View source for English neutral pronouns

{{Side list
|title = Most used neutral pronouns
|content =
# They/them (79.5%)
# Xe/xem (7.2%)
# E/em (5.2%)
# Ze/hir (4.7%)
# It/its (4.4%)
# Fae/faer (4.3%)

Data provided by the 2019 Gender Census.<ref name="Census2018"/>
}}
'''English neutral pronouns''' are useful not only when writing documents that need to use inclusive language, but also for any [[nonbinary]] people who prefer not to have their pronouns imply that they are female or male. As shown in surveys, many nonbinary people are okay with being called "he" or "she," but there are also many nonbinary people who don't want to be called either of these. The surveys show that the most popular gender-neutral pronoun for nonbinary people is [[singular they]], but nearly as many prefer or accept some other neutral pronoun. See examples of this in [[Pronouns#Examples_of_specific_nonbinary_people.27s_pronouns|pronouns in use for nonbinary people]].

==History==

In English, people are usually called by a [[pronouns|pronoun]] that implies their gender. For example, [[English neutral pronouns#She|she]] for women, and [[English neutral pronouns#He|he]] for men. The use of [[singular they]] as a gender-neutral pronoun has been documented as standard usage in English throughout the past thousand years. However, prescriptive grammarians in the late eighteenth century decided that it was bad grammar because it works like a plural and because it isn't done in Latin.<ref name-"Churchyard">{{cite web|first=Henry|last= Churchyard|title=Jane Austen and other famous authors violate what everyone learned in their English class|url=http://www.crossmyt.com/hc/linghebr/austheir.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319092926/http://www.crossmyt.com/hc/linghebr/austheir.html |archive-date=19 March 2012}}</ref>

Prescriptive grammarians of the late eighteenth century instead recommended using "he" as a gender-neutral pronoun when one  is needed, instead of "singular they."<ref name="bustillos 250">{{Cite web |title=Our Desperate, 250-Year-Long Search for a Gender-Neutral Pronoun |last=Bustillos |first=Maria |work=The Awl |date=6 January 2011 |access-date=17 October 2020 |url= https://www.theawl.com/2011/01/our-desperate-250-year-long-search-for-a-gender-neutral-pronoun/}}</ref> However, "gender-neutral he" results in writings that are unclear about whether they mean only men or not, which makes problems in law.<ref name="Pullum">{{cite web|first=Geoffrey|last=Pullum|title=Canada Supreme Court Gets the Grammar Right.|work=Language Log|date=18 August 2004 |url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001362.html}}</ref>

===Regional nominative pronouns===

There have been some native English dialects that have their own gender-neutral pronouns, such as a, ou, and yo. These are often regional. One curious thing that a, ou, and yo all have in common is that they have only been recorded in their nominative form. It's possible that these three sets of pronouns may not actually have other forms (possessive, reflexive, etc). For this reason, these three sets of native English pronouns are listed separately from the other pronouns on this page that have complete forms. Although it's easy to make up more forms for these pronouns (such as inventing "ouself" [sic]), this is not what linguists have recorded in use.

====A====

'''A''' (nominative form only). "In 1789, William H. Marshall records […] Middle English epicene ‘a’, used by the 14th century English writer John of Trevisa and both the OED and Wright's English Dialect Dictionary confirm the use of ‘a’ for he, she, it, they, and even I. This ‘a’ is a reduced form of the Anglo-Saxon he = ‘he’ and heo = ‘she’.”<ref>Baron, Dennis (1986). Grammar and Gender. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-03526-8. as cited by Williams, John (1990s).</ref> <ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418022839/http://www.aetherlumina.com/gnp/history.html| url=http://www.aetherlumina.com/gnp/history.html|last=Williams|first=John|archive-date=18 April 2010|title=History - Native-English GNPs|work=Gender-Neutral Pronoun FAQ}}</ref> Some living British dialects still use the gender-neutral "a" pronoun.<ref>{{cite web|title=Epicene pronouns|work=American Heritage Book of English Usage|url=http://www.bartleby.com/64/C005/004.html|archive-date=30 June 2008|archive-url= http://web.archive.org/web/20080630041424/http://www.bartleby.com/64/C005/004.html}}</ref>

====Ou====

'''Ou''' (nominative form only) was first recorded in a native English dialect in the sixteenth century. "In 1789, William H. Marshall records the existence of a dialectal English epicene pronoun, singular ou: '"Ou will" expresses either he will, she will, or it will.' Marshall traces ou to Middle English epicene a, used by the fourteenth-century English writer John of Trevisa, and both the OED and Wright's English Dialect Dictionary confirm the use of a for he, she, it, they, and even I." In K. A. Cook's short story "The Differently Animated and Queer Society," the queer character Moon asks to be called by "ou" pronouns.<ref>K. A. Cook, "The Differently Animated and Queer Society." ''Crooked Words.'' Unpaged.</ref>

====Yo====

'''Yo''' (nominative form only). In addition to an interjection and greeting, "yo" is a gender-neutral pronoun in a dialect of African-American Vernacular English spoken by middle school students in Baltimore, Maryland, the student body of which is 97% African-American. These students had spontaneously created the pronoun as early as 2004 and commonly used it. A study by Stotko and Troyer in 2007 examined this pronoun. The speakers used "yo" only for same-age peers, not adults or authorities. They thought of it as a slang word that was informal, but they also thought if it as just as acceptable as "he" or "she". "Yo" was used for people whose gender was unknown, as well as for specific people whose gender was known, often while using a pointing gesture at the person in question. The researchers collected examples of the word in use, such as "yo threw a thumbtack at me," "you acting like I said what yo said," and "she ain't really go with yo." The researchers only collected examples of "yo" used in the nominative form. That is, they found no possessive forms such as "yo's," and no reflexive forms such as "yoself." As such, "yo" pronouns might be used only in nominative form, similar to another native English gender-neutral pronoun, "[[English neutral pronouns#A|a]]." Either that, or these forms exist, and the researchers just didn't collect them.<ref>Rebecca Hersher, "'Yo' said what?" April 24, 2013. ''NPR: Code Switch''. [http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2013/04/25/178788893/yo-said-what]</ref><ref>Elizabeth J. Elrod, "Give us a gender neutral pronoun, yo!: The need for and creation of a gender neutral, singular, third person, personal pronoun." ''Undergraduate Honors Theses'' paper 200. 2014. http://dc.etsu.edu/honors/200 or http://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1203&amp;context=honors (PDF)</ref>

===Neopronouns===

'''Neopronoun''' is a category for any English pronouns that are independent from traditional third person English pronouns. In the strictest sense, a neopronoun is a singular third-person pronoun which is not [[English_neutral_pronouns#He|he/him]], [[English_neutral_pronouns#She|she/her]], [[English_neutral_pronouns#It|it/its]], or [[English_neutral_pronouns#They|they/them]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.xojane.com/issues/we-need-more-pronouns|title=UNPOPULAR OPINION: We Should Have More Pronouns |date=28 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903114254/https://www.xojane.com/issues/we-need-more-pronouns |archive-date=3 September 2018 |last=Graham |first=Lore}}</ref> There is some disagreement in the nonbinary community on whether "it/its" should be considered a neopronoun when used for a person<ref>https://lgbta.fandom.com/wiki/Neopronouns#It</ref>, as the traditional usage is for animals, objects, and concepts.

Seeking a solution to the problem of a lack of a gender-neutral pronoun in English that satisfies all needs, people since the mid-nineteenth century have proposed many new gender-neutral singular pronouns.<ref name="aetherlumina archive history">{{cite web |title=History |work=Gender-Neutral Pronoun FAQ |url=http://www.aetherlumina.com/gnp/history.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20050207103316/http://www.aetherlumina.com/gnp/history.html |archive-date=7 February 2005}}</ref> For example, [[English neutral pronouns#Sie|sie]], [[English neutral pronouns#E|Spivak pronouns]], and others. None of these new words (neologisms) have become standard use or adopted into books of English grammar. However, some sets of these neologistic pronouns have seen a use for real people with [[nonbinary]] gender identities, and for characters in fiction. These neologisms are the main topic explored in the list that follows in this article.

