Well I think I know what people are going to say but what are your opinions on people using nounself pronouns? Thankfully I don't know anyone irl that does, non-binary people that I know use they/them. Personally I think it's really harmful for the trans community as a whole. Ignorant cis people take the piss and say "I identify as a helicopter, I use whir/whir/whirself pronouns" and for people with genuine gender dysphoria and deteriorating mental health because of it this is only making things more difficult. Pronouns are made so we're not constantly having to repeat peoples names over and over. Yes you should feel comfortable with them but nounself is going way OTT and like I said, its having a detrimental effect on trans people, especially non-binary people. I read an article today about non-binary healthcare and transitioning in the UK and GIC's aren't taking them seriously or making any effort to understand their need to transition one way or another. This isn't helping in the slightest. It just annoys me that trans activists have worked so hard to get us to where we are today (even though we're a long way from the end goal) and you get selfish people telling others to call them pig/pigs/pigself and it just feels like the wall we've built is being knocked back down again. Sorry for the rant. Anyone else have any opinions on it?
Oh My Goddess... this is all so confusing. Are there classes I can take so I can understand all of this? I never knew the complexity and vastness of everything the LGBT+ (?) world consisted of until I found Empty Closets. As I'm learning I hope I won't offend anyone by making any accidental faux Pas...
I definitely think it's rude to mock people like that, like this person at my LGBT youth group tried to say "unicorn" for gender and he obviously seemed a bit...misinformed(?). I know several people irl that use they/them pronouns and I respect it.
Trust that you certainly will offend people. When it happens, be nice, but do not take on their pain...it's *their* pain, and it wasn't caused by you.
I've never met anyone in real life that wants to be referred to with nounself pronouns. I don't know how real they are outside of the internet, but they bother me, because they seem to trivialize a serious issue. Transmen shouldn't get flack for wanting he/him pronouns, and transwomen shouldn't have any issues being addressed with she/her pronouns. Non-binary and otherwise non-conforming individuals that are uncomfortable with standard, binary pronouns shouldn't get forced into those two boxes when singular they/them is an option, as well as a variety of fairly widely used third option pronouns like ze/zir or e/em. It bothers me that so many people refuse to acknowledge trans people's pronouns because it's "hard" or "confusing". And I think that nounself pronouns would bother me less if I didn't end up in multiple conversations with people that didn't know I was trans...people that were fairly intelligent, but were entirely dismissive of trans issues because of people using nounself pronouns online. And it sounds outrageous, but they're conversations that were actually had. I've been told how trans people are the gender they were assigned, and this pronoun thing is ridiculous because not only do they have to try and remember to call a boy she, but now they have to remember to call a girl they, or a plant, or a unicorn. Like they literally dismissed the entirety of valid non-binary identities because they found nounself pronouns laughable. And I don't know, it just seems unnecessary. I've never called anyone's pet by "dog" pronouns, because dog isn't a gender. Granted, if I ever met anyone that seriously preferred dog pronouns for their mental well being, I would probably have a different opinion on the matter.
I feel as though this is a very sensitive subject. On one hand, I completely agree with how nounself pronouns make the LGBT community seem like a joke. On the other hand, it feels as though the transgender community is forced to be accepting of individuals using these pronouns for fear that they will be hypocrites if they don't. In my opinion, it seems as though it would be best to treat otherkin individuals as a completely different entity. By this, I don't mean alienating them. I'm just not sure I would consider them a form of transgender since they go beyond gender altogether...
