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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Are these pronouns real?

110 replies

RachelGreensHair · 07/09/2023 20:03

Applying for a new job and this literally was the second question after asking my name...I can't figure out if they're being real - they even have a box to enter your own "custom pronoun" what can I write in there and be unique?

Are these pronouns real?
OP posts:
ImGoingThroughChanges · 08/09/2023 09:39

Do you need a huhu to be a huhu? 🤔

AIstolemylunch · 08/09/2023 09:40

EdithStourton · 08/09/2023 01:14

Eff/orf
It's all so sodding tiresome.

I did note when dropping DD at uni that some of the older students helping had pronoun badges. They were all obviously female and they all said she/her as if it wasn't glaringly obvious.

The blokes didn't bother.

This is the same where I work after a pronoun push by the one global trans individual. Apart from him everyone that has added pronouns is a she/her woman or a he/him man. What is the bloody point!

ChaToilLeam · 08/09/2023 09:41

Hu/hu? Does this person identify as an owl? 🦉Owls are supposed to be wise, so I don’t believe it for a second.

BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn · 08/09/2023 09:45

EBearhug · 08/09/2023 02:35

"Well, it depends which language I'm speaking. In English, I use I, me, my, mine, myself but in Welsh, it's i, fy (plus if it'spossessuive, you've got the confusion of the noun it refers to mutating.) French is je, me, mon, ma, mes, moi. German is ich, mich, mein, meiner, meinem, meines, meine, Spanish is yo, mi, mis. Dutch is ik, mij, don't known much Dutch to be fair, and I've probably forgotten a load without grammar books to hand to remind me. Oh, I can probably remember some Latin, too... ego, me, mihi, meus, meum, mea, mei. It's interesting seeing the etymological links through all those different languages, isn't it, the similar patterns and so on. I've only ever learnt European languages, though - I don't know if they work the same way in Arabic or Japanese or Mandarin or Swahili or something, if thry even have the same concept of pronouns. Oh, your form has run out of space..."

Wonderful!

Should you wish you expand it:

In Finnish, Minä - but it depends where you are in the country and how arrogant you are. Mä, mää or mie may be more appropriate. But it's often just left out anyway. (Third-persion pronouns are non-gendered).

Arabic, Ana is both I and me. (For an extra level of difficulty, both second and third person pronouns come in gendered forms: you, anta [m], anti [f]; he, yaktub; she, taktub.) But like in Finnish, the pronoun is often just left out.

Hebrew, for a man ani (I)/zeh (me); for a woman ani/zot; then there's ten (meaning 'to me' and said to a man/woman, regardless of your own sex), tni to a woman. (Second and third person are also both gendered.)

Japanese: watashi wa/ watashi o. (Only third person is gendered, but there's also a sort of gender-type set of words for counting things which is astoundingly complicated and utterly fascinating.)

You should definitely have run out of free text space by the time you've got all that in. If not, you can explain your preferred Japanese counting words. Mine are: mei-sama (people-count honored-ones) at work, bu (copies of a newspaper) in social situations, and
cho (long narrow things) when trying on new outfits. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_counter_word

viques · 08/09/2023 09:46

CorruptedCauldron · 07/09/2023 20:16

In the custom box I’d write N/A.

I think I would go for NA and NA. Then if it caught on you could hopefully have a situation where all the NA identifiers met up one day so there was a tuneful assembly.

NA NA NA NA
NA NA NA
NA NA NA NA

user123212 · 08/09/2023 09:47

hmm i will have ä½¢ (pronounced keoi - there is no he/she in Cantonese). you will have to write it like that too or i will be greatly offended. hell, you'll also have to speak to me in fluent Cantonese too.

OnBoardTheHeartOfGold · 08/09/2023 09:50

This is just something else! I don't know how it could work in real life. I sometimes work in another language and there's no way I could translate all that.

CorruptedCauldron · 08/09/2023 09:55

viques · 08/09/2023 09:46

I think I would go for NA and NA. Then if it caught on you could hopefully have a situation where all the NA identifiers met up one day so there was a tuneful assembly.

NA NA NA NA
NA NA NA
NA NA NA NA

Maybe get some colleagues to identify as Hey/Hey too!

