Month of Joy: Gender Diverse Pronouns by Cameron Coulter
Gender diverse pronouns bring me joy. What are gender diverse pronouns? In short, they’re all the alternatives to she and he (for people—I’m not counting “it”). In the introduction to Capricious Issue 9: Gender Diverse Pronouns, editor A.C. Buchanan writes that gender diverse pronouns include “singular they, neopronouns, and pronoun sets of the authors’ invention.” What’s a neopronoun? Often, people use the term neopronoun to refer to gender neutral pronouns that can be used instead of singular they. I’m borrowing A.C. Buchanan’s term for this post because it’s broad, encompassing singular they, other gender neutral pronouns, and even pronouns which signify a gender identity beyond femininity or masculinity. All of these things—all of these gender diverse pronouns—bring me great joy. I love singular they pronouns. I love gender neutral neopronouns. I love invented pronouns which signify nonbinary genders. I love stories that feature characters—and societies—that use gender diverse pronouns, whether it’s singular they or entirely new pronouns that signify entirely new genders. These stories normalize diverse pronouns and gender identities, which is good and necessary work because people with diverse pronouns and gender identities are all around us.
