The Indefinite Singular Pronoun "They"
March 31, 2015
Hello again zygotes!
It has only been a few hours since I made my first entry and started I am Only An Egg, however I just realized that today is International Transgender Visibility Day! So I wanted to briefly talk about my personal commitment to using “they” as a singular pronoun.
If you read my previous post (or any of the future ones that do not exist at the time I am writing this) you may notice that I nearly always use “they” as an indefinite singular pronoun, rather than the more grammatically acceptable he or she.
Although I enjoy the casual tone of blogging I like to think I am deliberate in my use of the English language. My use of “they” is not an accident.
For many, the traditional pronouns are supremely limiting. As I am sure most of you are aware, the use of “he” as the default pronoun for a hypothetical person carries an inherent masculinity with it, leaving anyone who does not feel like a “male” to feel left out of that particular narrative.
If someone is talking about the benefits of law school, for example, and they say “If a person goes to law school he may become a lawyer” the implication is the assumption all law students are male.
Even if “he” is not the default and both “he” and “she” are used interchangeably these engendered pronouns can cause a sense of dissonance in any individual who does not identify with the gender in question (or neither gender). Sure we can make the claim that it is not that big of a deal, that this is simply a function of the imperfect nature of language, however, this is an unnecessary distraction that creates an obstacle between the material and the audience.
If I am a male dancer, for example, (and I am!) and I read an article about dancers that refers to all of them hypothetically as “she,” it does not offend me, it does not reinforce trauma, nor trigger an emotional episode, rather it simply distracts me and makes me feel disconnected from the author, like they do not really understand the subject and the fact that I am a part of it.
But what about the grammar!?
I remember those early days of elementary school English when the teachers first taught us about they’re vs their, effect vs affect, and he or she vs they. It is often very natural for people to use “they” as a singular pronoun colloquially, and yet many stop because they have been corrected by a stickler for grammar at some point.
This may be an example of when separating school subjects causes certain deficiencies because it seems that these grammar authoritarians have forgotten their history!
A quick wikipedia search brought me in contact with Androcentrism in Prescriptive Grammar: Singular ‘They’, Sex-Indefinite ‘He’, and ‘He or She’ an entry in the Cambridge University Press journal Language in Society written by Professor Ann Bodine. The article explains how “they” originally was accepted as an indefinite singular pronoun. It was not until the prescriptive grammar movement of the 19th century that “he” became the norm and “they” was deemed incorrect.
The significance of this is that the upholding of “he” or “she” as indefinite pronouns above the use of “they” is not only perpetuating harmful gender roles but also is a function of other privileges. Melissa A. Fabello of EverydayFeminism.com has a great entry on this.
So what is the upshot?
Individuals whom identify as transgender are often hyper-aware of the connotations of language. There is a beautiful episode of the podcast On Being with Krista Tippett that addresses this phenomenon. Joy Ladin, a Professor of English at Stern College of Yeshiva University and self-proclaimed “only transgender Orthodox woman,” shares her experience of transitioning. She explains rather eloquently how for those of us who do not experience a struggle of gender identity, gender and gender roles are like water to a fish, it is all around us but we do not see it, however to a transgender or genderqueer person it can be more like they are a fish out of water struggling to breathe.
When I commit to use “they” as an indefinite singular pronoun it is not about walking on egg shells around those with particular needs or experiences, it is simply about signifying myself as a person who is compassionate and at least tries to be aware of the experiences of others. Indeed this pronoun confusion is not something that is specific just to transgender people. I am aware that most transgender people prefer to be called “he” or “she,” that they are completely and fully the gender they identify as and this is without some kind of linguistic asterix. My personal fixation on choosing a gender-less indefinite singular pronoun is simply about attempting to make a connection with the widest range of individuals possible, and to me this discussion of the fluidity and visibility (or invisibility) of gender is an important one to have on Transgender Visibility Day.
But what does this have to do with software development??
Everything!! Transgender people are our peers! Unfortunately I have not been able to find any good stats on this (@JamesAnthonyLow tweet at me if you got ‘em) but a quick google search on most popular professions for transgender people (specifically mtf for some reason) and you will see Computer Science and Software Engineering consistently mentioned.
This is important to me, as someone attempting to break into the field of technology I pride myself on embracing possibilities and the future. The transphobia of today is the racism of yesterday (and unfortunately today as well : /), it is crucial as future developers that we embrace change and learn to read the winds.
I do not know what the future will look like, but if there is any progress in the world, then adherence to gender roles will not exist in our society in the way they exist now. Those of us who adapt will win the day, and a bunch of new friends along the way! (I’m sorry I really did not mean to rhyme there)
Until next time, keep up that mitosis!