"Preferred Gender Pronoun"
"Preferred gender pronoun." Why is this term being promulgated? I am trans, and I find it offensive. And quite honestly, I find it hard to believe that nobody else does.
Starting with the word "preferred." Last time I checked, for most people their gender identity is not a preference; it's just the way it is. That's certainly the case with me: call me anything other than "she" or "her" and I'll claw your eyes out. It's not "preferred," it's not optional; it's correct. How could "preferred gender pronoun" possibly be considered politically correct when the similar term "sexual preference" hasn't been politically correct in at least fifteen years?
I'll even take issue with the word "gender." What if someone is agender? They have no gender. And what if their pronoun is gender-neutral? The pronoun has no gender either. Is that still a "gender pronoun?" How could it be if it's by definition genderless?
Which leaves the one word no one could possibly take offense at: pronoun. Because no matter which one it is, it is most certainly a pronoun. So please, stop asking me "what's your PGP?" or "what's your preferred pronoun?" and just ask me, "what's your pronoun?"
Starting with the word "preferred." Last time I checked, for most people their gender identity is not a preference; it's just the way it is. That's certainly the case with me: call me anything other than "she" or "her" and I'll claw your eyes out. It's not "preferred," it's not optional; it's correct. How could "preferred gender pronoun" possibly be considered politically correct when the similar term "sexual preference" hasn't been politically correct in at least fifteen years?
I'll even take issue with the word "gender." What if someone is agender? They have no gender. And what if their pronoun is gender-neutral? The pronoun has no gender either. Is that still a "gender pronoun?" How could it be if it's by definition genderless?
Which leaves the one word no one could possibly take offense at: pronoun. Because no matter which one it is, it is most certainly a pronoun. So please, stop asking me "what's your PGP?" or "what's your preferred pronoun?" and just ask me, "what's your pronoun?"