==The list==

This list is of third-person gender-neutral singular pronouns in English. Some are "new" pronouns, and others have been in use for over a hundred years.

Please feel free to add more, though note that if you don't provide citations for [[Talk:English neutral pronouns#Notability|notability]] or include all five forms your entry may be moved to the talk page or be removed entirely. List pronoun sets in alphabetical order by their nominative form, or by the name of the set.

===Alternating pronouns===

'''he, her, his, herself''' (for one of many possible examples). Instead of using an alternative or neutral pronoun set, some people prefer an alternation between different sets. This is also called "rolling pronouns" by some.<ref name="Jakubowski">{{Cite web |title=Too Queer for Your Binary: Everything You Need to Know and More About Non-Binary Identities |last=Jakubowski |first=Kaylee |work=Everyday Feminism |date=4 March 2014 |access-date=7 June 2020 |url= https://everydayfeminism.com/2014/03/too-queer-for-your-binary/ |quote=rolling pronouns (which involves changing the persons pronoun each time that one comes up in a sentence – for example, “She went to the store, and on the way there he ran into an old friend who asked hir how they were doing”) }}</ref> Justice Ginsburg was in favor of alternating "he" and "she" pronouns to make legal documents gender-inclusive.<ref name="bustillos 250"></ref>

'''Use in fiction:''' In K. A. Cook's short story "Blue Paint, Chocolate and Other Similes," in ''Crooked Words,'' most of the story involves the narrator Ben moving from one set of pronouns to another for Chris as he tries to figure out Chris's gender. When the narrator is trying to determine whether Chris is male or female, Ben alternates between thinking of Chris as he or she. Upon recognizing that Chris identifies as nonbinary, the narrator begins using [[English neutral pronouns#Ze|ze]] pronouns for Chris. Then, Ben finally finds a good moment to ask for Chris's pronoun preference.<ref>K. A. Cook, "Blue Paint, Chocolate and Other Similes." ''Crooked Words.'' Unpaged.</ref>

'''Use by people:''' In the 2018 Gender Census, 13.8% of respondents chose "mix it up" both alone and in addition to other pronoun choices.<ref name="Census2018">[https://gendercensus.com/post/183832246805/gender-census-2019-the-full-report-worldwide Gender Census 2019 - The Full Report (Worldwide)], April 2019.</ref> Nonbinary artist and activist [[Sasha Alexander]] uses alternating "she/they/he" pronouns,<ref>{{cite tweet|user=BlackTransMedia|number=1163607100053950464|title=What a #blacktranseverything thread thank you sis[...] I don't post photos of myself here yall inspire(d) me so here I go.. I'm sasha founder/one of the co-directors of black trans media, I use she/they/he pronouns + insist that you mix it up or use my name #blacktransloveiswealth|date=19 August 2019}}</ref><ref name="Wicker">{{Cite web |title=TRANS POET SASHA - SHE, HE, THEY |last=Wicker |first=Randolfe |work=YouTube |date=9 March 2015 |access-date=27 April 2020 |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Eh6ZNtw1sM}}</ref> as does author [[Pat Schmatz]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gender-stories/id1353717550?i=1000414998640|date=30 June 2019|access-date=25 May 2020|title=Gender Stories: Writing non-binary}}</ref>

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell ''her'' a joke ''he'' laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet ''her'' I hug ''him''.
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When ''he'' does not get a haircut, ''her'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If my mobile phone runs out of power, ''he'' lets me borrow ''hers''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''herself''. '''or''' Each child feeds ''himself''.

===E===

There are several very similar sets of pronouns with the nominative form of "E," which have been independently proposed or revived over the last hundred years.<ref name="aetherlumina listing 2">[https://web.archive.org/web/20070310130020/http://aetherlumina.com/gnp/listing.html ''4.2.5. Comprehensive Listing of Neologisms'', March 10 2007]</ref><ref name="d baron epicene">{{cite web|first=Dennis|last= Baron|title=The Words that Failed: A chronology of early nonbinary pronouns|url=http://www.english.illinois.edu/-people-/faculty/debaron/essays/epicene.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622223218/http://www.english.illinois.edu/-people-/faculty/debaron/essays/epicene.htm|archive-date=22 June 2017}}</ref> 

====E (Spivak pronouns)====
'''E, Em, Eir, Eirs, Emself'''. These are sometimes called spivak pronouns. In 1990, Michael Spivak used them in his manual, ''The Joy of TeX,'' so that no person in his examples had a specified gender. These pronouns became well-known on the Internet because they were built into a popular multi-user chat, LambdaMOO, in 1991. Many users enjoyed choosing pronouns that didn't specify their gender. The pronouns then became a common feature of other multi-user chats made throughout the 1990s. Although many other variations have been attributed to Michael Spivak, this is the actual set Spivak used in ''The Joy of TeX'' in 1990 or 1991. Note that he always capitalized all forms of it, but not all users of these pronouns do so. <ref name="aetherluminarefs">https://web.archive.org/web/20070310125817/http://aetherlumina.com/gnp/references.html</ref> Spivak doesn't indicate whether he created these pronouns, or adopted or adapted them from somewhere else. Spivak is credited with having created these pronouns, although his book doesn't outright say that they're of his own creation. (Compare Elverson's [[English neutral pronouns#Ey|ey]] pronouns, which are very similar, with only a small spelling difference in the nominative form.)

'''Use in real life and non-fiction:'''
* When a programmer added this pronoun set to LambdaMOO in 1991, he used the same spelling as Spivak, but not capitalized.<ref>{{cite web| author= V.Dentata |title=MOO Bash FAQ|date=1999|url=http://www.amanita.net/bashfaq.html|archive-date=8 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308055037/http://www.amanita.net:80/bashfaq.html}}</ref> Regarding LambdaMOO, John Costello wrote, "I know the wizard who originally included the spivak pronouns on the MOO. He says he did it just on a whim after having read ''the Joy of TeX'' — he never thought they'd acquire the sexual and political nimbus they have over the years."<ref name="aetherluminarefs"></ref> LambdaMOO's "help spivak" command explains that these pronouns "were developed by mathematician Michael Spivak for use in his books."<ref>Sue Thomas, ''Hello World: Travels in Virtuality.'' 2004. P. 33.</ref> Programmer Roger "Rog" Crew tested the LambdaMOO system by putting more pronoun options into it in May 1991, including Spivak's set he remembered from ''The Joy of TeX.'' Crew didn't delete the pronouns after testing them, and later expressed "dismay" that the spivak pronouns became popular.<ref>Sue Thomas, ''Hello World: Travels in Virtuality.'' p. 34.</ref><ref>Steve Jones, ''Cybersociety 2.0: Revisiting Computer-Mediated Community and Technology.'' p. 141.</ref>
* Spivak pronouns became such a part of 1990s Internet culture that a handbook to that culture, ''Yib's Guide to Mooing'' (2003), uses spivak pronouns whenever speaking of a hypothetical person whose gender need not be specified.<ref>Elizabeth Hess, ''Yib's Guide to Mooing: Getting the Most from Virtual Communities on the Internet.'' 2003. p. 3, p. 283.</ref>
* In Internet environments, spivak was categorized not only as a set of pronouns but as a gender identity, which Thomas describes: "The spivak gender [...] is more representative of an emotional and intellectual state than of a physical configuration. It should be pointed out at the start that the sexuality available to a spivak is a bonus of online life, but it isn't the raison d'etre. Rather, it's a subtle notion of a gender-free condition. It's not androgynous. It's not unisexual. It's simply ambiguous."<ref>Sue Thomas, ''Hello World: Travels in Virtuality.'' p. 31-32.</ref> Some self-described spivaks use spivak as a proper noun for their non-binary gender identity.

