Down pointing backhand index

NPR is on the job! If you’re at a loss for how to pronoun, NPR is there to help!

Down pointing backhand index to you too, you lovely helpful advicey people.

https://twitter.com/NPR/status/1400121311318401033

We heard you the first time but ok I guess.

Shall we read their cute 101 guide? Oh let’s.

“Pronouns are basically how we identify ourselves apart from our name. It’s how someone refers to you in conversation,” says Mary Emily O’Hara, a communications officer at GLAAD. 

No, pronouns are not how we identify ourselves apart from our name. Not basically or any other way.

This guide was created with help from GLAAD. We also referenced resources from the National Center for Transgender Equality, the Trans Journalists AssociationNLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ JournalistsHuman Rights CampaignInterAct and the American Psychological Association.This guide is not exhaustive, and is Western and U.S.-centric. Other cultures may use different labels and have other conceptions of gender.

So what you’re saying is, everyone has to get an entire education on this subject, as in many hours of reading and memorization. What if we have better things to do? What if, to be exact, there are more important things to pay attention to? Poverty, inequality, exploitation, climate change, public health – you know, the big stuff. What if a small set of narcissistic people who want you to learn a new language to talk about them just don’t appear very high on that list?

One thing to note: Language changes. Some of the terms now in common usage are different from those used in the past to describe similar ideas, identities and experiences. Some people may continue to use terms that are less commonly used now to describe themselves, and some people may use different terms entirely. What’s important is recognizing and respecting people as individuals.

But we can do that without any “guide to pronouns.”

What follows is of course the usual jargon-riddled nonsense, uttered as usual with solemn confidence as if it were a set of facts as opposed to a sit of silly rules invented by some self-obsessed teenagers. A grown-up organization like NPR should not be anywhere near it.

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