Why do pronouns matter?
THEY THEM
The cultural conversation surrounding pronouns has been a strung out one. Whether it’s a heated debate unfolding on social media, a certain Canadian professor loudly proclaiming his unwillingness to respect students’ pronouns, or a gimmicky half-baked joke parodying what people can choose to identify as. In short, the topic of pronouns has, somehow, been propped up as some kind of social justice warrior novelty, rather than considered discourse that shapes how we respect each other in the queer community. So, to offer some clarity on the subject, GAY TIMES spoke with a handful of LGBTQ+ people to unpack why pronouns (which we’ve used extensively throughout history) has suddenly become such a hotbed topic.
For me, pronouns make absolute sense. Well, when it comes to basic syntax and the understanding of key linguistic factors, pronouns have been around for a good while. They’re vital fragments of speech that function as signifiers of who you are speaking or to determine the difference between a noun or a noun phrase. Today, the word pronouns (when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community) is seen as adjacent to the phrase “preferred gender pronoun”. So, what is this? A preferred pronoun is a choice of pronoun that an
