Oh gosh the calendar has gotten away from me again. It’s just three days to International Pronoun Day!!
International Pronouns Day seeks to make respecting, sharing, and educating about personal pronouns commonplace.
Referring to people by the pronouns they determine for themselves is basic to human dignity. Being referred to by the wrong pronouns particularly affects transgender and gender nonconforming people. Together, we can transform society to celebrate people’s multiple, intersecting identities.
One, no, referring to people by “the pronouns they determine for themselves” is not basic to human dignity. It really really isn’t. The whole idea is trivial as well as stupid. Things that are trivial and stupid can’t be basic to human dignity. Some things are basic to human dignity, but customized pronouns are not one of them. Treating language as an opportunity to impose personal whims on all other speakers of the language is itself undignified; it’s babyish and dopy. There’s no such thing as “determining” pronouns for oneself. That’s not how language works; that’s not what language is for. Failure to understand that is like a giant custard pie in the face. Dignity is nowhere to be seen.
Two, no, together we can’t transform society to celebrate people’s multiple, intersecting identities. It’s not that easy to transform society, and doing it in aid of something stupid and childish is extra difficult, and also not worth doing in the first place. Celebration of identities is a terrible goal for a transformed society. Identities are about the self, and the more people focus on their own precious selves, the less use they are to the world. Forget about fucking identities and just do something helpful.
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21 responses to “International say what now?”
From the site:
We were told about this during a college-wide meeting the other day. We will be celebrating International Pronouns Day! Yippee!
At no time in my 15+ year history at the college have they even ONCE mentioned International Women’s Day.
Fun! Will there be champagne?
:-(
“Gender nonconforming people?” Women and men who don’t fit stereotypes aren’t referred to by the pronouns of the opposite sex. Not unless they’ve managed to look exactly like the opposite sex — or, I suppose, as a childish insult. Women in STEM and men in ballet aren’t part of the Pronoun Brigade. Are they?
I suspect they’re included as cover (“we’re breaking stereotypes, too!”) or propaganda (“gender critical people want women in DRESSES!”)
It is a thing with gay men when being campy, I think…unless that’s gone out of style now. I’ve heard friends doing it – “Oh she’s being a bitch today” when they’re talking about a man. But that wasn’t political, it was camp.
Well, butch lesbians also used get “misgendered” all the time. Katie Herzog has mentioned it, and I’ve experienced it third- and second-hand before. It was probably becoming less common until so many butch lesbians started insisting that no, they actually *are* men, so the inconvenient annoyance of misgendering from yesterday was actually correct.
Which means that nowadays butch lesbians who aren’t in the cult’s thrall are being assumed by well-meaning progressives to be pronoun-men and they are getting misgendered constantly by people who say that misgendering is reprehensible violence.
It’s a funny ole world, innit?
International pronoun day won’t be very meaningful for those whose languages don’t have gendered pronouns.
I had a Chinese instructor who was always confused about whether “he” or “she” was proper.
I really don’t see the problem. I think every part of grammar should have its own National Day. It can only help to elevate our written and spoken communication.
Not sure I’d want a National Sentence Diagramming Day though. Never figured that out.
If we’re going to have a pronoun day, then we should underscore some areas where the English system is lacking. Obviously there’s the lack of distinction between singular and plural in the second person, which we recognize and get around somewhat awkwardly. A dual form could be fun, though it’s hardly necessary. But what we really need is an inclusive/exclusive distinction in the first person plural. After all, who hasn’t experienced the embarrassing situation where Leticia appears unexpectedly at your table, thinking that your “We’re dining at Delmonico’s tonight” included her?
I am thrilled to announce that this weekend, Saturday the 23rd of October, is the inaugural International There/Their/They’re Day!
Not to be confused with Universal There There There Day!
And I declare November 3rd International its/it’s day.
I lobbied for an international raising/begging the question day, but half of the committee asked if it was really an issue, and the other half said that it wasn’t needed because everyone uses them correctly.
Heh heh heh
In the most recent Gender A Wider Lens podcast, in which Stella and Sasha interview a detransitioned woman named Helena (fantastic guest) Stella spontaneously decides that ‘queering’ third person singular pronouns is so last year, and it’s time to make people call her ‘thou’. Sasha slips up soon after, and Stella, outraged, says ‘How dare you! I’m calling the ACLU!’ ‘ACLThou, please,’ Sasha says.
Haaaaaaaa good one.
That’s great! I’ve got to listen to that.
I just listened. That was a fabulous podcast.
Oooh, Sentence Diagramming Day!
I used to be good at that, in Jr. High.
I still remember the list of “helping verbs” from the grammar book. Poor little forgotten “helping verbs.” They do a lot of work, and never get any recognition.
When is International Adjective Day? I’m surrounded by bigots who erase my human dignity by failing to use my adjectives.
(I’m looking at you, Ophelia. *stern frown.*)
Lady Mondegreen
dyspeptic/lambent
Hilarious post about Pronouns Day on the Coalition For Biological Reality page. They “suggest” memorizing an extremely long list of pronoun sets. Great evidence for how absurd this whole thing is.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=299811805314657&id=107062111256295