'''Use in fiction:'''
* Steven Shaviro's theoretical fiction novel ''[http://www.dhalgren.com/Doom/ Doom Patrols]'' (1995-1997) uses spivak pronouns at times.<ref>Steven Shaviro, "Preface." ''Doom Patrols.'' [http://www.dhalgren.com/Doom/ch00.html http://www.dhalgren.com/Doom/ch00.html]</ref>
* The English translation of Sayuri Ueda's science fiction novel ''The Cage of Zeus'' (2011) uses spivak pronouns for genetically engineered characters with non-dyadic bodies and non-binary gender.<ref>Sayuri Ueda, ''The Cage of Zeus.'' 2011.</ref>
* In Orion's Arm (a fictional 12th millennium AD setting, as non-specific pronouns for sophonts of any gender, including AIs and aliens.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pronouns, Anglish |url=http://www.orionsarm.com/eg-article/495360fba7a46|work=Orion's Arm Universe Project}}</ref>

'''Use for people:'''
* In 1996, 74 out of 7064 users on LambdaMOO went by spivak pronouns, making it the second most popular nonbinary pronoun there.<ref>Steve Jones, ''Cybersociety 2.0: Revisiting Computer-Mediated Community and Technology.'' p. 142.</ref> In 2002, 108 out of 4061 users on LambdaMOO used spivak pronouns, making it the most popular neologistic pronoun set there.<ref name="aetherluminarefs"></ref>
* In 1996, 10 out of 1015 users on MediaMOO went by spivak pronouns, making these the second most popular nonbinary pronoun.<ref>Steve Jones, ''Cybersociety 2.0: Revisiting Computer-Mediated Community and Technology.'' p. 141.</ref>
* The comic artist [[Maia Kobabe]] and the author [[Bogi Takács|Bogi "prezzey" Takács]] go by spivak pronouns.<ref>[https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/bogitakacs Bogi Takács' biography on Smashwords], captured March 2016.</ref>
* In the 2019 Gender Census, 5.2% of participants were happy for people to use Spivak pronouns when referring to them.<ref name=Census2018></ref>

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''E'' laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''Em''.
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''Eir'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''Eirs''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''Emself''.

'''On Pronoun Island:''' [http://pronoun.is/e http://pronoun.is/e]

===Ey (Elverson pronouns)===

'''ey, em, eir, eirs, emself'''. (Compare the spivak pronoun [[English neutral pronouns#E|E]], which is very similar, with only a small spelling difference in the nominative form.) Called the Elverson pronouns, these were "created by Christine M. Elverson of Skokie, Illinois, to win a contest in 1975. (Black, Judie, ‘Ey has a word for it’, 1975-08-23.). Promoted as preferable to other major contenders (sie, zie and singular ‘they’) by John Williams's Gender-neutral Pronoun FAQ (2004)."<ref>http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:List_of_protologisms_by_topic/third_person_singular_gender_neutral_pronouns#cite_note-1</ref>

'''Use in real life and non-fiction:'''
* The Elverson pronouns were used by Eric Klein in the ''Laws of Oceania'', 1993, to be gender-inclusive in a nonfictional micronation. Sometimes this pronoun set is mistakenly called "[[English neutral pronouns#E|spivak pronouns]]," which differ only in the nominative form.
* In the 2019 Gender Census, about 0.1% of participants were happy for people to use Elverson pronouns when referring to them.<ref name="Census2018"/>

'''Use in fiction:'''
* CJ Carter's science fiction novel, ''Que Será Serees'' (2011) is about a species of people with a single-gender, who are all called by Elverson's "ey" pronouns. Carter encourages other authors to use these gender-neutral pronouns.<ref>CJ Carter, "Genderless singular pronouns." [http://tib.cjcs.com/genderless-pronouns-ey-em-and-eir-2/ http://tib.cjcs.com/genderless-pronouns-ey-em-and-eir-2/]</ref><ref>"Que Será Serees". ''CJ's Creative Studio''. [http://cjcs.com/writing/fiction/que-sera-serees/ http://cjcs.com/writing/fiction/que-sera-serees/]</ref>
* In K. A. Cook's short story "Misstery Man," the self-described non-binary character Darcy asks to be called by "ey and eir" pronouns.<ref>K. A. Cook, "Misstery Man." ''Crooked Words.'' Unpaged.</ref>

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''ey'' laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''em''.
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''eir'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''eirs''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''emself''.

'''On Pronoun Island:''' [http://pronoun.is/ey http://pronoun.is/ey]

===Fae===

[[File:Fae-faer graph.png|300px|thumb|right|Graph illustrating views on whether fae/faer pronouns are okay for cultural outsiders to use.<ref name="fae appropriation debunking"></ref>]]'''fae, faer, faer, faers, faerself'''. A fairy (faery, faerie, fey or Fair Folk) themed set created no later than 2013.<ref name="fae appropriation debunking">{{Cite web|url=https://gendercensus.tumblr.com/post/643657043304153088/on-faefaer-pronouns-and-cultural-appropriation|title=On fae/faer pronouns and cultural appropriation|date=2021-02-20|access-date=2021-02-20|website=Gender Census Tumblr}}</ref> This was the most commonly used [[nounself pronouns|nounself pronoun]] set in 2021.<ref name="GC2021">{{Cite web|url=https://www.gendercensus.com/results/2021-worldwide|title=Gender Census 2021: Worldwide Report|date=2021-04-01|access-date=2022-08-03|website=Gender Census}}</ref>

'''Variations:'''
* '''Fae, vaer, vaers, vaerself''' was created by Ciel (Tumblr user shadaras) in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|date=1 October 2013|title=So I might possibly have spent today on and off prodding pronouns...|url=https://shadaras.tumblr.com/post/62865192916}}</ref> 
* '''Fey, fey, feys, feys, feyself''' was recorded in 2014,<ref name="askanonbinary general">[http://askanonbinary.tumblr.com/general Ask A Nonbinary's list of unthemed pronouns], captured March 2016</ref> of unknown origin.

'''Controversy:'''
* In 2020 a couple of TikToks claiming that ''fae/faer'' pronouns are cultural appropriation went viral. Since then, it's not uncommon for people to repeat this claim in defence of either pagans, Celtic cultures and their descendents, or both. However, this claim seems groundless, as Celtic cultures do not generally call fairies "Fae" (it's a French word), and Paganism is too broad and faith-inclusive for any such practice to be considered appropriative. In Twitter polls, only a minority of about 13% from each culture felt that use of these pronouns by outsiders was bad, compared to over 40% from each culture feeling positively.<ref name="fae appropriation debunking"></ref>

'''Usage:'''
* In the 2019 Gender Census, 4.3% of participants were happy for people to use ''fae'' pronouns when referring to them<ref name="Census2018"/>. "Fae" was the only nounself pronoun with a comparable level of popularity in that survey.<!-- Comparable with what? --Cassolotl, 2021-02-20 -->

Forms:

*'''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''fae'' laughs.
*'''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''faer''.
*'''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''faer'' hair grows long.
*'''Predicative possessive:''' If my mobile phone runs out of power, ''fae'' lets me borrow ''faers''.
*'''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''faerself''.

'''On Pronoun Island:''' [http://pronoun.is/fae/faer/faer/faers/faerself http://pronoun.is/fae/faer/faer/faers/faerself]

===Female pronouns===

''See [[English neutral pronouns#She|She]]''.


