To think Sam Smith is being ridiculous?

[gc400]

For asking to be called they/them?

I assumed there was a new song coming out... certainly got a load of coverage with this twaddle.

Most biological women I know are so run of their feet getting through the day, caring for their family and/or elderly relatives, worrying about the health and well being of everyone around them, that they have zero time to sit and think about themselves to the degree that these individuals do.

This is the crux of it. Funny how none of these men who 'feel' like women seem to do so because they're wondering what they're going to make for dinner, running to check on elderly parents etc, trying to leave work on time to pick up the kids or whatever. Seems they're more concerned with prancing about with lipstick and dresses.

Clearly us women have it the wrong way round!

They is a bit of a twit imo.

Thems a bit of a twit?

So hard to rewrite the English language...

I am a man but I don’t feel comfortable within traditional Male stereotypes (which I didn’t create, I was born into), I am also gay, i struggle with my weight, I feel like I don’t fit in, I realise I like to express myself through sensual dance, feminine poses, wear heels, make up and nail varnish but I don’t want to have a sex change. I want to be in the gap between genders as I feel safer and more accepted there’

So Adult Human Male then?

People know what Sam is without having to be their unpaid therapist.

Owen Jones on the new Sam:

"Also, I wrote a really unnecessarily dickish column about @samsmith's Oscar speech a while back. Massive apologies, Sam!"

...which rather supports this all being a teflon-coating exercise. There's nothing that Sam can do wrong, now, because trans/NB trumps everything.

Why are people struggling with the grammar? Using they is perfectly normal for a single person when not referencing a gender.

Person A "I went to see the doctor about my back"
Person B "What did they say?"

You are all ridiculous if you can't get your head round referring to sam smith as 'they'

It's normally an issue seen amongst the older generations...

People my age (24) never seem to have such issues with pronouns, why is my generation largely more tolerant than the one that came before me?

What does it cost you to refer to Sam as they/them?

He is gender queer. While his SEX may be male, his gender is totally different as gender is a social construct!!! it is not a tangible observable, measurable thing. You cannot argue that his gender is male just because he has a penis...

can you all get a grip of yourselves and focus on REAL issues rather than wasting your time belittling someone's existence for sport... pathetic

it costs you nothing

SoupDragon You've answered your own question:

Using they is perfectly normal for a single person when not referencing a gender.

There you have it: when not referencing a gender because otherwise it is grammatically and biologically nonsensical.

@LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD

behave...

the wonderful thing about language is that it is constantly evolving with society.

Also you don't have to rewrite the english language! The correct verb using 3rd person would be 'are' rather than 'is' :)

you are welcome

Person A "I went to see the doctor about my back"
Person B "What did they say?"
Person A “Well she, because it was a woman doctor, said it was likely musculoskeletal”

Once you know the sex of the person, person B wouldn’t say:

”Did they say anything else?”

Person B would say:
”Did she say anything else?”

The convention may we’ll be that but not in a cases. It doesn’t work properly - there was a newspaper article about Sam buying a massive house. ‘They have been good with their money...’ we’ll surely it should have been ‘They has been good...’ if not ‘he has been...’.

You also risk saying their name over and over - Sam has released a new song and Sam says it’s the best song Sam has ever written. Sam also has brought out a new line in T-shirt’s and Sam says that Sam has used Sam’s inspiration of Sam’s visit to the Andes. Sam said in Sam’s recent press conference ‘I’m very confused...’

@VladmirsPoutine

Listen, are you really concerned about the sanctity of English grammar? Or do you just hate people who aren't like you for no reason?

GET OVER YOURSELVES PEOPLE, LIFE IS TOO SHORT

The correct verb using 3rd person would be 'are' rather than 'is‘ I’m perfectly aware... but the rules don’t work anymore you just said.

Throw caution to the wind. Use all the wrong zeebots to siddletop the Darndaps.

Tizzy - I don’t care if he calls himself ‘the artist previously known as Sam’ - he is guffing on about gender and sex and making a right old muddle.

@LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD I have a degree in French and Linguistics, i assure you it makes sense to say 'they have been good with their money' when referring to Sam

When you use 'they' the following verb should be a 3rd person verb (i.e. are)

When you use 'he' it should be followed by a 2nd person verb (is)

In this case we are using THEY... so forget about 'he' I don't even know why you're using 'he is' to justify 'they is'... 'he' is gone now, forget about it! Doesn't need to be taken into consideration as we have established his pronoun is they/them.

Therefore, the answer is 'they are' rather than they is

You are all ridiculous if you can't get your head round referring to sam smith as 'they'

I can get my head around it perfectly fine. But to me pronouns signal a person’s sex, and I won’t be compelled to talk in a certain way about someone who isn’t even present.

People my age (24) never seem to have such issues with pronouns, why is my generation largely more tolerant than the one that came before me?

You’re not seen as more tolerant. You’re seen as naive. You’re giving up rights you don’t even understand.

What does it cost you to refer to Sam as they/them?

It costs me my freedom of expression and forces me to talk in a way I don’t want to. So I won’t do it.

You cannot argue that his gender is male just because he has a penis

His sex is male because he has a penis. This is incontrovertible. His pronouns for his sex are he/him.

You are all ridiculous if you can't get your head round referring to sam smith as 'they'
Because he is a he? We all know he is a he.

It's normally an issue seen amongst the older generations...

Ageism, you will one day get youngsters thinking they invested the wheel call you older generation and you will laugh at them, just like we do.

People my age (24) never seem to have such issues with pronouns, why is my generation largely more tolerant than the one that came before me?

Tolerance? We coped with men in dresses, you seem to be so confused that you think it makes them a lady. News flash - it doesn't. It really doesn't.

@LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD

his name is still sam though?

You seem very confused, it's so simple!

"I have a friend called Sam, they are really funny and I love spending time with them. Sam is only one person so I understand it may be slightly strange to refer to sam as 'they' but as a society I think it's a step we can all take to help make people who struggle with gender identity feel more comfortable!"

Dead easy, costs nothing to be considerate

Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean it doesn't exist/isn't real. Thank your lucky stars you feel comfortable with the gender you were given

Yes tizzy bully for you. I work as a copywriter, and I too studied linguistics as part of my first degree - so have a fairly reasonable grasp of language.

Maybe that’s why it grates when people decide to change it willy nilly to make a point about how special they are, and expect everyone to fall in line.

What do you know about my gender? Nothing.

@TheAlternativeTentacle

You're really dense if you can't understand basic gender theory - gender isn't real it is a construction

Ageism? Don't make me laugh. Better than purposely misgendering someone!

OH men in dresses????? You poor thing how did you COPE?!

I never said that makes them a woman... they may simply enjoy wearing clothes normally designed for women

However if they tell me they identify as female because they enjoy things/have traits that are deemed by society as 'feminine' that's fine with me! Because guess what........

IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE TO MY LIFE OR YOURS!!!!! YOU JUST WANT TO COMPLAIN

@LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD

sound but you're the one who thought "they is" was acceptable lmao