Peony
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- Mar 10, 2016
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Many of us have difficulty recognizing that we are accidently offending or inadvertently “hating” people who self-imagine their gender. See, many of these people claim that they are not the same gender from one day to the next or even one hour to the next. Their gender flucuates with their mood. Thus, during the various incarnations of their gender identities, others will inevitably fail to properly address them. Therefore, the University of Wisconsin Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center offers a web site to guide us through the labyrinth of made-up pronouns.
Gender Neutral / Gender Inclusive Pronouns
A gender neutral or gender inclusive pronoun is a pronoun which does not associate a gender with the individual who is being discussed.
Some languages, such as English, do not have a gender neutral or third gender pronoun available, and this has been criticized, since in many instances, writers, speakers, etc. use “he/his” when referring to a generic individual in the third person. Also, the dichotomy of “he and she” in English does not leave room for other gender identities, which is a source of frustration to the transgender and gender queer communities.
People who are limited by languages which do not include gender neutral pronouns have attempted to create them, in the interest of greater equality.
HE/SHE HIM/HER HIS/HER HIS/HERS HIMSELF/HERSELF
zie zim zir zis zieself
sie sie hir hirs hirself
ey em eir eirs eirself
ve ver vis vers verself
tey ter tem ters terself
e em eir eirs emself
Gender Pronouns | LGBT Resource Center
What is the lesson here? If you feel bad about pronouns, don’t let language limits keep you down. Just make up some words, demand others use them and you’ll feel better.
The problem with all this is it that it is quite irrational. In English, pronouns are either male or female- just like human beings! One would think that simplifies things. It doesn’t for people who have elected to base their gender identity not on the physical realities of what is in their underwear but on whatever they feel at the given moment. No wonder others are unable to validate them. After all, you can’t hit a moving target.
In the spirit of being helpful without Resource Center officiousness cluttering things up, let’s think this through.
What is gender? There are two genders: male and female. (There is a rare condition called hermaphroditism whereby the individual has both male and female reproductive organs. This tiny number of people cannot be included in this general discussion.) Men have penises. Women have vaginas. Gender is not only about a person’s genitalia, however. The definition of gender also includes societal, emotional and cultural qualities and behaviors associated with being male or female.
The main thrust is that you are either a male or female. While you may not fit neatly into every stereotype of male or female, you are nonetheless the gender you were born with. For example, traditionally, men are expected to be strong and steady while women helpful, nurturing. It is no surprise that not every man and women fits neatly into these categories. This does not mean that the strong woman is not a woman and can no longer be called she, nor that the sensitive man can no longer be called he.
When you are a child, you are a boy or a girl. When you are an adult, you are a man or a woman. Your gender does not change, even though you change, through the natural process of maturation.
Higher education is not helping by making up faux outrages about hostile pronoun usage and offering magic word charts to assuage the angst of young people who somehow missed the childhood lesson that uncomfortable feelings are a fact of life. It’s time the “victims” of unpleasant emotions grew up and realized that the rest of us are not going to make it all better by called them a zim or a zat.
http://dailycaller.com/2016/08/01/taxpayer-funded-university-instructs-students-that-using-the-wrong-pronouns-is-oppressive/
hermaphroditism
Gender Neutral / Gender Inclusive Pronouns
A gender neutral or gender inclusive pronoun is a pronoun which does not associate a gender with the individual who is being discussed.
Some languages, such as English, do not have a gender neutral or third gender pronoun available, and this has been criticized, since in many instances, writers, speakers, etc. use “he/his” when referring to a generic individual in the third person. Also, the dichotomy of “he and she” in English does not leave room for other gender identities, which is a source of frustration to the transgender and gender queer communities.
People who are limited by languages which do not include gender neutral pronouns have attempted to create them, in the interest of greater equality.
HE/SHE HIM/HER HIS/HER HIS/HERS HIMSELF/HERSELF
zie zim zir zis zieself
sie sie hir hirs hirself
ey em eir eirs eirself
ve ver vis vers verself
tey ter tem ters terself
e em eir eirs emself
Gender Pronouns | LGBT Resource Center
What is the lesson here? If you feel bad about pronouns, don’t let language limits keep you down. Just make up some words, demand others use them and you’ll feel better.
The problem with all this is it that it is quite irrational. In English, pronouns are either male or female- just like human beings! One would think that simplifies things. It doesn’t for people who have elected to base their gender identity not on the physical realities of what is in their underwear but on whatever they feel at the given moment. No wonder others are unable to validate them. After all, you can’t hit a moving target.
In the spirit of being helpful without Resource Center officiousness cluttering things up, let’s think this through.
What is gender? There are two genders: male and female. (There is a rare condition called hermaphroditism whereby the individual has both male and female reproductive organs. This tiny number of people cannot be included in this general discussion.) Men have penises. Women have vaginas. Gender is not only about a person’s genitalia, however. The definition of gender also includes societal, emotional and cultural qualities and behaviors associated with being male or female.
The main thrust is that you are either a male or female. While you may not fit neatly into every stereotype of male or female, you are nonetheless the gender you were born with. For example, traditionally, men are expected to be strong and steady while women helpful, nurturing. It is no surprise that not every man and women fits neatly into these categories. This does not mean that the strong woman is not a woman and can no longer be called she, nor that the sensitive man can no longer be called he.
When you are a child, you are a boy or a girl. When you are an adult, you are a man or a woman. Your gender does not change, even though you change, through the natural process of maturation.
Higher education is not helping by making up faux outrages about hostile pronoun usage and offering magic word charts to assuage the angst of young people who somehow missed the childhood lesson that uncomfortable feelings are a fact of life. It’s time the “victims” of unpleasant emotions grew up and realized that the rest of us are not going to make it all better by called them a zim or a zat.
http://dailycaller.com/2016/08/01/taxpayer-funded-university-instructs-students-that-using-the-wrong-pronouns-is-oppressive/
hermaphroditism
