This page discusses about :-
#What Neopronouns are.
#Who uses them.
#Gender Identity and neopronoun.
#"Denying Neopronouns is same as denying language.
#The history of neopronouns.
#How to use them
#A list of neopronouns to chose from.
#WHAT ARE NEOPRONOUNS?
Neopronouns are any set of singular third person pronouns that are created with the intent of being a gender neutral pronoun set. These pronouns are, for the most part, not officially recognized in the language. In English, and many other languages, people are usually called by a pronoun that implies their gender. In English, "she" is most often used by women, and "he" most often used by men, singular "they" can be used by non-binary people. However that is not always the case, some non-binary people are okay with being referred to with she/her or he/him pronouns, and some binary people use "unexpected" pronouns.
Surveys show that they/them is the most popular neutral pronoun set used by non-binary people, however some prefer to use neopronouns, as an alternate gender neutral pronoun set.
#What Are Neopronouns and Who Uses Them?
Gender is a social construct. This is important to all aspects of modern gender theory, and relates to many aspects of feminism. The deconstruction of gender is a crucial part of feminism, as realizing the fact that gender is human-manufactured is the foundation for criticizing any way society views gender.
Neopronouns are any set of pronouns which are used in place of he, she or they. They have a rich history, emerging from nonbinary and transgender circles as a rejection of the gendered and binarist language society uses on everyone, regardless of their gender identity. Common neopronouns include the sets xe/xem/xyr, ze/hir/hirs and ey/em/eir. Protecting nonbinary and transgender lives must involve the support and acceptance of neopronouns.
So why do many have a difficult time accepting that language is a social construct as well? Perhaps they do not think they do not accept this fact. Just a simple Google search of “neopronouns” brings up Reddit posts which say, “I’m, I swear, 110 percent great with trans and non-binary people…but don’t ask me to use xe/ximself or nym/nymself or some other weird fake pronouns,” or YouTube videos with titles such as “Trans guy reacts to CRAZY pronouns” and “Nonbinary special snowflakes cringe compilation.”
Neopronouns are currently a topic of cultural debate. Most who are against them perpetuate the toxic idea that pronouns — and to an extent gender — are not worth respecting if they are “fake
#History of neopronouns
Ungendered pronouns in English date back as far as the 1300s. “A” was a gender-neutral pronoun derived from Old English, but was dropped from usage after the need to specify gender of the person in question became stronger. However, some living dialects of British still use a.
The pronoun “ne” appeared around 1850, and was first used in print in 1884 as a result of a heated debate on how using “he or she” in sentences was “clumsy” and “inelegant.” The topic of a gender neutral pronoun actually had feminist roots. An article published in 1882 in reference to this pronoun debate claimed that using “he” to refer to anyone regardless of gender encroached upon the rights of women and issued the need for the creation of a new pronoun.
In the 1970s, around the time of the nascent LGBTQIAP+ rights movement in the United States, the Chicago Association of Business Communicators hosted a contest to find replacements for the term “he or she.” The pronoun set “ey/em/eir” won, and was later used in 1991 in a text-based video game to test how changes in the software’s pronoun code would work. The pronoun set was meant to be taken out later, but quickly caught on in popularity, leading to the rising popularity of “Spivak pronouns,” based off Michael Spivak, the person who first used them.
Neopronouns are used today without knowledge of their history. Their very presence has always challenged societal binarist concepts of gender.
# Is rejection of language is rejection of gender?
In a 2018 study at a conference in London for The International Society for Linguistics in English, 81 percent of the participants called neopronouns “artificial,” “ridiculous,” “awkward,” “confusing” and “not real,” with only 19 percent saying, “if this is how someone wishes to be referred to, it is not my place to object.”
The most common argument against neopronouns is that they are artificial words which do not belong in the English language. English itself is artificial to begin with; William Shakespeare alone is known to have invented at least 400 words we commonly use today, and most of English consists of borrowed words from other languages. The two biggest flaws in this argument is that it is ignorant of the fact that language itself is an artificial concept, and that rejection of a word in English does not dictate the rejection of nonbinary identities in other cultures.
Language and meaning can change as the practice of the language itself does. A crucial point of language being a social construct is that it can be changed to our will when needed. Language is artificial because there is nothing “essential” about the nature of it. We are the ones who come up with the words we use. Therefore, pronouns like “he, she and they” are just as artificial as the neopronouns argued against using.
Additionally, the “he/she/they” pronoun system is not universal, and English’s structure does not dictate the structures of other languages. Niger-Congo languages acknowledge around 7-10 genders on average, and sometimes even 20 or more. Basque and Algonquian languages only use pronouns to distinguish whether someone or something is animate or inanimate. While some traditionally Western languages, such as French, have their language completely divided between binarist genders, other, non-Western languages show that feminine/masculine is not the only split which can exist within the artificial concept of language.
Just because something is a construct, however, does not make the oppression of minorities under this construct any less real. Gender and language are both constructs linked together by pronouns and gendered language. Rejection of the gender binary can also result in rejection of standard language used to conform within the binary.
#Your gender cannot be “fake” versus “real”
The legitimacy of neopronouns is an intra-community issue as well. Transgender and nonbinary circles argue over usage of pronouns which are not “he, she, or they.” The idea is that the reputation of the transgender community will be damaged if they simply accept “unreal” pronouns into their community. Some transgender people fear loss of respect for the transgender community from the cisgender community if they use pronouns which are not the standard.
Examples most commonly have to do with the concept of “transtrenders,” who are only identify as nonbinary because they find it trendy. The concept revolves around the idea that one’s gender is up for outsiders to decide for the individual. This is hypocritical to the very reason the transgender community exists. This argument is a form of gender policing.
Gender policing is the act of enforcing gender norms upon others if they are not adequately performing the expected roles of their gender. Policing can easily turn violent, getting gender-non-conforming people harassed in public settings and denied access to facilities such as restrooms and fitting rooms.
The idea that some genders are “fake” while others are genuine, most commonly binarist gender identities which conform to the expected roles for that binary gender, only opens the door to more violence and harassment. Gender-non-conformity is seen as something which should be punished by default in society. Internalized transphobia only perpetuates that nonbinary folk who use neopronouns are not deserving of a safe space to express their gender identity.