Argumentative Penguin
2 min readMar 12, 2022

--

Very interesting stuff- and I agree with you. The issue isn't necessarily that there's a lack of political will here around pronouns - it's that they cannot be easily applied. Language evolves naturally and any attempt to hijack it must be veiwed with extreme caution. I go into that a little bit at the end of this article. https://medium.com/lucid-nightmare/gaslight-gaslight-why-am-i-gaslit-everywhere-i-go-c9280a0a3b37

I think ultimately it'll be down to the democracy of experience. I could accommodate the pronoun choice of someone who wishes to be 'they' but I won't be held accountable by law for doing so. I would consider it a token of respect by a fellow liberal rather than a human right to be enforced and mandated by law. I probably wouldn't entertain one of the 100's of other variations - people can insist on them if they wish, but I reserve the right to not bother. I feel much the same way about clothes. Some people dress insanely and don't fit in - doesn't mean we have to throw away the social contract around acceptable clothing.

Attempting to force X into everything, like womxn or Latinx will likely die out. It's not a feasible change that people can adopt quickly and easily. The change from Miss/Mrs to Ms - as happened in English was an easier fix. It caught on because speakers intuitively understand what's happening here and see the need for a change. You rarely see 'Master' for a young boy written at all anymore - though it was in common usage across the 20th Century.

I'm interested to see where language evolves next - but I suspect any attempt to force it one way or the other is doomed to failure. Progressives should concentrate on small wins rather than throwing out the entire thing and starting again. Languages evolve rather than pivot. Great article :o)

--

--

Argumentative Penguin
Argumentative Penguin

Written by Argumentative Penguin

Playwright. Screenwriter. Penguin. Fan of rationalism and polite discourse. Find me causing chaos in the comments. Contact: argumentativepenguin@outlook.com

No responses yet