I’m starting to see pronouns such as those shown in the table in #32 in some books and a few newspaper articles. That’s why I posted the table. It’s still pretty rare, and the made-up words people use are still very inconsistent.
I’m not hearing non-gender people asking to be referred to by non-gender pronouns. They’re demanding it, and angrily insulting you if you don’t. That’s one of the reasons I’m not inclined to accommodate them, e.g.,
The region I live in supposedly as a lot of “wokeness”, but I have not encountered anyone specifically wanting a pronoun other than “she” or “he” for themselves (as opposed to using “they” for a person of unknown gender). This includes LGB and T people, who generally self-identify with a specific gender. I do not find non-traditional pronouns to be objectionable, but their usage does not seem to be all that common to begin with.
I have never heard of a non-gendered person. I’ve never heard of a non-binary person until this thread. But since one would only use a pronoun ‘he’ or ‘she’ in referring to someone rather than talking or writing to them, how can the ‘wrong’ use offend?
Well, if you couldn’t remember my name, I would be insulted. I’m not hearing anyone “demanding” anything, whether at school or at work - except for “them” which is easy since we already use it.
I’ve heard of zie but never in real life.
BTW, you only use a pronoun to refer to the person, not to talk to them, so the person would not be “demanding” you use the pronoun to their face and “angrily insulting you” if you don"t.
I think the situation you describe hasn’t happened, because it doesn’t make sense.
I can see how this could happen in text exchanges among college students. But… student drama… isn’t really anything new. Social media may make amplify this but Twitter/FB is not real life. Fortunately I don’t really know people who speak in real life the way people do on some social media. (My own social media is curated so I never encounter people who yell, insult, etc. but I understand many people use social media to ■■■■■ and abuse others.)
An honest mistake and an insult are different and I hope students know the difference, although if they don’t, hopefully they’ll learn.
Willfully (and repeatedly) not using the name the person told you they were called is an insult and they’re right to be insulted.
It seems kind of simple to me - it’s about respect. I don’t call my doctor Mr. - we are deeply ensconced in the age of respect for others who are different than we may be. I work with 35 under 30s and every single one of them has the pronouns “thing” down, with nary a hiccup. Now it’s my (our) generation’s turn to get on board. Think about those godawful terms our grandparents used to use to describe some other people (if you’re not sure what I’m referring to, think Archie Bunker). We (hopefully!) wouldn’t even consider using any of those phrases or words today…thankfully!
“Non-traditional”? Traditions change over time - for a multiple of reasons.
I live outside Philadelphia and don’t know anyone who uses alternate pronouns, nor do any of my kids friends. The closest I’ve come is a friend’s child who transitioned from male to female but that’s just he to she.
The people I know who transitioned did so not because they identified more with the cultural definition of male or female. They did so because they truly felt that they were trapped in the body of the wrong sex. I don’t understand, but I don’t have to understand … it’s not my brain or my body. I simply support them as I would support anyone going through any personal issues. I have spoken with a mom of a young woman who transitioned to a man. The mom said that it’s not easy to handle the feelings she has, but she loves her child unconditionally.
I do know people who prefer “they” pronouns. My oldest has a co-worker who goes by “they”. I think they don’t feel male or female. They are non-binary and prefer to be “they”. It’s not that hard.
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So you are purposefully refusing to call someone by a name they have requested because they are asking you to do it? How is that logical?
So if I think simba9 is a stupid user name, does that mean I can just call you nala6 instead? I mean, I don’t care what you want to be called, if I don’t like the name you have chosen I will just pick whatever I want.
Other people being offended by someone’s name baffles me.
eta: So if enough people keep calling you nala when you have made it clear your name is simba, yeah, eventually you get annoyed and not nice about correcting people.
This is more complicated than what I’m about to type but to answer your question the best way I can as a person who is not “woke” but trying to understand:
there have always been people who felt the sexual apendage(s) they were born with was the “wrong” one. For instance, they felt like little girls and happened to have a “thing” at the crotch level, which they figured would disappear whent they’d grow up to be like their mommy. And at some point they understood it wouldn’t disappear, which caused internal turmoil. What happened in the past was that some “disappeared”, left their family, moved to a place where no one knew them, they reinvented themselves and “passed”. Or they “pretended”, often living double lives, often suffering.
Today, if you have the soul of a strong woman trapped inside the body of a man, or the sould of a man trapped inside the body of a woman, you don’t have to disappear&pass or pretend to be someone else. It’s not easy but you have a right to exist.
That right is still being defined and many people would like to erase people whose soul tells them they are something different than what their body tells others they are. So, it’s painful and difficult for everyone, but I think it’s easier on us (in general, ie., adults trying to learn about it) than it is on the people figuring it out, parents and children.
There’s a really beautiful documentary called “Little girl” (Petite fille), filmed in Belgium where people don’t know much about trans identities, ie., that transgender people exist. It’s really neat because if (like many adults) you know little, it takes you through the understanding.
There’s also a reality show called I am Jazz about a little boy who’s sure he’s a girl and we follow her as she becomes a teenager. (I don’t know how to word this). I don’t watch that reality show and came across it when I was looking for a jazz video 
but the tidbits are interesting.
i personally have friends online that use these sets of pronouns + much more. i agree that it may be confusing – but people do have different names. we seem to have no problem memorizing those. as a nonbinary person, i think the best course of action for a gender neutral pronoun is “they/them”. different enough to be gender neutral, close enough to be an accepted part of english. all words are made up, so im not sure what’s the deal here.
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I’ll call someone by their name or “they” or “them”, but I’m not going to work extra hard to refer to someone as “zie” or “cie” instead of he or she.
many latine people have expressed that they don’t like “latinx”. it’s virtually unpronounceable in Spanish, and “latine” is a better alternative.
I thought it was pronounced “latin- ex” (rhyming with rex, apex, codex, dura lex sed lex… and other Latin words in -ex) to cover a/o/os/as…
I’ve never heard it in real life though.
This is a situation where the majority of Latinos do not want to use these terms, but usually White people insist on it. What happened to calling people by what they want to be called?
in english, it is pronounced as “latin-ex”, so you are right about that. but in spanish, the pronunciation is entirely different, and virtually unpronounceable. “latinx” as a term was created by americans, who strived to be gender neutral but instead failed to take spanish and portuguese speakers (aka, those who are actually latine!), into account.
im sorry if i ever overstepped my boundaries. i am not latina myself, i’m asian. i have nonbinary friends that are also latine who would wish to be referred to as latine and not latinx, latino, or latina, and im simply conveying what i learned to people on this forum.
super! it doesn’t sound like anyone in your life has asked you to do more than this, so that sounds like a great way to show respect for others with relatively little work on your end. And then you can refocus on your own passions and interests!