coyote, actor Tom Phelan, actor Jiz Lee, singer-songwriter Rae Spoon, and rapper Raeen Roes.
Other pronouns. Nonbinary people who go by other pronouns include singer Mx Justin Vivian Bond, who goes by v pronouns. "Ze, hir" pronouns are the preferred pronouns of activist Kate Bornstein and revolutionary communist Leslie Feinberg (who also went by she)[330].
SurveysThere have been a few surveys on gender-neutral pronouns and pronoun preferences.
How to change your pronounsIf you are nonbinary and want to change your pronouns, this is a purely social part of your transition, rather than one using paperwork. First, you need to put a lot of thought into choosing pronouns that feel satisfactory to you. Research and experiment to find out what feels right. Next, you need to tell other people. As a part of social transition, you need cooperation from other people in order to be called by the pronouns you want, so it's important to keep your composure as well as stay firm. You can help remind people of your pronouns by wearing them on a badge or writing them in your Twitter profile.
Choosing your pronounsFirst, form your opinions on what you want from your new pronouns. Next, list your favorite pronouns, and compare them to your opinions so that you can list their pros and cons. Meanwhile, test your favorite pronouns out loud and in writing, to see how they feel to you in action.
Form opinions
The first step of choosing your pronouns is to form your criteria for what you want from your pronouns. Some traits are mutually exclusive, so you need to weigh your own opinions about what you think makes a good or personally suitable pronoun. Here is a sample list of criteria you could consider. Copy this list into another document, and write numbers next to the criteria to rank them by their priority to you. Think about what traits matter to you, even if they are not on this list.
You want to be basically the only person with these pronounsYou want to have these pronouns in common with many real peoplePronounceable, easy to say out loudEasy to spellNo rare lettersFits into a sentence seamlesslyAccessible, easy for people to use who have trouble with EnglishOld, created a long time agoNewCommonly usedRareUnique and creativeSounds like a mix of "she" and "he" pronounsDoesn't sound at all like "she" or "he", to get more distance from the gender binarySounds like a standard English pronoun, but with a twistPart of native EnglishSymbolic, describes you or your genderSounds like your nameSounds like the word for your genderSounds cool, tough, pretty, whimsical, serious, or something else like thatAssociated with your interests, community, or culturePart of a dialectCulturally neutralYour friends and family like themEasy to persuade other people that it's okay to use these pronouns for youSatisfactory to people who are strict about grammarSlangy, fits well into informal speechFits well into formal writingThe above list is only an example. If you like, you can use it as inspiration to create your own list from scratch.
Compare them
Next, after you decide what criteria you want for your pronouns, browse the alphabetical list of all pronouns above. Write down a list of the ones you like. Put them in a table, with columns for what you see as the good and bad traits of those pronouns. After you finish assessing them all, write down your concluding opinion about each in the last column. Here is a small example of such a table.
PronounProsConsConclusionve, verselfUsed in a book I likeDoesn't sound right to meMaybe noE, EmselfCommon, easy to sayToo short?Maybe yesYou can use the above table as your template. Create your own table in a word processor, or draw it by hand in your journal. Although the above table only compares two sets of pronouns, you can add rows for as many pronouns that interest you. You don't need to form your conclusions on all pronouns in one sitting. Perhaps over the course of a few days, take your time to form your opinions on each pronoun set, and return periodically to add more notes to your pronoun table.
Test them
At the same time as you work on the above table of pros and cons, test the pronouns that you might like. Try them in several ways: in writing, out loud, and in reference to you. If you have friends who understand, test out having them call you by these pronouns for a little while. You can help your friends with this by wearing a pronoun badge (see below). You can also test how your pronouns look in writing by using web-sites that put them into a text. Such sites include Failedslacker's Pronoun Dressing Room and PracticeWithPronouns.com. You may find that you feel differently about the pronouns when they are in action, and when they are in reference to you.
Announcing your change of pronounsWhen you have settled on your favorite set of pronouns, you need to tell people, so they can start using them for you. Announce it to them by a handwritten letter, e-mail, or blog post. Keep your message polite, and say "please" and "thank you." In order to be complete, and to address the first questions the reader might ask, your announcement should include these parts:
Opening: Assuming that you have already come out to these people as nonbinary, your announcement message should open with a reminder of that, as part of the explanation for why you want to change your pronouns.List all the grammatical forms of your new pronouns.Show people how to use these pronouns by giving an example of them in use in a sentence or several.You might tell how to pronounce the pronouns.Briefly say why you chose these pronouns rather than others.If you use two sets of pronouns, explain which set is more appropriate, under what conditions.Conclusion: Request that people use these pronouns for you.Based on the above, here is a sample letter of a fictional person announcing their pronoun change. You can use it as a template for writing your own.
Dear Stuart,
As you know, I have a nonbinary gender identity, meaning that I don't think of myself as a woman or a man. I'm transitioning to a gender expression that feels more like the real me. Since being called "he" or "she" doesn't feel right to me, I have decided to change my pronouns to singular they (they, them, their, theirs, themself). For an example of these pronouns in a couple sentences: "They are Morgan, that's them. They will read their book by themself". I like these singular gender-neutral pronouns the best because they were used by Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and other great writers. They have been a part of English for a long time. From now on, please call me by "they" pronouns, instead of "he" or "she".
Thank you,
Mx Morgan Doe
You can also use the above sample letter as a template for writing an e-mail, just by leaving out the signature. Use it as a template for a blog post by leaving out the salutation.