===He===

'''he, him, his, his, himself'''. Often called male pronouns, grammarians acknowledge that this standard set of pronouns can also be used as gender-neutral or gender-inclusive pronouns for unspecified persons, such as in instructions and legal documents. In the eighteenth century, when prescriptive grammarians decided that "singular they" was no longer acceptable as a gender-neutral pronoun, they instead recommended, "gender-neutral he." "Prescriptive grammarians have been calling for 'he' as the gender-neutral pronoun of choice since at least 1745, when a British schoolmistress named Anne Fisher laid down the law in ''A New Grammar''."<ref name="bustillos 250"></ref> The use of "gender-neutral he" can make problems in how laws are interpreted, because it's unclear whether it is meant to be gender-inclusive or male-only. For example, in 1927, "the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that women were not persons because its statutes referred to 'persons' with male pronouns."<ref>"Pronoun perspectives." ''Gender neutral pronoun blog.'' [https://genderneutralpronoun.wordpress.com/links/pronoun-perspectives/ https://genderneutralpronoun.wordpress.com/links/pronoun-perspectives/]</ref><ref name="Pullum" /> In the USA in the nineteenth century, suffragists Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton fought for laws to stop using the "gender-neutral he," because there were cases where this pronoun had been arbitrarily interpreted as a "male he" in order to exclude women from legal protections, or from the right to a license that they had passed exams for. This abuse of legal language happened even in if the documents explicitly said that "he" was meant to include women.<ref name="bustillos 250"></ref> Thanks to the work in the 1970s by feminists Casey Miller and Kate Swift, "gender-neutral he" has been significantly phased out of use, replaced by [[English neutral pronouns#He or she|he or she]].<ref>{{cite journal |first=Elizabeth|last=Isele|title=Casey Miller and Kate Swift: Women Who Dared To Disturb the Lexicon|journal=Women in Literature and Life Assembly|volume=3|date=Fall 1994|url=http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/old-WILLA/fall94/h2-isele.html}}</ref>

'''Use for real non-binary people:''' There are non-binary people who ask to be called by "he" pronouns, such as writer [[Richard O'Brien]], autobiographer [[Jennie June]], and guitarist [[Pete Townshend]].

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''he'' laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''him''.
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''his'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''his''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''himself''.

'''On Pronoun Island:''' [http://pronoun.is/he http://pronoun.is/he]

'''Usage:'''
* In the 2019 Gender Census survey, 30.8% of participants were happy for people to use ''he'' pronouns when referring to them.<ref name="Census2018></ref>

===He or she===

''See also: [[English neutral pronouns#Alternating pronouns|alternating pronouns]]''

'''he or she, him or her, his or her, his or hers, himself or herself'''. These are very commonly used as gender-neutral pronouns for unspecified persons, such as in instructions and legal documents. Although grammatically acceptable, and a step more inclusive than only using "he" in these contexts, its length soon makes it cumbersome.<ref>{{cite web|title=GNP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)|url=http://www.aetherlumina.com/gnp/faq.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20050205052157/http://www.aetherlumina.com/gnp/faq.html|archive-date=5 February 2005}}</ref> It almost always puts the "male" pronoun before the "female" pronoun, which is a little less than equality. (Similar efforts at inclusive language almost always end up with this same male-first ordering: "the habit of always saying 'male and female,' 'husbands and wives,' 'men and women' revealed an unquestioned priority," as pointed out by Casey Miller and Kate Swift in ''Words and Women'' (1976),<ref>Casey Miller and Kate Swift, ''Words and Women.'' Page x.</ref> a book on sexism in language and feminist efforts for inclusive language.) "He or she" also gives the impression of including binary genders, while excluding the possibility of other genders.

'''Use by nonbinary people:''' Interestingly enough, although "he or she" may be the most popularly used inclusive pronoun set (along with "they"), and therefore may seem an obvious choice for nonbinary people, this set doesn't seem to be popularly used by nonbinary people. However, this may be an artifact of the way the surveys were taken. The 2018 Gender Census found 13.8% of the respondents asked people to "mix up" their pronouns ([[English neutral pronouns#Alternating pronouns|alternating pronouns]]).<ref name="Census2018"/> A 2012 survey found 20 respondents who wished to be called both "he" and "she."<ref>anlamasanda, "Results of pronoun survey." January 1, 2012. http://anlamasanda.tumblr.com/post/15140114246</ref> It may be the case that people who prefer to be called "he or she" simply entered their preference into the surveys in a slightly different format. It may also be the case that it's virtually unheard-of for nonbinary people to feel that "he or she" represents them. Either way, its absence in these surveys is intriguing and may need to be addressed more specifically in future surveys.

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''he or she'' laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''him or her''.
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''his or her'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''his or hers''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''himself or herself''.

===It===

'''it, it, its, its, itself'''. This standard English set of genderless pronouns is used for inanimate objects, animals, and human infants. During Dickens’ time, these were also acceptable pronouns for older human children and spirits of the dead, as these permutations of humanity were seen as not really male or female. This pronoun is not male or female. Using it for an adult human is often seen as an insult, dehumanizing. While considered offensive by most, some nonbinary people use "it" as a means of reclamation and to challenge the idea that genderlessness is inherently dehumanizing.

Because "it" pronouns are the default on LamdaMOO and on similar multi-user environments, they tend to be common there, but less common than "he" or "she." In 1996, "it" pronouns were the most popular non-binary pronoun choice on LambdaMOO (1162 out of 7065 player characters) and MediaMOO (280 out of 1015 player characters).<ref>Steve Jones, ''Cybersociety 2.0: Revisiting Computer-Mediated Community and Technology.'' p. 142.</ref>

'''Use for real nonbinary people:'''
In the 2019 Gender Census, 4.4% of the participants were happy for people to use ''it'' pronouns when referring to them.<ref name="Census2018"/> Notable nonbinary people who accept being called by ''it'' pronouns include the Venezuelan singer [[Arca]] (b. 1989).<ref name="Fallon">{{Cite web |title=Arca Is the Artist of the Decade |last=Fallon |first=Patric |work=Vice |date=8 November 2019 |access-date=30 June 2020 |url= https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/evj9k4/arca-is-the-artist-of-the-decade}}</ref>

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''it'' laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''it''.
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''its'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''its''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''itself''.

'''On Pronoun Island:''' [http://pronoun.is/it http://pronoun.is/it]

===Male pronouns===

''See [[English neutral pronouns#He|he]]''.


===Name===

''See [[English neutral pronouns#No pronouns|no pronouns]] or [[nounself pronouns]]''.

===Ne===

Several sets of pronouns use "ne" in the nominative form. One set of "ne" pronouns is one of the oldest sets of neo-pronouns, but not all its forms were recorded: '''ne, nim, nis, (not recorded), (not recorded)''', which was created around 1850,<ref name="aetherlumina listing 2"></ref> and appeared in print in 1884.<ref name="d baron epicene"></ref> Some of the better-attested sets of "ne" pronouns, in alphabetical order:

====Ne (nem)====
'''ne, nem, nir, nirs, nemself'''. In the 2019 Gender Census, 27 participants (0.2%) entered the set of pronouns ''ne/nem/nir/nirs/nemself''.<ref name="Census2018"/> <!-- In ''[http://spectracomic.smackjeeves.com Spectra]'', a science fiction comic by Cori Walters, characters with nonbinary genders are called by these pronouns. Walters uses this pronoun for one of the three gender roles in a species that has only one sex, and all people voluntarily choose their gender roles. The comic started in 2013 and is still in progress.<ref>''Spectra.'' [http://spectracomic.smackjeeves.com http://spectracomic.smackjeeves.com/]</ref> -->

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''ne'' laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''nem''.
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''nir'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''nirs''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''nemself''.

