Merriam-Webster adds non-binary pronoun ‘they’

[Tom Nook 37,820]

4 —used to refer to a single person whose gender identity is nonbinary (see NONBINARY sense c)

”I knew certain things about … the person I was interviewing.… They had adopted their gender-neutral name a few years ago, when they began to consciously identify as nonbinary — that is, neither male nor female. They were in their late 20s, working as an event planner, applying to graduate school.” — Amy Harmon

[Edonis 28,974]

Obsessed Non-binary haters continue to lose 

[Stephen 30,433]

PROGRESS

Take that Little Conservatives!!!  

[Ryusei 61,502]

You happy now Little Grammarsters (who didnt have much of an idea of grammar in the first place if you didnt know about this but used it as an argument)

[Guest Adarsh]

@Akiki A ki, a cackle 

[skedaddleBItCh 2,821]

We stan a non-binary supporter dictionary

[Gracious Gaga 17,163]

Thank god.  Now all the non-binaryphobic people can stop using “they refers to multiple people” as an excuse to not tolerating individuals who are confident they don’t identity as either he or she.  

And half of those non-binaryphobic people are apart of the LGB community, sadly.  Shocking how close minded some people with similar struggles can be.

[AlexanderMagno 10,746]

Sam Smith’s impact

[corvus albus 38,031]

Basically, if someone tries to bring some argument about grammar and non-binary people we can trow Merriam-Webster in their face? A concept

[ARTPOP2 3,948]

wow, posted yesterday?! were they lurking on this site and decided to pissoff the transphobic pronoun police of ggd? 

[corvus albus 38,031]

25 minutes ago, Gracious Gaga said:

Thank god.  Now all the non-binaryphobic people can stop using “they refers to multiple people” as an excuse to not tolerating individuals who are confident they don’t identity as either he or she.  

And half of those non-binaryphobic people are apart of the LGB community, sadly.  Shocking how close minded some people with similar struggles can be.

Don't forget the T. There are numerous trans people that make it especially hard for non-binary people. Blaire White comes to mind as an especially disgusting example.

[Gracious Gaga 17,163]

34 minutes ago, corvus albus said:

Don't forget the T. There are numerous trans people that make it especially hard for non-binary people. Blaire White comes to mind as an especially disgusting example.

Oh wow I intentionally excluded the T thinking that community would be the most understanding and accepting.... guess not

[Miel 15,009]

Good. It shouldn't have been an argument, as it was grammatically valid to begin with (we literally use it in everyday language), but the overall validation is good. It's a step forward.

[Miel 15,009]

36 minutes ago, corvus albus said:

Don't forget the T. There are numerous trans people that make it especially hard for non-binary people. Blaire White comes to mind as an especially disgusting example.

 

Just now, Gracious Gaga said:

Oh wow I intentionally excluded the T thinking that community would be the most understanding and accepting.... guess not

It's crazy how people who identify in the LGBT-spectrum still have very essentialist views on the construction of gender binary. Generally it's much more prominent with people in the LGB-area who are cis, but as @corvus albus said, there are trans figures who think the same way.

It's whacky.

[jprince99x 3,547]

Wed September 18, 2019 (CNN)

Merriam-Webster has officially added the nonbinary pronoun "they" as an entry in its dictionary.

Merriam-Webster announced Tuesday that the word "they" can be used to refer to a single person whose gender identity is nonbinary along with three other separate definitions.

Merriam-Webster uses the word in a sentence as an example: "I knew certain things about ... the person I was interviewing.... They had adopted their gender-neutral name a few years ago, when they began to consciously identify as nonbinary -- that is, neither male nor female. They were in their late 20s, working as an event planner, applying to graduate school."

Merriam-Webster acknowledges that "they" consistently has been used a singular pronoun since the late 1300s. While adopting the pronoun as a nonbinary description is vastly preferable for some, Merriam-Webster says, there has also been some debate that it is ungrammatical.

"Much has been written on they, and we aren't going to attempt to cover it here," a post on the dictionary's website reads.

Merriam-Webster also notes it has evidence in its files of the nonbinary "they" dating back to 1950, and that it's likely there are earlier uses of the nonbinary pronoun out there.

Merriam-Webster's latest batch of updates includes 533 new words and meanings added to the dictionary.

"Words can come and go in a language, but those that show staying power and increasing use need to be recorded and described," reads a statement from Merriam-Webster.

SOURCE: https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/17/us/merriam-webster-nonbinary-pronoun-they-trnd/index.html

It’s settled.