How to get neutral gender pronouns on Facebook Timeline! (It finally works! :D)

"Some people object to the use of plural pronouns in this type of situation on the grounds that it’s ungrammatical. In fact, the use of plural pronouns to refer back to a singular subject isn’t new: it represents a revival of a practice dating from the 16th century. It’s increasingly common in current English and is now widely accepted both in speech and in writing."

'He or she' versus 'they' - Oxford Dictionaries Online


"Meanwhile, many great writers — Byron, Austen, Thackeray, Eliot, Dickens, Trollope and more — continued to use they and company as singulars, never mind the grammarians."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/magazine/26FOB-onlanguage-t.html?ref=magazine

 

i quite agree with you. when someone was listing pronouns, they either were plural, or made-up words 99% of people have never heard of.

I doubt they would rush to add colloquialisems already being used by bigots as slurs.

 

I get what you are saying, but the hell with grammar. If using a word "improperly" means that someone will feel comfortable with themselves and acknowledged by others, then in my opinion people should be okay with that.

 

'Their' is a replacement for 'his or hers', as can be clearly seen from its widespread use in that sense in colloquial speech, informal writing, journalism and literature.

 

I just did it using the English (US) version of Facebook. I'm seeing "their" on my own profile, and I tested it with a friend of mine who tells me that Facebook is using "their" to refer to me in her own notifications.

This is brilliant! Thank you so much, highlights!

 

Yay!! I got it to work!! Thanks for posting this!!

 

No, of course you don't have to like it.

We can have the debate about the value of concepts like 'improper' in the study of language if you like, but maybe this isn't the place. And we both know how it goes anyway.

 

Is there actually a pronoun to describe gender neutrality that isn't plural?

 

I've just discovered one problem with this fix: familial relationship listings. My sister's page still lists me as her "brother" and my mother's page still lists me as her "son". *sigh* Oh well, nothing's perfect, I guess.

There are a few sets of invented one made specifically to fill that void, though none of them are widely recognized outside of LGBT circles. The one I tend to use is zhe/zhim/zher (equivalent to he/him/his, respectively).

 

Neuter singular is "it". Obviously it isn't going to be used when referring to people.
English personal pronouns - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

*hits the like button*