====Ne (ner)====
'''ne, ner, nis, nis, nemself'''. In a 1974 issue of ''Today's Education,'' "Mildred Fenner attributes this to Fred Wilhelms."<ref name="d baron epicene"></ref><ref name="aetherlumina listing 2"></ref> Veterinarian Al Lippart independently proposed the same set of pronouns in 1999, recommending them for use when it would be inappropriate to specify the gender of a human, animal, or deity.<ref>{{cite web|first=Al|last= Lippart|title=Introducing the New Neutral Third Person Singular Personal Pronoun|date=1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318000953/http://www.lippart.com/ne.html |archive-date=18 March 2009|url=http://www.lippart.com/ne.html}}</ref> Lawyer Roberta Morris also independently proposed this same set of pronouns in 2009, saying that these pronouns would be more efficient for within the 140 character limit of Twitter than "he or she." Morris also pointed out that the "n" can refer to "neuter."<ref>Roberta Morris, "The need for a neuter pronoun: A solution." September 29, 2009. [http://myunpublishedworks2.blogspot.com/2009/09/need-for-neuter-pronoun-solution.html http://myunpublishedworks2.blogspot.com/2009/09/need-for-neuter-pronoun-solution.html]</ref>

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''ne'' laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''ner''.
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''nis'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''nis''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''nemself''.

===No pronouns===

Many nonbinary people prefer not to be referred to by pronouns of any kind; see below for statistics. This can be because they have learned that any set of pronouns can potentially feel uncomfortable for them ([[gender dysphoria]]). In fiction and other writing, avoiding the use of any pronouns for a person can be used to avoid giving any sign of that person's gender. Instead of using pronouns, a person can be referred to by a name, a descriptive word, or the sentence can be rephrased.

While the grammatical labels on the sample sentences below are no longer correct, the sentences can be adjusted to exclude pronouns while still talking about a specific person.

* '''Nominative:''' ''(Demonstrative + noun replaces pronoun)'' When I tell someone a joke, that person laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' ''(Eliminated second reference to the person)'' I greet my friend with a hug.
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' ''(Replaced with an "it" that technically has no antecedent but clearly refers to the possessed thing)'' When someone does not get a haircut, it grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' ''(Possessive eliminated)'' If my mobile phone runs out of power, my friend lends me another.
* '''Reflexive:''' ''(Reflexive emphasizing independence replaced with adverb)'' Each child gets food independently.

Using names or descriptions without changing the sentence structure:

* '''Nominative:''' When I tell ''Taylor'' a joke ''Taylor'' laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet ''Ash'' I hug ''Ash''.
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When ''the kid'' does not get a haircut, ''the kid's'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''the friend's''.
* '''Reflexive:''' ''Morgan'' feeds ''Morgan''.

Other noteworthy techniques for removing third-person pronouns from a sentence include:

*'''Passive voice:''' "Taylor's mopping the kitchen. When ''he'' finishes, we'll go for a walk" becomes "Taylor's mopping the kitchen. When it's done, we'll go for a walk." Here "it" refers to the kitchen or maybe the task of mopping, and we use the passive voice because there's no need to repeat who's doing it.
*'''Second person:''' Instead of talking about someone in the third person, why not talk to them instead? Say you're talking to Kevin and Elisa, who prefers no third-person pronouns, is in the room. You could tell Kevin, "I'd love to go with you for coffee, but Elisa's already claimed me for the evening," but if you do that and want to start expanding on what Elisa's up to, you might be tempted to use third-person pronouns. Instead, you could shift to Elisa and say "but ''you've'' got me booked for the evening," and then Elisa could tell about the plans without being spoken for.
*'''Substitute an article for a possessive pronoun:''' "Morgan couldn't find his coat" becomes "Morgan couldn't find the coat." "Ash broke her toe" becomes "Ash broke a toe."
*'''Other ways to rephrase.''' "The alien slithered closer, and its eyes glowed" becomes "The alien slithered closer, eyes glowing."

'''In use for real nonbinary people:'''
In the 2018 Gender Census, 10.1% of participants were happy for people to avoid using pronouns when referring to them.<ref name="Census2018"/>

===One===

'''one, one, ones, one’s, oneself'''. This is a standard English set of pronouns used for a hypothetical person whose gender is not specified.

'''Usage:'''
* In the 2019 Gender Census, only 8 (0.1%) participants were happy for people to use the pronoun ''one'' when referring to them.<ref name="Census2018"/>

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''one'' laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''one''.
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''one's'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''one's''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''oneself''.


===Per===

'''per (person), per, per, pers, perself'''. Called "person pronouns," these are meant to be used for a person of any gender. Compare Phelps's [[English neutral pronouns#Phe|phe]] pronouns, which are also based on the word "person." John Clark created "per" pronouns in a 1972 issue of the ''Newsletter of the American Anthropological Association''.<ref name="d baron epicene"></ref>

'''Use in fiction:''' In Marge Piercy's feminist novel, ''Woman on the Edge of Time,'' 1976, Piercy used "per" pronouns for all citizens of a utopian future in which gender was no longer seen as a big difference between people.<ref name="aetherluminarefs"></ref>

'''Use in real life and non-fiction:''' Person pronouns were one of the sets of pronouns built into MediaMOO for users to choose from.<ref>Laura Borràs Castanyer, ed. ''Textualidades electrónicas: Nuevos escenarios para la literatura.'' p. 158.</ref> Richard Ekins and Dave King used these pronouns in the book ''The Transgender Phenomenon'' (2006).<ref>Richard Ekins and Dave King. ''The Transgender Phenomenon.'' Sage Publications, 2006.</ref> Activist [[Christie Elan-Cane]] uses these pronouns for perself. In the 2019 Gender Census, only 6 (0.1%) participants were happy for people to use the pronoun ''per'' when referring to them.<ref name="Census2018"/>

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''per'' laughs. (Or ''person'' laughs.)
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''per''.
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''per'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''pers''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''perself''.

'''On Pronoun Island:''' [http://pronoun.is/per http://pronoun.is/per]

===She===

[[File:Angel_Haze_live_at_Øyafestivalen_2013.jpg|thumb|[[Angel Haze]] live at Øyafestivalen 2013. Haze identifies as [[agender]] and goes by she/her pronouns.<ref name="tweet2018">{{cite tweet|title=No maam. still identify as agender but just for my own sanity, i like she/her|user=AngelHaze|number=991841256769703936|date=2 May 2018}}</ref>]]

'''she, her, her, hers, herself'''. Often called female pronouns, although, in standard usage, they're not used exclusively for women. Grammarians agree that it is standard and acceptable for this set to be used for women, female animals, and ships. The set is also poetically used for countries and fields of studies, which grammarians also see as acceptable. Some [[feminism|feminists]] recommend replacing "gender-neutral he" with "gender-neutral she." "In 1970, Dana Densmore’s article “Speech is the Form of Thought” appeared in No More Fun and Games: A Journal of Female Liberation; Densmore is evidently the first U.S. advocate of 'she' as a gender-neutral pronoun, a solution many writers, particularly academic writers, favor today."<ref name="bustillos 250"></ref> In 1974, Gena Corea recommended replacing the "gender-neutral he" with a "gender-neutral she," and like Denmore, argued that the word "she" would be understood to include the word "he."<ref name="d baron epicene"></ref>

'''Use as a gender-neutral pronoun in fiction:'''
* Anne Leckie's science fiction novels ''Ancillary Justice'' (2013) and ''Ancillary Sword'' (2014) were set in a futuristic society that is indifferent to gender, so all the characters are called by gender-neutral "she" pronouns, leaving their actual gender and sex undisclosed. Leckie says she had an assumption at the time that gender is binary, so these are likely not non-binary characters.<ref>Geek's Guide to the Galaxy, "Sci-fi's hottest new writer won't tell you the sex of her characters." October 11, 2014. ''Wired.'' [http://www.wired.com/2014/10/geeks-guide-ann-leckie/ http://www.wired.com/2014/10/geeks-guide-ann-leckie/]</ref>
* Cartoonist [[Rebecca Sugar]] [http://www.reddit.com/user/RebeccaSugar explained] that in her animated science fiction series, ''Steven Universe,'' the alien people called Gems really have no sex or gender, even though they all look like women. For this reason, the Gems are only arbitrarily called by "she" pronouns. Sugar said, "Technically, there are no female Gems! There are only Gems! [...] Why not look like human females? That's just what Gems happen to look like! [...] There's a 50 50 chance to use some pronoun on Earth, so why not feminine ones-- it's as convenient as it is arbitrary!"<ref>Rebecca Sugar. ''Reddit.'' [http://www.reddit.com/user/RebeccaSugar http://www.reddit.com/user/RebeccaSugar]</ref> This is a gender-neutral use of "she" pronouns.

