One of my close friends goes by his middle name because he shared a first name with the man who mercilessly beat him at every opportunity. I go by a nickname because I share a name with a meth addict rodeo cowboy who was never a part of my life.
Adding to that, the opposition to using “they/them” pronouns seems ridiculous too. There are entire countries where using singular pronouns while talking to/about someone is considered extremely offensive and referring to individuals by using plural pronouns is the norm.
If billions of people can manage without getting confused about whether or not you’re talking about an individual or group of people, I’m sure that even the English speakers who are opposed to this because of the “confusion” it causes can do it with very little effort - especially since third person gender neutral pronouns are already a thing in English!
If anyone’s getting “confused” it’s clearly not the language’s fault.
Maybe they should get their brains looked at, if they’re so easily “confused” by something that’s been in use for centuries without any issues.
(¹ Also, nothing to do with this, but the more I read about it the more that 1375 work cited as the first appearance, William and the Werewolf / Guillaume de Palerne, looks like a medieval version of modern furry smut, or the kind of stuff Anne Rice used to write before she caught religion…)
We also used to have a singular version of the pronoun “you”, which was thou, but somehow people are able to cope with you being both singular and plural. But telling them that they has been both singular and plural for over 700 years is way too much for them to cope with.
Although most people seem to no longer use you as plural. And use you guys, you all, etc because of ambiguity. Similar case with probably happen with they/them and people will learn to communicate singular and plural, no need stop the language progression.
Hell,l it’s even the norm in US English. People use “they/them” instead of “he” or “she” all of the time depending on the context. And nobody bats a fucking eye.
That’s not a reason many Republicans would accept though. They think being beaten by a relative is a good thing. Especially if the person being beaten is a child.
Yeah I’m trans and my wife is a cis lady and neither of our current legal names are our birth name. No one’s used my birth name for at least a decade but when we visit my in-laws I’m the only one who doesn’t call her by hers. Always amuses me when I stop to think about it.
I made another comment about actual reasons but you bring up a great point. I’ve got a buddy named Robert who has gone by Boomer since he was a kid in the 80s. I don’t think he remembers his real name is Robert.
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One of my close friends goes by his middle name because he shared a first name with the man who mercilessly beat him at every opportunity. I go by a nickname because I share a name with a meth addict rodeo cowboy who was never a part of my life.
Adding to that, the opposition to using “they/them” pronouns seems ridiculous too. There are entire countries where using singular pronouns while talking to/about someone is considered extremely offensive and referring to individuals by using plural pronouns is the norm.
If billions of people can manage without getting confused about whether or not you’re talking about an individual or group of people, I’m sure that even the English speakers who are opposed to this because of the “confusion” it causes can do it with very little effort - especially since third person gender neutral pronouns are already a thing in English!
Singular they has been in use in English since at least 1375¹, without anyone getting confused or complaining until these homophobic snowflakes.
If anyone’s getting “confused” it’s clearly not the language’s fault.
Maybe they should get their brains looked at, if they’re so easily “confused” by something that’s been in use for centuries without any issues.
(¹ Also, nothing to do with this, but the more I read about it the more that 1375 work cited as the first appearance, William and the Werewolf / Guillaume de Palerne, looks like a medieval version of modern furry smut, or the kind of stuff Anne Rice used to write before she caught religion…)
We also used to have a singular version of the pronoun “you”, which was thou, but somehow people are able to cope with you being both singular and plural. But telling them that they has been both singular and plural for over 700 years is way too much for them to cope with.
And in New York, youse is both singular and plural.
Although most people seem to no longer use you as plural. And use you guys, you all, etc because of ambiguity. Similar case with probably happen with they/them and people will learn to communicate singular and plural, no need stop the language progression.
Hell,l it’s even the norm in US English. People use “they/them” instead of “he” or “she” all of the time depending on the context. And nobody bats a fucking eye.
That’s not a reason many Republicans would accept though. They think being beaten by a relative is a good thing. Especially if the person being beaten is a child.
No no, you got that wrong: it’s only good if the man beats his wife and children
I go by nickname because so many other people have my name, and it gets annoying. It was a little empowering at a young age as well.
Like participating in online discussion. I find it crazy that so many people just use their real name as their online handle.
Yeah I’m trans and my wife is a cis lady and neither of our current legal names are our birth name. No one’s used my birth name for at least a decade but when we visit my in-laws I’m the only one who doesn’t call her by hers. Always amuses me when I stop to think about it.
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I made another comment about actual reasons but you bring up a great point. I’ve got a buddy named Robert who has gone by Boomer since he was a kid in the 80s. I don’t think he remembers his real name is Robert.