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The popularity of the singular usage of the pronouns 鈥渢hey/them鈥� has become increasingly prevalent in today鈥檚 society, what does this mean?

By: Evi Judge
Course: Language in US Society (Ling 1000)
Advisor: Prof. Chase Raymond
TA: Olivia Hirschey Marrese
LURA 2020

Pronouns, or the words we use to replace nouns and noun phrases in everyday speech, have become a controversial topic in recent years. Namely, the debate over whether or not to accept 鈥渢hey/them鈥� as a gender-neutral singular referent. A referent is a word that refers back to a person, object, or idea. In the case of 鈥渢hey/them,鈥� the pronoun refers to a person, and the current question is whether or not the pronoun should be used for a singular person or only kept in reference for multiple people. The issue is one of linguistic grammaticality鈥攖he way everyday people speak 鈥攙ersus prescriptive grammaticality鈥攖he way people should use language.听

It appears that the linguistically grammatical form of the pronouns has won: In , Merriam-Webster declared that 鈥渢hey/them鈥� would once again serve as a singular pronoun (Trammell, 2019). Once again? 鈥淭hey/them鈥� has been popular throughout the centuries in its singular form. Dating back to the 17th century, the singular form of the pronoun is not a new concept (Balhorn 2016, pp. 82). In politics, healthcare, and society as a whole, the pronoun 鈥渢hey鈥� has become more and more ubiquitous鈥攊ts prevalence should not be a surprise to anyone going forward. 听

From college campuses to political debates, 鈥渢hey/them鈥� has made an appearance. Some colleges such as the University of Michigan and the University of Colorado Boulder have provided students with the option of declaring what pronouns they would like to go by (Bever, 2019). One UM student asked to be referred to as 鈥渉is majesty鈥濃�攖his was a gross misuse of the college鈥檚 intention. By ridiculing pronouns, a person ridicules an entire population. Mockery of pronoun choice is not limited to college campuses: in one 2019 presidential debate, candidates emerged on stage announcing their pronouns. Senator Kamala Harris stated that her pronouns are 鈥渟he, her, and hers鈥濃�攊n response, CNN host, Chris Cuomo, that his pronouns were the same as Senator Harris鈥檚 (Wegmann, 2019). Cuomo later issued a public apology via Twitter. The fact that Cuomo issued a public apology for joking about 鈥渢hey/them鈥� marks a turning point in current society鈥檚 attitude towards gender identity. 听 听

The current usage of these pronouns has not come without its fair share of confusion of how to proceed in the medical field. Medicine, historically, has been more concerned with binary sex and lesser so gender identity. The concern with biological sex results from different sexes requiring different treatments. Nevertheless, if medical professionals neglect to acknowledge a patient鈥檚 choice of identity, patient-doctor mistrust may impede treatment. Awareness of this potential mistrust has prompted hospitals to encourage doctors to open a dialogue with their patients, and additionally, some electronic health records now have the option to store both the patient鈥檚 sex assigned at birth and preferred gender identity (Arndt, 2018). As society progresses, the field of medicine must also adapt to remain inclusive of all of its patients.听

Language is a tool that people use to represent themselves. Progressive shifts in language help us to accept the so-called 鈥渟ubgroups鈥� in society. As of the current day, pronouns are a muddy topic for politics and healthcare alike, but as people work towards a more inclusive society, these questions should subside. The usage of the singular form of 鈥渢hey/them鈥� is not just a question of prescriptive grammar鈥攔ather, it is a question of societal acknowledgement of a group of people.听

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