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lawsofrobotics t1_it8vqxe wrote

Reply to comment by _KnightsDelight_ in A Queer Community Speaks Up for Student After Teacher's Transphobia by wdcmsnbcgay

Real answer: They're called "neopronouns." They're an attempt to create a new pronoun that's unambiguously singular, but not gendered, which is currently something English lacks. Some nonbinary people prefer them to they/them, but their use is relatively rare, even within the trans community. There have been a bunch of proposals over the years; xe and ze (pronounced the same) are the most popular, trailing they/them by a large margin.

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[deleted] t1_it9zwa0 wrote

I have a question about this. My district encourages (requires) staff to use preferred names and pronouns but not neopronouns. Is this normal?

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capitocoto t1_itbfnbv wrote

Neopronouns are functionally rare.

My office has a lot of trans folks and many nonbinary. We have… two? People who use neopronouns and both also use they.

I am trans and I have a social circle that has a lot of other trans people including a lot of nonbinary people and none of them use neopronouns.

They exist. But they are rare.

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[deleted] t1_itbs1r4 wrote

Yeah I've only run into one person who uses neopronouns but all of the trans and nonbinary people in my life use they/them and I know it is extremely rare.

I guess i was more curious why a school would have progressive policies but draw the line at neopronouns. They recognize trans people and their preferred pronouns and the counselors I work with even help the older students go through legal change of name process. There lack of support because it's rare would make sense but all of these other policies and meetings were for a handful of students.

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capitocoto t1_itbv99z wrote

I mean, within the trans community neopronouns are sometimes contentious. Not in the “don’t use them, they are an abomination” way that you see on with the Alt-Right, but in the “we are still in a deep conversation about what they convey and how they can be used appropriately.”

As a rare function, i can imagine that some places might avoid their use as a way to avoid misuse. I am trans and I am often unsure how to decline vaer or fae. I also have concerns that when I vocalize them (vs typing) I cannot hear a distinct difference between they, xe, ze, fae, and vie. So it always feels like I am saying they even when I am trying not to.

Neopronouns, I think, are still in a stage of growing pains.

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[deleted] t1_itby9dl wrote

This makes a lot more sense. I also could see the lack of defined neopronouns causing the school to currently reject them all instead of trying to determine what's accepted.

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