Where I stand with pronouns.

in pronouns •  3 years ago 

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I've already said a few times that where I currently stand on pronouns is that I have zero problem with using he/him/his, she/her pronouns depending on preference. I draw a hard line on a person insisting that I refer to him or her as they/them. Obviously, you can forget about zie/zim/zis or sie/hirs.

There are a few reasons.

One of which is that so many of the people who demand that others use their pronouns literally won't specifically define what a woman is or man is in any coherent way that would fit into one page in any dictionary. It's like what the so-called TERFs say about "woman" not being a costume.

Another is that it's a lie that it's not asking a lot of people. Just Layshia Clarendon alone demands to be referred to by three separate sets of pronouns given on how she indentifies at a given moment. Some people are using mixtures like he/them. With nearly 40% of GenZ identifying somewhere in the LGBTQ+ community, I gonna imagine that some liberal arts students are spending more time memorizing the pronouns of the people around them than pondering Kierkegaard.

Finally, and more importantly, I think that every viable ethical framework is being attacked by some vague, mostly hypocritical concept of etiquette.

"Why can't we make people feel comfortable by making this small step? Why won't you respect how they feel and identify? Why risk hurting somebody by assuming their identity rather than ask about it?"

Well, I've got news for you...

None of those are ethical arguments. From Kant to Hume to Bentham you're not going to find an ethical framework that puts politeness foot first or regards respect as something universally owed to people's feelings or beliefs. We can't live in a world that's seeking to grow if politeness comes first.

Yes, etiquette is important. It's not a good idea to be needlessly mean. But, it can't be an ethical value. We seldom know what will hurt people before we say it. Sometimes hurting somebody's feeling for a moment if necessary to get a person off a self-destructive course.

Still, no matter how you put it, if you tell me that you're a zie/zim/zis, I don't believe you. So I don't believe that there are infinite genders out there. I don't believe that simply identifying as something makes you that thing. So, you're demanding that I lie. I won't do that.

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