Sam Smith

[pumpkinbump]

This may be old news but I have just come across it whilst reading another thread here and had a bit of a Google to find out about it.

Straight away, the headline - Sam Smith asks to be referred to as “they” instead of “he” after declaring themself as gender neutral.

Now I don't like the bloke for many reasons but isn't asking to be referred to as 'they' implying that there is more than one?

Yes I know this is a pointless thread but I'm curious.

@SouthernComforts I don't think he is. I don't like his music either. I don't think he's on a very good path and I think he's going to crash at some point. He definitely needs help.

it's really odd and goady that you consistantly refer to Sam as him and he in your 4 pages worth of responses

Why - Sam isn’t here. No one is calling him something dreadful. Why police other people’s language (when it’s not an attack).

@choosesoap

Not deliberate. But as a poster up thread said, it's up to him what he wants to be reffered to as and it's up to others to decide to oblige isn't it? Or are people to be forced to call others by their preferred pronouns?

In fairness, I think for him it's just another way of seeking attention.

I'm so glad someone else thought this!! I once asked someone with a new baby if it was a boy or a girl and they said "we're raising them gender neutral". My response was "oh, how many did you have?!" 🤦🏻‍♀️

Referred*

@anxietrist aw I really don't agree with that at all. I think it's terrible and how confusing it will be for the child.

Yes like how a friend of ours tried to raise their DS without toy guns? Those pesky kids just find what they like and make a toy gun...

This is such old news, to be honest. Like years old.

Not deliberate. But as a poster up thread said, it's up to him what he wants to be reffered to as and it's up to others to decide to oblige isn't it?

Do you think this in all parts of life?

"Hi Johnathan."
"Actually, I prefer John."
"So how are you Johnathan?"

No. The point I was making is we're being forced into using these words because someone has asked.

Imagine how confused you’d be speaking German where ‘they’ can be the same word as ‘you’ or ‘her’...
It really is pretty straight forward.
If you think its attention seeking, fair enough.
But don’t act like it’s confusing - you just make yourself look silly by not understanding a pretty simple concept.

I get that because people often shorten my name to a version that I have never used and can’t stand. Even when I tell them.

I don’t threaten to of to the European Court of human rights about it. Or cry or call them names.

The point I was making is we're being forced into using these words because someone has asked

Only in the same way that all politeness is forced - if I insisted on calling a person "Miss" when they had asked to be referred to as "Mrs" I would be out of order.

I'm not on a high horse. I don't care what people refer to me as.

Well that’s very good of you. I’m female and if I found out that someone was referring to me as ‘he’ or ‘him’ I’d be a bit miffed in all honesty.

If someone was referring to me as him I’d think they were batty.

When I was a teen I had very short hair and wore ‘men’s’ clothes. I was called ‘mister’ and ‘son’ a couple of times. I laughed my socks off.

I don’t threaten to of to the European Court of human rights about it. Or cry or call them names.

MN is full of "MIL refuses to call my DD by her actual name, should I go NC?" or "School is calling my DS by a shortened version of his name, AIBU to complain?"

@Pinkblueberry like how I find the English language utterly confusing with words like 'used' having more than one meaning?

When I posted the original, it was the first time I had come across it, and my first thought was that 'they' refers to more than one. I hadn't considered the alternative someone posted about referring to doctors, asking what 'they' said. I suppose that might be because I was talking about Sam Smith, who's sex I knew to be male.

I spent my entire school career being called my full name. Which no one else ever used (except my mum when I was in big trouble). I really hated it too.

So I can’t really get all that het up by names - I know some people do but no one dies as a result.

OP just admit its a TAAT and you wanted to carry on the fighting from the last one which was less than a week ago and deleted.

Only in the same way that all politeness is forced - if I insisted on calling a person "Miss" when they had asked to be referred to as "Mrs" I would be out of order.

So when I suggested that rather than Sam Smith ask that we now refer to them as they and them, maybe he should redefine the meaning of he and him to suit himself, I was told that was unreasonable, and also that just because it was requested, that I didn't have to take notice, but now I do?

@KilljoysDutch what thread was that?

I'm not trying to carry on fighting, I've defended myself from some rather rude comments. Comments that aren't uncommon on here if someone doesn't agree with what you're saying or refuses to believe your reason for posting something.

On the topic of Sam smith does anyone absolutely detest that new song by him and Demi Lovato? It’s so weird and disconnect and just an excuse for them to belt as high as they can obnoxiously

@Lordfrontpaw same here, I have a name which rhymes with another and I'm often called the wrong name, even by people who know it isn't my name. I really don't care. I know what my name is, if people are making a genuine mistake then fine, if they're doing it deliberately to piss me off for some reason it still doesn't bother me because the person saying it isn't worth getting worked up about.

ChilliCheese123 - is that the one where in the vid they are both dressed as Olympic Iceskaters? I've heard snippets but not listed to it all the way through. I don't think it's done amazingly well in the charts - Top 20 maybe