English neutral pronouns: Difference between revisions

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===S/he===
===S/he===


'''s/he (sHe), hir, hir, hirs, hirself'''. A set of English gender-neutral pronouns used in books by Timothy Leary in the 1970s, and then by counterculture writers influenced by Leary. For example, in Robert Anton Wilson's book ''Prometheus Rising'' (first published in 1983), which is strongly based on Leary's writings about consciousness, Wilson uses SHe [sic] pronouns to include humans of any kind, as short for "she or he."<ref>Robert Anton Wilson, ''Prometheus Rising.'' Second edition. Grand Junction, Colorado: Hilaritas Press, 2016. Page 55.</ref> It was used in non-fiction writings about spirituality by the Elf Queen's Daughters and the Silver Elves from the 1970s to the present 2010s. It was also used in fiction in Peter David's ''Star Trek'' books.<ref name="aetherlumina feb 29 2012"></ref> Sometimes with mixed caps, as shown. This pronoun was not entered in the 2018 Gender Census.<ref name="Census2018"/> However, notable nonbinary people who have asked to be called by s/he pronouns include revolutionary communist [[Leslie Feinberg]]. In hir book ''Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue,'' Feinberg wrote,
'''s/he (sHe), hir, hir, hirs, hirself'''. A set of English gender-neutral pronouns used in books by Timothy Leary in the 1970s, and then by counterculture writers influenced by Leary. For example, in Robert Anton Wilson's book ''Prometheus Rising'' (first published in 1983), which is strongly based on Leary's writings about consciousness, Wilson uses SHe [sic] pronouns to include humans of any kind, as short for "she or he."<ref>Robert Anton Wilson, ''Prometheus Rising.'' Second edition. Grand Junction, Colorado: Hilaritas Press, 2016. Page 55.</ref> It was used in non-fiction writings about spirituality by the Elf Queen's Daughters and the Silver Elves from the 1970s to the present 2010s. It was also used in fiction in Peter David's ''Star Trek'' books. Sometimes with mixed caps, as shown. This pronoun was not entered in the 2018 Gender Census.<ref name="Census2018"/> However, notable nonbinary people who have asked to be called by s/he pronouns include revolutionary communist [[Leslie Feinberg]]. In hir book ''Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue,'' Feinberg wrote,


<blockquote>"I asked Beacon Press to use ''s/he'' [sic] in the author description of me on the cover of ''Transgender Warriors'' [another book by Feinberg]. That pronoun is a contribution from the women's liberation movement. Prior to that struggle, the pronoun 'he' was almost universally used to describe humankind-- 'mankind.' So ''s/he''' opened up the pronoun to include 'womankind.' I used ''s/he'' on my book jacket because it is recognizable as a gender-neutral pronoun to people. But I personally prefer the pronoun ''ze'' because, for me, it melds mankind and womankind into humankind."<ref>Leslie Feinberg, ''Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue.'' Page 71.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>"I asked Beacon Press to use ''s/he'' [sic] in the author description of me on the cover of ''Transgender Warriors'' [another book by Feinberg]. That pronoun is a contribution from the women's liberation movement. Prior to that struggle, the pronoun 'he' was almost universally used to describe humankind-- 'mankind.' So ''s/he''' opened up the pronoun to include 'womankind.' I used ''s/he'' on my book jacket because it is recognizable as a gender-neutral pronoun to people. But I personally prefer the pronoun ''ze'' because, for me, it melds mankind and womankind into humankind."<ref>Leslie Feinberg, ''Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue.'' Page 71.</ref></blockquote>