How can you be addressed as he/him she/her or they/them

You wouldn't use pronouns as a direct address, which is why the OP is pointing out that the question being asked on the website is wrong. It asks "how should we address you" to which the answer would be things like “Ms Jones", "Mrs Smith“, "Mary", “by my first name“, by my middle, name“ etc. What the website actually wants to know is “how should we refer to you“.

Pronouns are never used in direct conversation with spmeone face to face.

Hi Alex, how are YOU, have YOU had time to read that book, are YOU free for that meeting etc etc.

It's only ever in conversation with a third party that you would say "Alex says she/he hasn't read the book, we have to rearrange the meeting as he/she isn't free " etc.

Agree they/them is when you are talking about someone you don't know - "I went to see the doctor" - "what did they say".

You seem to be terribly confused by what a pronoun is and the circumstances in which it's used. Have you tried consulting a dictionary?

Without telling us what you're applying for, presumably there will be documentation or letters referring to you and they're asking your preference. Are you genuinely confused by this?

When you you ever use pronouns as a direct address? You don't say "Hi She"do you? Obviously you use a pronoun to replace a noun. "Hey Nina" Vs "have you seen Nina? Yes she was just here" with she replacing Nina. People are so determined to claim everything woke they're forgetting basic standard English they learnt as children.

A couple of months ago, I was in a meeting and referred to someone new to the organisation (who wasn't there and whom I'd only heard of through a name on a document) as "he". Another person told me "James (not real name) identifies as they/them". After letting tumbleweed blow across the room, I continued speaking.

Imagine my joy at the next meeting when the same person referred to 'James' using "he".

I don't like the addition of pronouns at all, but surely you've realised they're not indicating they are to be used as a form of address?

Weird post.

My son asked me what he should do if his pencil broke at school and he didn't have a spare. I suggested he should ask the person next to him and see if he could borrow one from them.

See, it makes perfect sense. English-speakers use "they" and "them" as gender neutral third person singular pronouns all the time. I did it above because I don't know whether the person next to my sone at some unknown future time will be male or female.

If you say so.

Your problem is you're trying to make sense of the government.

What an ignorant post. - Gramatically and otherwise.

You borrowed their pencil, that's their dog. Is English not your first language for you to be so confused by this?

But they isn't the equivalent of his and hers. It's the equivalent of he and she.

His and hers is equivalent to their.

I mean, I never put my pronouns on anything, and don't care what people call me. But people use "they" all the time. DH had a phone call with the dr the other day, a dr I don't know. He said "just got off the phone with the dr" and I said "what did they say?"

Yes it seems only relevant to when you are speaking of a person in their absence, in which case you can call them what you like as they can't hear you!

As far as I've always been told it's rude to speak of a person in their presence as a pronoun. For example with a customer it would be rude to say to a colleague 'she needs a new appointment..', it's manners to use the customers name 'Joan needs an appointment..' or if it's a more casual situation like in a restaurant you might say 'our customer needs another napkin'. But the instances of this are quite rare. The other example I can think of is cc'ing on emails 'Paul asked that you ring him'. Again, rare enough usage.

Personally I have no issue with a trans person situation but I refuse to call a person 'them'. We are all 1 person only, no one gets to be a plural IMO. If people are absolutely adamant to use a gender neutral term they need to use their imagination and come up with a new word.

But that isn't the question asked, is it?

"I borrowed "they" pencil.

That's "they" dog

It just doesn't work with every sentence.

@BloodandGlitter
@Brokenrecordroundround
@wherearemypastnames

DH received a letter from some administrator at the local college about a local event. It was signed Tom Smith he/him *

So DH replied ‘Dear Mr. Smith He/him …..

So it can be used directly 😂
Name* changed to protect the guilty.

'Addressed as' is incorrect, it should be 'referred to'.

It was all the rage a few years ago and thankfully seems to be going away.

There are 2 sexes but a lot of the time it's irrelevant, or even harmful to one sex , for the sex to be advertised
. I rather wish they was the default not the sex based stuff we tend to use

They / them works perfectly well and has apparently been used for a singular person since Shakespeare times. And I prefer it to he/she for a person not determined ( like a role being created )

Except you just used they as a pronoun in your post, "it makes people sound like they can't speak", if you were talking about one person who makes this form and didn't know their sex you'd still say "it sounds like they can't speak". Acting like they is a a new woke gen z invention is ridiculous whether you agree with it or not, it is and always has been perfectly acceptable in English and you use it all the time without considering it woke.