To tell the truth, I find the idea of listing my preferred pronouns annoying and misguided. (By the way, it’s “she/her” if you really need to know. But why do you need to know?) Why annoying?
- We “liberals” are accused of being out of touch with what I would call “real people.” And how far out of touch could we be when we spend time on that game when other people are worrying about the economy, and cruel deportations, and challenges to our education system, and the price of eggs.
- I suppose it’s intended to recognize LGBTQ+ rights, but it seems to me that all it does is keep us focused on the gender issue as if that ID is the first thing we want to know about someone?
- On the other hand, as a writer I’m glad we’re loosening up the language so we can apply “they/them” in reference to a single person as in “I’m concerned about the welfare of the foreign student who ran into trouble believing they had the right of protest.” I’m glad I no longer have to go through the shenanigans of, “I’m concerned about the welfare of the foreign student who ran into trouble believing he/she had the right of protest”. Or “Consider the shopper who was shocked at the price of eggs when he/she discovered the change.” How much tidier when the new rules allow me to say, “Consider the shopper who was shocked at the price of eggs when they discovered the change.”
- General question: What do we really want to emphasize in our daily interactions with others. (And by the way, does “others” really have to be seen as a bad word?)
Just sayin’
monagustafsonaffinito 