They/Them Pronouns; Are They Valid?
January 8, 2019
There’s a lot of discourse being flung around about they/them pronouns, both in high school and in the outside world. People wonder about how to handle these when they talk to their kids, whether to use they/them for a singular person, and how one even knows if they are non-binary.
In all of this, perhaps the biggest confusion is whether this a valid identification for the younger generations.
Trans people have made themselves known for a few decades now, but non-binary people have only just started to identify. However, this is met with just as much backlash, if not more, than those who simply identify as trans.
Non-binary, for those who may be unaware, is an identity that is neither specifically male nor female; it’s both, or somewhere in between, or neither. Non-binary means something different to every person who identifies as such.
Now, back to the main topic; pronouns. Plenty of people say they/them pronouns are invalid, grammatically incorrect, or that they just don’t make sense. This is all false. Many dictionaries, such as the Oxford dictionary, have added they/them pronouns in singular use, proving that it’s grammatically correct. More and more young adults and teens have started using these pronouns as a way to make their identities heard.
Overall, they/them pronouns are entirely valid, and those that use them are just as deserving of respect as any other teen or young adult.