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The term “neopronoun” might sound foreign or like something that was just introduced, but neopronouns have actually been around since the mid-1800s, according to Bonikowski. For example, the neopronoun “thon” was a big one back in the day: “Thon”\u2014short for “that one”\u2014was introduced in 1858 and served as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun. It was even added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary in 1934 but removed in 1961.<\/p>\n
While most of those neopronouns fell out of use or have not been in continuous use\u2014like \u201chesher” and \u201cze\u201d\u2014Bonikowski notes that people have been trying to tinker with pronouns to reflect gender neutrality for centuries. “From the mid-1600s, English language style guides also promoted the use of ‘generic he’ to include any single person in the third person of any gender,\u201d she explains. \u201cDuring the 1970s and \u201880s, perhaps related to second-wave feminism, ‘generic she’ was used by some writers. Some people alternated between using ‘she’ and using ‘he,’ or consistently wrote out the longer phrase \u2018he or she.\u2019 Novel forms like ‘s\/he’ were used in the 1990s and early 2000s.\u201d<\/p>\n
Throughout history, neopronouns were even coined and pushed by state legislatures to clarify that laws should apply to any individual (whereas \u201cgeneric he\u201d can be read as applying only to men), she continues. Some newspapers and universities have also promoted the use of neopronouns: As described in linguist Dennis Baron\u2019s book What\u2019s Your Pronoun?: Beyond He and She<\/em>, the Sacramento Bee used “hir” for almost 30 years starting in the 1920s, and Mississippi even entertained a bill proposed in 1922 to adopt the pronouns \u201chesh\/hiser\/himer\u201d that failed by only one vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n More recently, the singular \u201cthey\u201d has enjoyed a broader acceptance, even in edited, published writing. It\u2019s used by many non-binary people, though it does still have other uses for an unspecified singular referent. Neopronouns, however, are now primarily used by non-binary people. And things have significantly improved when it comes to neopronoun inclusion, too: The Oxford English Dictionary added the neopronouns \u201cze\u201d and \u201cthon\u201d in 2018 and \u201chir\u201d and \u201czir\u201d in 2019. In 2021, AI writing assistant Grammarly added support for neopronouns including xe\/xem, ze\/zir, ve\/ver, and ney\/nem. And social media sites like Facebook and Instagram allow users to pick from over 50 gender identities. Still, we have ways to go.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n