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I have a question that is in line with times: a non-gender-specific subject pronoun (which I call "genderless" in the title to make it simple to grab).

I'd like to ask what form you would choose:

  1. he or she (or also "he/she")
  2. (s)he
  3. s/he
  4. they (followed by verb in plural form, of course)

I'll see if this question is answered to understand if it's of any interest to the community, before expanding the topic to other cases (object pronoun and possessive).

Thank you!

Randomizar
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2 Answers2

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THEY

"They" is the long-established singular gender-neutral pronoun. Its usage dates back to even before Shakespearean times, Shakespeare himself using it. Here's one example, albeit not in the subject case but the object case:

"'Tis meet that some more audience than a mother, since nature makes them partial, should o'erhear the speech." — Shakespeare, Hamlet (1599)

And here's another, albeit using the possessive case rather than the subject case:

"There's not a man I meet but doth salute me, as if I were their well-acquainted friend." — Shakespeare, A Comedy of Errors (1594)

And here's a third, albeit using the reflexive object case rather than the subject case:

"Now leaden slumber with life's strength doth fight; and every one to rest themselves betake, save thieves, and cares, and troubled minds, that wake." — Shakespeare, The Rape of Lucrece (1594)

ZE

Now, if you want to be "in line with the times," though, the gender-neutral pronoun being advocated by the LGBTQ community and that is in wide use among gender-fluid, trans, and non-binary people is "ze," or alternately spelled "zie." "Ze" has become prevalent enough that it has been added to standard dictionaries.

Benjamin Harman
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  • +1 for "they". In a context where "they" is used, "themself" is also acceptable. – Rosie F Aug 29 '19 at 06:43
  • Knowing two non-binary people whose preferred pronoun is they, and none whose preferred pronoun is ze, I don't believe you're speaking for the whole LGBTQ community here. (Although if somebody wants to be called ze, you should clearly call zer that.) – Peter Shor Aug 29 '19 at 11:02
  • @Peter Shor - Right. I'm not speaking for the LGBTQ community but of the LGBTQ community in general. Clearly, there will be individual people in that community that have differing opinions and that do different things, as is the case with any large group since complete consensus, while theoretically possible, never actually happens when millions or billions of people are involved. – Benjamin Harman Aug 29 '19 at 17:44
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Related answer that’s unobtrusive is to alternate he and she in your writing; e.g.:

The first customer arrived. He ordered a black coffee, and then sat down. The second came; she ordered a latte. Then another walked in; he wanted an espresso The fourth was also hungry; she ordered a scone. Still another got in line, and he also wanted a scone.

kmiklas
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