Na na na na
Na na na na
Hey hey hey
Goodbye

EBearhug · 08/09/2023 10:07

See, pronouns are actually really interesting*, if you keep it to a linguistic discussion...

*I have met those who disagree. They don't want to talk about stuff like the subjunctive, either...

LarkLane · 08/09/2023 11:15

Happy, Doc, Grumpy, Dopey, Bashful, Sleepy, and Sneezy

Hi/Ho

Boiledbeetle · 08/09/2023 11:35

I identify as a police car and wish to use nee/naw as my pronouns.

Random789 · 08/09/2023 11:39

Toffee/Finger
Caramel/Swirl
Milk Choc/Block
Orange Chocolate/Crunch
Orange/Creme
Fudge/Fudge
Coconut/Eclair
Toffee/Penny
The/Purple One
Green/Triangle

(If you ever wondered what the plus stands for in LGBTQIA++, its all the Quality Street varieties)

lechiffre55 · 08/09/2023 11:41

Attack Helicopter

Pudmyboy · 08/09/2023 11:49

Has anyone mentioned I/I as pronouns?
Guaranteed confusion!
Also it is a against the Yogyakarta principals to ask and not give the option 'prefer not to say'?

BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn · 08/09/2023 12:44

They don't want to talk about stuff like the subjunctive, either...

Some people are weird.

CaramelMac · 08/09/2023 13:52

I had to choose my 5 year old daughter’s pronouns when I was signing her up to music lessons through the school, they didn’t ask for her sex though, I couldn’t complete the form without choosing one of about 6 different options. Utterly ridiculous!

Screamingabdabz · 08/09/2023 13:57

Can you tell us who they are op? They sound like they need educating.

BingoandBlueyForever · 08/09/2023 14:03

Am I missing a trick or are most of these weird options missing a possessive pronoun? His, her, their, your, mine, theirs I know but what are you supposed to do with hu and zie and fee fi fo fum?

jazzyfips · 08/09/2023 14:08

What’s the fae/faer? Is that if you identify as a fairy?

NeighbourhoodWatchPotholeDivision · 08/09/2023 14:49

jazzyfips · 08/09/2023 14:08

What’s the fae/faer? Is that if you identify as a fairy?

Yes. As mystical and otherworldly, basically.

I don't know what kind of myths and old tales those people hve been reading, but I always had the impression that the fae courts would be briefly fascinated by the impudence of any mortal passing him or herself off as fae, and then the fae would take steps to prove the mortality and fragility of the human in question. Very unpleasant steps.

BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn · 08/09/2023 15:38

Unpleasant/amusing depending on point of view. I suspect the fae court would find it marvellous entertainment. You mess with the Fair Folk at your peril.

Am I missing a trick or are most of these weird options missing a possessive pronoun? His, her, their, your, mine, theirs I know but what are you supposed to do with hu and zie and fee fi fo fum?

If it's hu/hu/hus (with 'hu pronounced 'hoo'), you're going to find yourself in a lot of 'Who's on first?' situations.

PaperWalkAndTalk · 08/09/2023 16:15

A: "Him over there".
B: "Hu".
A: "Him"
B: "Who? Hu"
A: "I know who, him".
B: "No, hu".

BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn · 08/09/2023 16:37

Exactly.

"Whose is this coat?"
"Hus."
"Whose?"
"Hu."
"That's what I asked - who does it belong to?"
"Yes, hu."
"What?"
"No, hu."
"I don't know! I asked you!"
"Hus."
"THE COAT, WHOSE IS THE COAT?! WHO LEFT IT HERE"
'Hu. It's hus."
"AAAARRRRGGGGGHHH!!!!"

The office would look like a scene from 28 Days Later by lunchtime, if not sooner.

BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn · 08/09/2023 16:40

Thinking about it - if work does make me pick pronouns at some point, I'm definitely going with hu/hu/hus (or maybe hoo/hoo/hoos for less ambiguous pronunciation).

whenindoubtgotothelibrary · 08/09/2023 17:15

Popping back after a very tough day at work. Enjoying the wit displayed here very much indeed. Thank goodness for MN.