A New Human

What are your pronouns? Ah, the question behind many arguments that is often falsely represented as being a sudden intruder in our lives. But what are pronouns exactly? A pronoun, by definition, is “the way someone wants people to refer to them.” Pronouns are how we identify ourselves and how someone may refer to us in a conversation. The practice of using they/them, a common gender-neutral pronoun, has been grossly oversold as an undesirable byproduct of woke culture and a detriment to our civilization, a dirty tactic orchestrated by an invisible enemy that does not exist.

The vitriol spewed towards pronouns by a particular segment of people should be directed at their lack of education. We constantly hear these people claiming that they do not use pronouns and that it’s a crime against language to use “invented pronouns” like they/them. The actual crime is how he or she believes he or she is not a pronoun user. Pronouns are not a choice; they are a linguistic necessity. Almost everyone uses pronouns, whether to refer to others or themselves. However, even with the rise of some groups who “don’t do” pronouns for whatever idiotic reason, these people still admit to the existence of pronouns.

Pronouns have always been a part of language, and language continues to develop. This is an irrefutable truth that some people ignore due to having distorted beliefs or an inadequate education. Generic personal pronouns “he, she, and they” were created by us, and then those pronouns became commonplace. They are not the only set of pronouns people can use. And, just like we made them, we can create thousands more.

It’s hard to pinpoint when we started using generic pronouns. However, tracing the origins of gender-neutral pronouns, coined “neopronouns,” has become a bit easier over the past few years. In 1789, William H. Marshall documented the singular pronoun “ou.” According to Dennis E. Baron’s “Grammar and Gender,” Ou was alternately used instead of the basic “he, she, and it” variety. This may not be familiar to many, but it marks the birth of a wave of other neopronouns that are relevant and deeply rooted in our language.

In 1841, Francis A. Brewster coined a new set of neopronouns with e/es/em. Charles Crozat Converse, a composer, would shortly follow, creating thon/thons three years later. Both are still used to this day. The enigmatic writer J.W.L. introduced ze in 1864. In 1920, some editors at The Sacramento Bee created the neopronoun hir. Ze/hir are a package deal, acting as the go-to personal pronouns for non-binary and gender nonconforming folks.

Let’s embrace the truth about language: it’s a living entity that evolves because of us, not in spite of us. If pronouns were part of an agenda, then language itself is the agenda. It’s a testament to our adaptability and inclusivity that we’ve created and embraced new pronouns over time.

One can go on and on about all the pronouns coined through the years, proving that language is alive and well. For instance, German has three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. In Arabic, gender-neutral pronouns have the same usage as they/them. However, xenophobes are xenophobes, and they have decided to ignore the possibility of using these pronouns as gender-neutral ones.

The same decision of ignoring neopronouns can be seen in how people refuse to admit that the singular pronoun “they” was used by renowned writers credited for being the greatest in English literature. We see singular they used in William Shakespeare’s works and also in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. No one would have imagined they would be used today as a gender-neutral pronoun or that over 100 sets of pronouns exist, like fae/faer and xe/xem. Your choice to accept or to refuse does not change the reality around us or the truth behind language.

Language is designed to change. It’s not static and never will be. If we can create pronouns that accommodate both singular and plural, we can certainly accept they/them as gender-neutral pronouns. If we can introduce the prefix Ms., then there’s no reason to resist embracing Mx (pronounced as “mix”) as a gender-neutral alternative. The problem isn’t with the evolution of speech or words. The problem is when people choose to ridicule someone’s preferred pronouns, a behavior they would find offensive if the tables were turned.

Another meaningless argument is the correlation pronouns have with gender. Like pronouns, we created gender. We created he and she andhow we view ourselves as only male or female. As the definitive makers of human life, we can easily create more genders or cancel one entirely. With the use of pronouns that affirm one’s gender identity, people complain that they can no longer recognize the gender of the person in front of them.

The real question is, why should they care? It doesn’t alter or impact their lives to know if the person in front of them is male or female. The time wasted on irrelevant gatekeeping could be used for more meaningful purposes. Real people are suffering while thousands, millions even, waste valuable resources to dehumanize and strip the rights away from their fellow friends and neighbors. The laws created daily to abolish preferred pronouns, and people’s unequivocal right to be who they are is the only agenda we should fight against.

In Egypt, you cannot say out loud that your pronouns are they/them or any other gender-neutral pronouns. You could be killed if you admit to identifying as trans or queer or homosexual. Egyptians cannot even talk about the existence of non-binary or gender nonconforming people because they still cannot talk about the existence of trans and gay people. Yet, many still choose their pronouns even if they hide them from strangers and walk on eggshells. Living in fear is neither fun nor a privilege.

But you know what would be fun? For people to choose any pronoun for themselves without constant harassment. It would be great for folks not to be misgendered on every corner they turn because they don’t fit what society expects them to be. It would be great if, one day, the act of transitioning could be met with compassion and solidarity because we, as a society, stopped caring about what someone’s gender is.

The best we can do is be a decent human. All of us should be good people to one another, regardless of a person’s identity or pronoun. It took hundreds of years for neopronouns to erase the stereotypical lines of gender, and it took a hundred more for people to free themselves from the shackles of how identity is often perceived as fixed. If our societies can consider gendering God as he or she, then change is always possible. Don Rickter coined xe/xem in 1973 and called it a “unisex” pronoun to use for God so people could avoid “a patriarchal hierarchy.”

Change will never be a new concept.

One just has to wait for it. We can wait for a day when we don’t have to state our gender to explain our pronouns. We can wait for a day when no one makes a commotion that the person in front of them doesn’t want to be called a man or a woman. We can wait for a day when gender finally has no meaning, and the only thing that would matter then would be the fact that we are all humans. That is what should matter.

We can wait for change, and we can wait for the creation of a new human. One who only has to state their name, and that’s it.