By: Devon Benzaia
As the world becomes more and more progressive, people are able to identify themselves much better than they once were. In elementary school, we were all taught that pronouns are used to shorten a sentence and make it less repetitive. For example, I identify as a woman, so instead of saying, “Devon went to the store,” one could say, “she went to the store.” Typical binary pronouns are she/her and he/him. However, not everyone may identify with their initial biological gender, or with a gender at all. While they/them does not necessarily have any gender connotation the way she/her and he/him do, some feel that they/them is still too closely associated with gender. To combat this, transgender, nonbinary, gender-queer, and gender nonconforming pepole typically use neopronouns to express themselves.
Non-binary pronouns started as early as the 17th century. Shakespeare used pronouns like thee/thou/thy. Classic neopronouns that are most commonly used are ze/zir, xe/xir, ze/hir, ae/aer, and so on. They are very simple to use, just like any other pronoun. “Ze went to the store. The book is zir’s.” Just as the formal usage of they/them pronouns instead of binary pronouns went through in its early stages, neopronouns are currently facing heavy backlash. When uninformed, it might be hard to understand the importance of neopronouns to those who do not identify with a specific gender, but I urge everyone to be open minded. Expressing oneself does not do harm to anyone, nor does it affect anyone except that specific person. It is extremely important to allow those people to express themselves they way any CIS person does (someone who identifies with their biological gender assigned at birth).
To be completely honest, I have never heard of neopronouns before the past couple of months, but I’m all for people expressing themselves and feeling comfortable in their own skin. Social media platforms like Tiktok, Tumblr, and Twitter have supported this equality by providing a spotlight for neopronouns and helping to spread the acceptance of them. Unfortunately, there will always be people who do not tolerate things that other people deem acceptable, and vice versa. Part of why some feel that neopronouns are not extremely valid is due to the colonization of a subcategory of neopronouns, known as nounself pronouns.
Nounself pronouns are based around things that are not related to gender, but rather things that express distinct differences about a person. People who use neopronouns are known as enespronomial. Since any noun can be turned into a nounself pronoun, there are any infinite amount of alternatives. For example, if someone used “bug”, it would be bug/bugself. “That is bug’s coffee. Bug loves bugself.” In simple terms, it replaces pronouns just like neopronouns do. Even though nounself pronouns may seem completely harmless, it has raised concerns from members of the LGBTQ+ community, and more. Throughout history, the LGBTQ+ community has been forced to deal with various forms of hate and mockery. Part of this is due to microlabeling. Radical micro-labelers have caused a negative reputation for parts of the community, and caused it to be mocked. While micro-labeling is important for identity, it can also be very harmful. As I mentioned before, Tiktok has helped neopronouns become popularized. Many people started using nounself pronouns. However, one thing I’ve seen happen firsthand is the usage of nounself pronouns to fit a specific aesthetic, not for actual identification purposes. Misusing pronouns can erase the original meaning. For example, pronouns like kitten/kittenself tends to make people feel uncomfortable due to the nickname/pet name connotation it has. Other nounself pronouns like BLM/BLMself and vampire/vampireself are damaging to a community that is trying to be taken seriously, and those who use legitimate nounself pronouns.
The topic of what is deemed acceptable or not is very controversial. Members of the LGBTQ+ community are on both sides of the argument. One side being to use people's pronouns no matter what they are, and another side being to use pronouns that are not used to fit an aesthetic or mere nicknames. Overall, no matter what side you’re on, it does not change the fact that it is not okay whatsoever to incite hatred against gender nonconforming groups, nor is it okay to be outright disrespectful to them, much less anyone. As time goes on, I hope that neopronouns will be more universally accepted. The only advice I can offer for now is to ask someone if they have any alternatives to their pronouns if they make you uncomfortable, in a polite way. Remember, treat everyone the way you would like to be treated!
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