Pronoun badgesTo help other people remember which pronouns you want to be called by, you can wear a badge, jewelry, accessory, or piece of clothing with your pronouns written on it. You can use craft materials to create your own badge, or you can buy one from craft workers. Some examples of these makers, and the different kinds of pronoun badges that they make:
Rosemary Rain Studios hand-makes banner-shaped pins with custom pronouns on them.Non-Newtonian Gender Fluid makes adhesive labels and pin-back badges that look like common "Hello My Name Is" stickers, but below your name, you have your pronouns. This can suit you if you want to remind people of your new name as well as your new pronouns. If you use a wet erase pen on the pin-back badges, you can change your name and pronouns as often as you need.Spacerobot Studio makes necklaces that have charms that you can flip over to show your current pronoun. This can suit you if you change your pronouns very often, because of being genderfluid, or just experimenting with what pronouns you like best.Synsyne makes pin-back badges that say "Today my pronouns are..." with a blank space to write on with a wet erase marker. This is also suitable for folks who often change their pronouns.The Paper Poppy Store makes metal pendants and keychains hand-stamped with your pronouns. These can suit you if you also wear dog tags or want a rugged look.Patches N Cream and emBOIdery hand-embroider pronoun patches of the kind that you can put on a punk jacket.Hat's More Like It, CoziesByElliot, and CometBirthmark make hand-knit hats with big pronouns on them.The above list gives only a few examples of those who sell pronouns you can wear. If you search for "pronouns" on Etsy.com or Storenvy.com, you will likely find your pronouns on things by many more makers. You can find many who make printed pin-back badges, as well as punk-style hand-embroidered patches. Take some time to browse and find a badge that really says you. For an easy comparison, see a collection of many sellers that make pronoun accessories and clothing on the Wear Your Pronouns pinboard. To keep it short and not overwhelming, the pinboard shows only one or two pictures for each seller.
Virtual badgesYou can also wear a virtual badge by writing your pronouns in your profiles on the Internet. Although this may have started with nonbinary folks, it is becoming common practice for transgender and cisgender people alike to put their pronouns in their Internet profiles. Here is a made-up example of a Twitter profile that gives pronouns:
Mx Morgan Doe
Liberal Arts major, author. 23. Nonbinary. Pronouns: they, them, their, theirs, themself.
You can use the above example as a template for writing your own. If space is too limited to list all the forms of your pronoun, you can instead write only the nominative form of your pronoun ("Pronoun: they") or only the reflexive form ("Pronoun: themself"). The above example is also just right for the sidebar profile in sites such as Tumblr.com. On social networking web-sites that let you write longer profiles, you can tell more about your pronouns. For an example of how to write about them, use some traits from the template letter that is higher on this page. Limit your talk about your pronouns to a paragraph or two, at most.
In order to make it easier for people to put their pronouns in profiles with limited space, @morganastra and @thelseraphim created a web-site called Pronoun Island. Anyone can use it to create a link to a page that lists their pronouns and how to use them. For some pronouns that are built into the project, the web address is very short, so it's ideal for Twitter. People can also ask on Github for more pronouns to be added in the short form.
Pronoun etiquetteMany binary and nonbinarytransgender folk experience gender dysphoria when people refer to them using the wrong pronouns. For those who don't pass as well as they'd like, being called by the wrong gender (misgendered) with the wrong pronouns is a common problem with a lot of work involved. An individual, upon being misgendered, is forced to either do the coming out spiel or grin and bear it, making the coming out later more awkward. If someone corrects you on their pronouns, the best way you can help is to start using their preferred pronouns right away without argument.
If your pronouns are unusual, or aren't what people think of as matching your gender expression, you may have to get used to reminding people to use them, and explaining them to people a lot. Learn people's common questions and objections to your pronouns, and rehearse your responses to them, so that you can keep your composure.
A person can have more than one set of pronouns that they want people to use for them. For example, suppose that your favorite set of pronouns might be "ze, hir." However, you don't want these to make an accessibility problem for people who have trouble with English, or maybe there are some situations where you don't feel safe using them, or don't feel up to the challenge of getting people to use them. In that case, you have decided to let people also call you by a second set of pronouns (auxiliary pronouns) that you like almost but not quite as much: "she, her." For another example, some genderfluid people feel comfortable or uncomfortable with certain pronouns depending on their current feelings about their gender identity. As a result, they feel the need to alternate pronouns, and ask to be called by different pronouns at different times.
Unusual pronouns can make trouble for people who speak English as a second language, or who have disabilities that make it harder for them to speak and understand English. Unusual pronouns are difficult to understand for people who lipread.[331] If you and another person have difficulty using unusual pronouns for people for these reasons, then it is acceptable and appropriate to ask a person if they have another set of pronouns that you can use in that case.[332]
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New York: Serpent's Tail, 1996, p. 10.'Kate Bornstein, My Gender Workbook. 1st ed. 1998, p. 106-107, 119, 130-131, 154, 248.'Kameron Hurley, "Beyond He-Man and She-Ra: Writing nonbinary characters." https://intellectusspeculativus.wordpress.com/2014/09/03/guest-post-beyond-he-man-she-ra-writing-non-binary-characters-by-kameron-hurley/'Seth Dickinson, "Sekhmet Hunts the Dying Gnosis: A Computation." Beneath Ceaseless Skies, issue 143. March 20, 2014. http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/sekhmet-hunts-the-dying-gnosis-a-computation/'K. A. Cook, "Blue Paint, Chocolate and Other Similes." Crooked Words. Unpaged.'K. A. Cook, "The Differently Animated and Queer Society." Crooked Words. Unpaged.'Minnie Bruce Pratt, "Transgender Pioneer and Stone Butch Blues Author Leslie Feinberg Has Died." Advocate. 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