Getting Specific with Pronouns!

Good evening, friends!

Today we will be discussing what neopronouns/xenopronouns are, how to use them in the day to day, and why getting specific with pronouns is a good thing.

Kinda seems like an oxymoron right? How can you be specific with a language tool whose purpose is to make general references to people or things? Well in the field of gender a neopronoun allows many to carve out their own “gender space” with customized pronouns that more finely align with the individuals’ sense of gender identity. These “new” pronouns can seem a bit arbitrary but I would say that’s a feature more than a bug. The wonderful thing about language is that it is a true servant of the masses. Changes in language happen naturally and spontaneously in response to its users; not to the whims of “authority.” While gatekeepers of language scoff at “slang” and “acronyms” we true users of language readily identify new language tools and adapt them to the lexicon.

Now you may be wondering what exactly a “neopronoun” looks like and how in the world would you conjugate it into other forms like you would for he/him/himself, she/her/herself, and they/them/themself? Thanks to @neopronounfaq on Tumblr we have a handy little cheat sheet:

Ae/em/aes

Ae/aer/aers

Ce/cer/cers

Cryp/crypself

E/em/eirs

Ey/em/eirs (Singular)

Fae/faer/faers

Ne/nem/nirs

Kit/kitself

Per/perself

Thon/thonself

Xe/hir/hirs

Xe/xem/xyrs

Xe/xim/xis

Xey/xem/xeirs (Plural)

Ze/hir/hirs

Zed/zedself

This next list was found on the Western Oregon University website and goes more in-depth on how one would use these neopronouns in a daily conversation.

Pronouns

1. Spivak(old)
2. Spivak(new)
3. Tho and Thong (new)
4. Humanist
5. Per
6. Thon
7. Jee, Jeir, Jem
8. Ve
9. Xe
10. Ze (or zie or sie) and zir
11. Ze likes zirself
12. Ze and mer
13. Zhe, Zher, Zhim

Nominative(subject)

1. E laughed
2. Ey laughed
3. Tho laughed
4. Hu laughed
5. Per laughed
6. Thon laughed
7. Jee laughed
8. Ve laughed
9. Xe laughed
10. Ze laughed
11. Ze laughed
12. Ze laughed
13. Zhe laughed

Oblique(object)

1. I called em
2. I called em
3. I called Thor
4. I called hum
5. I called per
6. I called thon
7. I called jem
8. I called ver
9. I called xem
10. I called zir/zem
11. I called hir
12. I called mer
13. I called zhim

Possessive determiner

1. Eir eyes gleam
2. Eir eyes gleam
3. Thors eyes gleam
4. Hus eyes gleam
5. Per eyes gleam
6. Thons eyes gleam
7. Jeir eyes gleam
8. Vis eyes gleam
9. Xyr eyes gleam
10. Zir/Zes eyes gleam
11. Hir eyes gleam
12. Zer eyes gleam
13. Zher eyes gleam

Possessive noun

1. That is eirs
2. That is eirs
3. That is Thor
4. That is hus
5. That is pers
6. That is thons
7. That is jeirs
8. That is vis
9. That is xyrs
10. That is zirs/zes
11. That is hirs
12. That is zers
13. That is zhers

Reflexive

1. E likes eirself
2. Ey likes emself
3. Tho likes Thongself
4. Hu likes humself
5. Per likes perself
6. Thon likes thonself
7. Jee likes jemself
8. Ve likes verself
9. Xe likes xemself
10. Ze likes zirself
11. Ze likes hirself
12. Ze likes zemself
13. Zhe likes zhimself

As you can see, some neopronouns have several conjugate forms and some only have one. If you run across one in the wild you may simply ask its owner about the conjugates and they will likely be happy to inform you of the different usages.

In my personal journey to discover more about neopronouns I came across a Tik Tok user by the handle @respecttheirpronouns who was kind enough to explain to me that neo/xenopronouns could be invented at will to fit your comfort level and shared some interesting examples of these pronouns. One could potentially use “xe/xem, mae/em, it/its,... doll/dolls/dollself, bee/bees/beeself, frog/frogs/frogself etc.” “Quite the novel invention of the 21st century” or so I thought. As it turns out “neopronouns” aren’t exactly a new phenomenon with https://uwm.edu/lgbtrc/support/gender-pronouns/ writing that as early as 1789 people were using “he, she, it, they, and even I.”

If we’ve done our job right, the next time you hear someone use a new pronoun you won’t be caught off guard, and communication can flow smoothly as it should!

We hope this helped you! Let us know by leaving a comment below any other tips for being an ally to the movement, and what you would like to know next. We release two new articles every week Monday and Friday(schedules permitting).

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Looking forward to chatting with you soon!

Julian (He/Them) and Michelle (She/Her)