Gender Neutral Pronouns in English
Throughout history there have been countless candidates for completely gender-neutral pronouns, or epicene pronouns, to be used in the English language. So far, there hasn’t been a single set of gender-neutral pronouns that has been able to break through to mass acceptance. Many suggested neologisms have been criticized for various reasons; how much of a gender bias remains in the pronoun’s phonetic likeness to gendered pronouns as well as the lack of fluidity when adopted in speech. Below is a list of epicene pronouns proposed throughout history:
1884 thon, thons hi, hes, hem le, lis, lim hiser, himer ip, ips
1912 he’er, him’er, his’er, his’er’s
1927 ha, hez, hem on hesh, hizzer, himmer about thir
1970 she (since it contains he), heris, herim co, cos ve, vis, ver
1972 tey, term, tem shis, shim, shims, shimself ze, zim, zees, zeeself per, pers
1973 na, nan, naself s/he him/er his-or-her
1974 en, es, ar hisorher herorhis
1978 ae hir 1979 et, ets, etself shey, sheir, sheirs
(Table from The American Heritage Book of English Usage)
Overall, there is a vast range of proposed gender-neutral pronouns. Different communities have actively created some of which, for example the gender inclusive “Co” adopted by the Twin Oaks Intentional Community. This epicene pronoun is utilized with the intention of actively banishing a gender bias from language. There are also others have arisen organically in particular English dialects such as the use of “yo” in some high school and middle school students in Baltimore. There is also the practice of asking an individual what their preferred pronoun is, whether it is a gendered pronoun, they/their, or an epicene pronoun such as ze/zir. This is a courtesy commonly performed in the genderqueer community. These specific gender-neutral pronouns will be further explored to gain an understanding of the process of implementation and effects of using these neologisms.
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