'''Use by real nonbinary people:''' There are nonbinary people who ask people to use "she" pronouns for them, such as singer-songwriter [[Elly Jackson]]{{citation needed}}, musician [[JD Samson]], American comedian, writer, and nurse [[Kelli Dunham]],<ref name="story">{{Cite web |title=THE STORY |author= |work=kellidunham.com |date= |access-date=24 July 2020 |url= http://www.kellidunham.com/the-story/}}</ref> British musician [[Du Blonde]],<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/B26o9pvHwMk/ Sept 27, 2019 instagram post]</ref> poet [[jayy dodd]],<ref name="Kelly">{{Cite web |title=Interview with jayy dodd, author of Mannish Tongues |last=Kelly |first=Devin |work=entropymag.org |date=January 23, 2017 |access-date=May 15, 2020 |url= https://entropymag.org/interview-with-jayy-dodd-author-of-mannish-tongues/}}</ref><ref name="Instagram">[https://www.instagram.com/jxzz_hndz/ Instagram bio], retrieved May 15 2020</ref> author and public speaker [[Olave Basabose]],<ref name="Basabose2019">[https://www.facebook.com/OlaveTalks/videos/489898301767964/ This is your annually scheduled PSA: My pronouns are she/her/hers.], July 22, 2019</ref> actor [[Cara Delevingne]], activist [[Chao Xiaomi]],<ref name="FangLuu">{{Cite web |title=Chao Xiaomi leads China's fight for transgender rights |last1=Fang |first1=Nanlin |last2=Luu |first2=Chieu |work=CNN |date= |access-date=30 May 2020 |url= https://www.cnn.com/style/article/china-transgender-activist/index.html}}</ref> and rapper [[Angel Haze]].<ref name="tweet2018" /> In the 2018 Gender Census, 29% of participants were happy for people to use ''she'' pronouns when referring to them.<ref name="Census2018"></ref>

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''she'' laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''her''.
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''her'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''hers''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''herself''.

'''On Pronoun Island:''' [http://pronoun.is/she http://pronoun.is/she]

===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. 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>

At different times, Feinberg has asked to go by "s/he," "ze," or "she" pronouns depending on hir needs and the message meant to send. As quoted in hir obituary, Feinberg had said, "I care which pronoun is used, but people have been respectful to me with the wrong pronoun and disrespectful with the right one. It matters whether someone is using the pronoun as a bigot, or if they are trying to demonstrate respect."<ref>https://www.lesliefeinberg.net/self/</ref>. Another notable nonbinary person, singer-songwriter [[Genesis Breyer P-orridge]] asks to be referred to by a different version of the s/he pronouns: '''s/he, h/er, h/er, h/ers, h/erself'''.<ref>"Genesis Breyer P-orridge." [http://www.genesisbreyerporridge.com/genesisbreyerporridge.com/Genesis_BREYER_P-ORRIDGE_Home.html http://www.genesisbreyerporridge.com/genesisbreyerporridge.com/Genesis_BREYER_P-ORRIDGE_Home.html]</ref> The Taiwanese intersex activist [[Hiker Chiu]] goes by another variation: s/he, her/him.<ref name="Entenmann">{{Cite web |title="We Are Not Monsters. We Are Full of Love." — Hiker Chiu, Taiwan |last=Entenmann|first=Leah |work=Medium |date=21 December 2015 |access-date=24 June 2020 |url= https://medium.com/alturi-world/we-are-not-monsters-we-are-full-of-love-hiker-chiu-taiwan-62ea9b456d4e}}</ref>

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''s/he'' laughs. (Or ''sHe'' laughs. Or ''s/He'' laughs.)
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''hir''.
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''hir'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''hirs''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''hirself''.

===Sie===

'''sie, hir, hir, hirs, hirself'''. Pronounced like either "she" and "her," or "see" and "hear." Derived from German pronouns for "she" and "they."<ref name="aetherlumina feb 29 2012">[https://web.archive.org/web/20120229202924/http://aetherlumina.com/gnp/listing.html "GNP FAQ"], archive Feb 29 2012</ref> Since the early 1990s, this set has been widely used on the Internet for gender-neutral language when speaking of no specific person, for nonbinary gender characters, and by nonbinary gender people themselves. Elizabeth Bear used these pronouns in a fantasy novel, ''Dust.''<ref>''All our worlds: Diverse fantastic fiction.'' [http://doublediamond.net/aow http://doublediamond.net/aow]</ref> Notable real people who go by sie/hir include the American autistic activist [[Mel Baggs]] (1980 - 2020)<ref name="TDOV">{{cite web|url=https://withasmoothroundstone.tumblr.com/post/115187595380/transgender-day-of-visibility-mel-age-34|title=Transgender day of visibility.|date=April 2015}}</ref>

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''sie'' laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''hir''.
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''hir'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''hirs''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''hirself''.


===They===

{{main|singular they}}

===Thon===

'''thon, thon, thons, thon's, thonself'''. American composer Charles Crozat Converse of Erie, Pennsylvania proposed this pronoun in 1858, based on a contraction of "that one."<ref name="barge viewpoints">{{cite journal|first=Fred|last=Barge|title=Viewpoints from involvement -- 'thon'|journal=Dynamic Chiropractic.|date= August 14, 1992|url= http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=43422}}</ref> The Gender-Neutral Pronoun FAQ gives this pronoun's date of origin as 1884 instead,<ref name="aetherlumina listing 2"></ref> while ''Words and Women'' gives 1859.<ref>Casey Miller and Kate Swift, ''Words and Women.'' Page 130.</ref> The "thon" pronoun was included in some dictionaries: Webster's International Dictionary (1910), and Funk &amp; Wagnalls New Standard Dictionary (1913), and Webster's Second International (1959). Funk &amp; Wagnalls offered these sentences to show how it should be used: "If Harry or his wife comes, I will be on hand to greet thon," and "Each pupil must learn thon's lesson." "Thon" was used throughout the writings by the founders of chiropractic, B.J. and D.D. Palmer, in 1910.<ref name="barge viewpoints" /> "Thon" is therefore familiar to chiropractors, and sometimes still appears in chiropractic writings, and in works by people who were influenced by that field.

'''Use for real nonbinary people:''' In the 2019 Gender Census, 18 (0.2%) people said that they were happy for people to use ''thon'' to refer to them.<ref name="Census2018"/>

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''thon'' laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''thon''.
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''thons'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''thon's''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''thonself''.

