Blog II: He/She/They/Ze

 

I have read a couple of papers and articles on sex and gender norms. Before reading this paper I had asked two of my friends “Do you guys introduce yourselves with pronouns in any of your classes?”.  My friends responded with a firm “Yes”, stating that they have been doing so since freshman year. I was surprised because I could not think of a time I was asked to share my pronouns in class. I do however, introduce myself with pronouns whenever I meet new people. I started doing so when I became an orientation leader, and this year my fellow leaders and I really reinforced the importance of sharing your pronouns.  A little while later I asked my friends “Why is it that you have been asked to share your pronouns, but I haven’t?” and one of them brought up an interesting point on how social norms in a business school environment are different than those from a liberal arts study environment. She went on talking about how new ideas and perspectives are easily accepted from a liberal arts  point of view than from any of the hard science and business points of view. Her words gave me something to think about as I started to read “He/She/They/Ze” by Robin Dembroff and Daniel Wodek. 

Dembroof and Wodek’s paper defended two major claims. The first claim was called the “Moderate Claim” which emphasized that we should not have to use binary (he/she) pronouns to refer to genderqueer individuals. The second claim is called the “Radical Claim” which emphasizes that we should not have to use any gender specific pronouns to refer to anybody. Before reading this paper, I essentially  believed in the Moderate Claim and that we should respect all people and call them by their preferred pronouns. I had not, however, thought of the Radical Claim of not using any gender specific pronouns to refer to anyone. That being said, I was looking forward to reading how the authors would elaborate on that. 

Having read papers and seen documentaries on the point of views of transgender persons, I easily  agreed with a lot of the points that Dembroof and Wodek made regarding why the Moderate Claim should be respected. The same way that it is our duty to not misgender a transgender person, it is also our duty to not use binary pronouns to refer to non-binary people. Both arguments made sense to me and I respect both equally. It all really comes down to respect and the ability to be compassionate. Misgendering an individual not only  disrespects their social identity, but also disrespects the entire marginalized gender identity (376).  I like how the authors talked about microaggressions to explain this because I think that’s one of the easiest ways to get someone to understand a new perspective. 

One of the questions posed in the paper was “ Should we use gender-neutral pronouns like they, rather than binary gender-specific pronouns (i.e., he or she) in relation to genderqueer individuals? Or, more radically, should we just use a gender-neutral pronoun like they for everyone?” (372). When first reading that I said to myself, of course why not? I had not realized that “They” as a pronoun would have problematic implications for trans people. Using the pronoun “They” would invalidate the preferred pronouns of trans people and someone who identifies as a man or woman. It was eye opening because I had not realized that “They” is in fact not gender- neutral. Using a single pronoun like “They” to refer to all non-binary persons is inegalitarian. I am a strong believer that gender is a social construct, but I was not aware that there were 31 genders and that there are a plurality of ways of being non-binary. After learning this information, I agree with the authors that a single pronoun to refer  to all non-binary people is not quite the answer. I also agree with the issues that could arise if we gave every gender its own pronoun. That being said, I agree with the introduction to a new gender-neutral singular pronoun of “Ze”. Yes it would be an adjustment for some people to make, but language is always changing as we advance and develop as a society. Adding an extra pronoun to my vocabulary is worth it if it means that I would be inclusive to an already marginalized social identity.