“20 years ago it was sort of a ‘closetty’ thing to refer to your date as ‘they’, like you were trying not to reveal their gender,” Schoolman said, reflecting on the development of the non-binary pronoun’s context. For those who question the long-term existence of the use of this pronoun. Schoolman says there has always be a singular for they. Martha Schoolman, an FIU Associate Professor in the Department of English, identifies as a cisgender lesbian woman and is an active ally towards the transgender community. Oftentimes, when someone asks to be referred to using they/them pronouns, people are quick to shut down the idea of using the preferred pronoun because it’s not the “norm.” However, “they” has been used in its singular form in day-to-day language, dating back from the 1950’s.

This number continues to grow as gender-diverse movements and demographic shifts continue to develop. Transgender Survey found that about 35% of transgender people identify as non-binary, making use of the pronoun in validation of their identity. In a recent study, The Report of the U.S. People who identify as non-binary have gender identities that usually do not align with male or female pronouns, which are he/him or she/her, but usually prefer to use gender neutral they/them pronouns.

On September 17, 2019, the non-binary pronoun “they” was added to the Merriam Webster Dictionary in its singular form, marking a historic day in queer politic and linguistics.Ī largely debated topic in the English language has been whether it is “grammatically correct” to use they/them pronouns in reference to a singular person.

Binary editor process not shutting down