'''On Pronoun Island:''' [ http://pronoun.is/thon ]

===Ve===

There are several sets of pronouns that use "ve" in the nominative form, the earliest of which was created in 1970.<ref>http://voices.revealdigital.com/cgi-bin/independentvoices?a=d&d=BFGIFEB19700501.1.2&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN---------------1# (page 2)</ref> In the 2019 Gender Census, 24 participants (0.2%) used a set of pronouns starting with ''ve''.<ref name="Census2018"/>

'''ve, ver, vis, vis, verself''' is the exact set used by Egan, Hulme, and Reynolds (see below). The set's date of creation and creator are not yet known to the editors of this wiki. A nearly-identical but incompletely recorded set was '''ve, vir, vis, (not recorded), (not recorded)''', which was created in 1970, and published in the May issue of ''Everywoman.''<ref name="aetherlumina listing 2"></ref><ref name="d baron epicene"></ref>

'''Use in fiction:'''
* In Keri Hulme's mystery novel ''The Bone People'' (1984), a character is called by these ve pronouns.<ref name="Outis">Outis, "gender-neutral characters and pronouns." November 20, 2013. [https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1580481-gender-neutral-characters-and-pronouns https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1580481-gender-neutral-characters-and-pronouns]</ref>
* Used  by Greg Egan for non-binary gender characters-- including artificial intelligence, as well as transgender humans who identify as a specific nonbinary gender they call "asex"-- in his novels ''Distress'' (1995) and ''Diaspora'' (1998).<ref>John McIntosh, "ve, vis, ver." [http://www.urticator.net/essay/0/30.html]</ref> Egan is sometimes credited with having created these pronouns, but it doesn't appear that he claims to have done so.
* In Alastair Reynolds's science fiction novel ''On the Steel Breeze'' (2013) one character is called by these ve pronouns. The novel never gives any exposition about this character's sex, gender, or pronouns, and vis gender-neutrality doesn't influence the plot. The lack of remark gives the impression that a nonbinary gender is unremarkable, but this is also why some readers thought the pronouns were a misprint.<ref name="Outis" />

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''ve'' laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''ver''. (Or: "I hug ''vir''.)
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''vis'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''vis''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''verself''.

'''On Pronoun Island:''' [http://pronoun.is/ve http://pronoun.is/ve]

===Xe===

There are several similar sets of neologistic gender-neutral pronouns that use "[[English neutral pronouns#Xe|xe]]," "ze," "[[English neutral pronouns#Zhe|zhe]]," or "[[English neutral pronouns#Zie|zie]]" in nominative form. Regardless of spelling, their nominative form is pronounced "zee," and was based on the pronoun [[English neutral pronouns#Sie|sie]]. The earliest documented version was created in 1972.<ref name="d baron epicene"></ref> In alphabetical order, some of the more common versions of this pronoun set include:

====Xe, hir====

'''xe, hir, hir, hirs, hirself'''. Compare the similar "[[English neutral pronouns#Ze|ze]], hir..." set, which is apparently used in more literature and by more people. The "xe" version was "Used on alt.support.[[intergender]]ed and alt.support.[[crossdressing]]," transgender communities on the Internet in the 1990s.<ref>"GNP FAQ." [https://web.archive.org/web/20120229202924/http:/aetherlumina.com/gnp/listing.html]</ref>

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''xe'' laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''hir''.
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''hir'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''hirs''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''hirself''.

====Xe, xir====

'''xe, xir, xir, xirs, xirself'''. This pronoun set saw some use on the Internet at least as early as 1998.<ref>Benton, "ADOM and sex." rec.games.roguelike.adom (newsgroup). May 18, 1998. [https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/rec.games.roguelike.adom/6RBaViEF0gE/v33A7kKysiwJ https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/rec.games.roguelike.adom/6RBaViEF0gE/v33A7kKysiwJ]</ref>

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''xe'' laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''xir''.
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''xir'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''xirs''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''xirself''.

====Xe, xyr (xem)====

'''xe, xyr (xem), xyr, xyrs, xyrself (xemself)'''. This pronoun set makes its earliest known appearance in 1993 in a conversation in an autism mailing list on the Internet.<ref>Jim Sinclair, "Re: Jim and Steve's snoring discussion." September 14, 1993. bit.listserv.autism, Usenet. [https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!msg/bit.listserv.autism/2pyrOMzt_nQ/5J-RU5P3hnIJ https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!msg/bit.listserv.autism/2pyrOMzt_nQ/5J-RU5P3hnIJ]</ref><ref>"Xe." ''Wiktionary.'' [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/xe http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/xe]</ref> The "xem" version of this pronoun set appears in a printed discussion from the mailing list of Autism Network International in 2000, with the explanation that it "was originally used to refer to an intersexed person, but is also used to refer to a person of any gender."<ref>J. Blackburn, K. Gottschewski, Elsa George, and Niki L. "A discussion about Theory of Mind: From an Autistic Perspective," Proceedings of ''Autism Europe's 6th International Congress'', Glasgow 19-21 May 2000, in print. [https://web.archive.org/web/20060213070451/http://www.autistics.org/library/AE2000-ToM.html https://web.archive.org/web/20060213070451/http://www.autistics.org/library/AE2000-ToM.html]</ref> This pronoun set was recommended in 2005 by Jonathan de Boyne Pollard, with the version that includes "xem," and both "xyrself" and "xemself."<ref>Jonathan de Boyne Pollard. "'Xe', 'xem', and 'xyr' are sex-neutral pronouns and adjectives." 2005. [https://web.archive.org/web/20071010095912/http://homepages.tesco.net/J.deBoynePollard/FGA/sex-neutral-pronouns.html https://web.archive.org/web/20071010095912/http://homepages.tesco.net/J.deBoynePollard/FGA/sex-neutral-pronouns.html]</ref>

'''Use for real nonbinary people:'''
In the 2019 Gender Census, 7.2% of people said they'd be happy for people to use ''xe/xem/xyr/xyrs/xemself'' to refer to them.<ref name="Census2018"/>

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''xe'' laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''xem''. (Or hug ''xyr''.)
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''xyr'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''xyrs''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''xyrself''. (Or feeds ''xemself''.)

'''On Pronoun Island:''' [http://pronoun.is/xe http://pronoun.is/xe]

===Ze===

There are several similar sets of neologistic gender-neutral pronouns that use "xe," "ze," "zhe," or "zie" in nominative form. Regardless of spelling, their nominative form is pronounced "zee," and was based on the pronoun [[English neutral pronouns#Sie|sie]]. The earliest documented version was created in 1972.<ref name="d baron epicene"></ref> "Ze, hir" is the best-attested of the "ze" pronoun sets; see the Talk page for other sets with this nominative form.

====Ze, hir====

'''ze, hir, hir, hirs, hirself'''. Compare the similar "[[English neutral pronouns#Xe|xe]], hir..." set, which is the version less attested by print sources. [[Sarah Dopp]] wrote a blog post about the "ze" version in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|first=Sarah|last=Dopp|authorlink=Sarah Dopp|title=How transgender folk are fixing an age-old literary problem|date=13 August 2006|url=http://www.sarahdopp.com/blog/2006/how_transgender_folk_are_fixing_an_age_o/ }}</ref> Leslie Feinberg also used the "ze" version in the book ''Drag King Dreams'' (2006),<ref>Leslie Feinberg, ''Drag King Dreams.'' New York: Carroll &amp; Graf, 2006.</ref> Erika Lopez used the "ze" version in ''The Girl Must Die: A Monster Girl Memoir'' (2010).<ref>Erika Lopez, ''The Girl Must Die: A Monster Girl Memoir.'' Hicken, Jeffrey, San Francisco: Monster Girl Media, 2010.</ref> M. J. Locke used the "ze" version in the book ''Up Against It'' (2011).<ref>M. J. Locke, ''up Against It.'' New York: Tor, 2011.</ref>

