Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

Call me stupid but what exactly is the point of people using "them/they" pronouns?

I really don't understand it. I made the mistake of calling someone a she once and her friend corrected me and said "they/them". How the hell am I supposed to know?
This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »
revenant · F
I think it boils down to attention seeking frankly
TheSacredOne · 41-45, M
@revenant Probably but I really don't understand the point of it. You're either a he or a she not a they or a them as that to me refers to multiple people at once.
revenant · F
@TheSacredOne I do not get it either at all. To me it is pushing the buttons like teens before used to want to wear this or that but now that much is permissible..got to try something else. I do not know really I am not a teen anymore
@TheSacredOne If one were using proper english, THEY would know that the pronouns "they / them" can be used in the singular and have been used as such for years.

Aside from that, is learning and doing better and generally being a nice human being.

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/they

Long before the use of generic he was condemned as sexist, the pronouns they, their, and them were used in educated speech and in all but the most formal writing to refer to singular indefinite pronouns or singular nouns of general personal reference (which are often not felt to be exclusively singular): If anyone calls, tell them I'll be back soon. A parent should read to their child. Such use is not a recent development, nor is it a mark of ignorance. Shakespeare, Swift, Shelley, Scott, and Dickens, as well as many other English and American writers, have used they and its related case forms to refer to singular antecedents. Already widespread in the language (though still rejected as ungrammatical by some), this use of they, their, and them is increasing in all but the most conservatively edited American English. This increased use is at least partly impelled by the desire to avoid generic he or the awkward he/she and he or she when the antecedent’s gender is not known or when the referent is of mixed gender: The victim had money and jewelry taken from them. It’s hard to move an aging mother or father from their long-term home.
However, while use of they and its forms after singular indefinite pronouns or singular nouns of general personal reference or indefinite gender is common and generally acceptable, their use to refer to a single clearly specified, known, or named person is uncommon and likely to be noticed and criticized, as in this example: My hair stylist had their car stolen. Even so, use of they, their, and them is increasingly found in contexts where the antecedent is a gender-nonconforming individual or one who does not identify as male or female: Tyler indicated their preferences on their application.