'''Use in fiction:'''
* Kameron Hurley used these pronouns in the fantasy novels ''The Mirror Empire'' and ''Empire Ascendant,'' for characters who are ''ataisa,'' an in-between gender role where their culture puts everyone who has a nonbinary gender.<ref>{{cite web|first=Kameron|last=Hurley|title=Beyond He-Man and She-Ra: Writing nonbinary characters|date=3 September 2014|url=https://intellectusspeculativus.wordpress.com/2014/09/03/guest-post-beyond-he-man-she-ra-writing-non-binary-characters-by-kameron-hurley/}}</ref>
* In Seth Dickinson's short science fiction story, "[http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/sekhmet-hunts-the-dying-gnosis-a-computation/ Sekhmet Hunts the Dying Gnosis: A Computation]" (2014), a transhuman character of "uncertain ... sex" is called by the pronoun "ze," which only appears in the nominative form.<ref>Seth Dickinson, "Sekhmet Hunts the Dying Gnosis: A Computation." ''Beneath Ceaseless Skies,'' issue 143. March 20, 2014. [http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/sekhmet-hunts-the-dying-gnosis-a-computation/ http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/sekhmet-hunts-the-dying-gnosis-a-computation/]</ref>
* In K. A. Cook's short story "Blue Paint, Chocolate and Other Similes," in ''Crooked Words,'' when the narrator Ben recognizes that Chris identifies as nonbinary, Ben begins using "ze, hir" pronouns for Chris, before finding a good moment to ask for Chris's actual pronoun preference.<ref>K. A. Cook, "Blue Paint, Chocolate and Other Similes." ''Crooked Words.'' Unpaged.</ref> In another story by K. A. Cook, "The Differently Animated and Queer Society," the character Pat goes by "ze, hir" pronouns, and uses them for other characters before finding out each of their own pronoun preferences.<ref>K. A. Cook, "The Differently Animated and Queer Society." ''Crooked Words.'' Unpaged.</ref>

'''Use for real people:'''
* [[Kate Bornstein]] used them in the books ''Nearly Roadkill'' (1996) (with Caitlin Sullivan June)<ref>Caitlin Sullivan June and Kate Bornstein. ''Nearly Roadkill: An Infobahn erotic adventure.'' New York: Serpent's Tail, 1996, p. 10.</ref>, and ''My Gender Workbook'' (1998) in reference to hirself, and to other specific transgender people, as well as hypothetical persons of unspecified gender.<ref>Kate Bornstein, ''My Gender Workbook.'' 1st ed. 1998, p. 106-107, 119, 130-131, 154, 248.</ref> Today, Bornstein goes by any pronouns.<ref>{{cite tweet|user=katebornstein|number=1149734426890424320|date=July 12, 2019|title=Over 71 years, I’ve at one time or another insisted on every pronoun in the book. Finally settled in to it doesn't matter to me what pronouns people use for me—it tells me more about them than it could ever say about me. So thanks for asking, it’s up to you.}}</ref><ref name="Raymond">{{Cite web |title=Interview: Kate Bornstein on Their Broadway Debut in Straight White Men |last=Raymond |first=Gerard |work=Slant Magazine |date=July 11, 2018 |access-date=May 16, 2020 |url= https://www.slantmagazine.com/interviews/pretty-damn-bowie-kate-bornstein-on-their-broadway-debut-in-straight-white-men/}}</ref> 
* [[Leslie Feinberg]] asked to be called by "ze, hir" pronouns, along with "zie, hir" and "she."<ref name="Pratt">{{cite web|author=Minnie Bruce Pratt|title=Transgender Pioneer and Stone Butch Blues Author Leslie Feinberg Has Died|work=The Advocate|date= 17 November 2014| url= http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/books/2014/11/17/transgender-pioneer-leslie-feinberg-stone-butch-blues-has-died}}</ref> In a magazine interview from 2014, Gabriel Antonio and another anonymous person both asked to be called by these pronouns.<ref>{{Cite web |title=He And She, Ze And Xe: The Case For Gender-Neutral Pronouns |author=Donato, Al |work=The Plaid Zebra |date=25 November 2014 |access-date=17 October 2020 |url= https://www.theplaidzebra.com/ze-xe-case-gender-neutral-pronouns/}}</ref>
*Writer [[Sassafras Lowrey]] uses ze/hir pronouns.<ref name="Lowrey2017">{{Cite web |title=A Guide To Non-binary Pronouns And Why They Matter |last=Lowrey |first=Sassafras |work=HuffPost |date=8 November 2017 |access-date=8 May 2020 |url= https://www.huffpost.com/entry/non-binary-pronouns-why-they-matter_b_5a03107be4b0230facb8419a }}</ref>
* In the 2019 Gender Census, 4.7% of participants said they would be happy for people to use ''"ze/hir/hir/hirs/hirself"'' to refer to them.<ref name="Census2018"/>

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''ze'' laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''hir''.
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''hir'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''hirs''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''hirself''.

'''On Pronoun Island:''' [http://pronoun.is/ze http://pronoun.is/ze]

===Zie===

'''zie, zir (zim), zir, zirs, zirself'''. (Compare the most similar pronoun set, "ze, zir", and other similar pronouns, "xe" and "zhe".) The Gender-Neutral Pronoun FAQ says this set (with the "zie" spelling, and accusative "zir") was widely used on the Internet at the time but doesn't know when it was created.<ref name="GNPFAQ">{{cite web |title=GNP FAQ|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229202924/http:/aetherlumina.com/gnp/listing.html |url=http://aetherlumina.com/gnp/listing.html|archive-date=29 February 2012}}</ref> Andrés Pérez-Bergquist recommended a version of this set (with the "zie" spelling, and accusative "zim") in 2000, but claims not to have created it.<ref>{{cite web|last=Pérez-Bergquist |first=Andrés |title=Gender-neutral pronouns: The value of zie|date=2000|url=http://santiago.mapache.org/nonfiction/essays/zie.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216114837/http://santiago.mapache.org/nonfiction/essays/zie.html |archive-date=16 February 2019}}</ref>

'''Use in fiction:'''
* This set (with the "zie" spelling, and accusative "zir") is in the fantasy setting of Bard Bloom's ''World Tree'', for the many characters with sexes other than female or male. Many species in this setting have such sexes, including the protagonist of a book in that setting, [http://www.amazon.com/Sythyrys-Journal-Chronicle-Transaffection-Adventure/dp/1451562934 Sythyry's Journal], which was first serialized as a blog starting in 2002. The setting also has a role-playing game handbook, ''World Tree: A roleplaying game of species and civilization'' (2001).

'''Use for real nonbinary people:'''
In the 2019 Gender Census, 11 people (around 0.1%) said they'd be happy for people to use ''zie/zir'' (or some similar spelling) to refer to them.<ref name="Census2018"/> A notable nonbinary person who goes by ze/zim is the American writer and model [[Devin-Norelle]].<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/SteroidBeyonce/ Instagram profile], accessed 29 July 2020</ref><ref name="Michael">{{Cite web |title=Meet Devin-Norelle, Chromat's First Masculine of Center Model |author=Michael Love Michael |work=PAPER |date=9 September 2019 |access-date=29 July 2020 |url= https://www.papermag.com/devin-norelle-chromat-2640274990.html?rebelltitem=10#rebelltitem10 }}</ref>

'''Forms:'''
* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''zie'' laughs.
* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''zir''. (Or hug ''zim''.)
* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''zir'' hair grows long.
* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''zirs''.
* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''zirself''.

'''On Pronoun Island:''' [http://pronoun.is/zie http://pronoun.is/zie]

==See also==
{{Tumblr post|https://nonbinarywiki.tumblr.com/post/189725910560/pronouns-dont-equal-gender}}
* [[Pronouns]]
* [[Gender neutral language in English]]
* [[Glossary of English gender and sex terminology]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Gender neutral language]]