18th October is International Pronouns Day

[SamW98]

https://pronouns.org/day#:~:text=October%2018%2C%202023,is%20basic%20to%20human%20dignity.

Who knew this was an actual day?

International Pronouns Day seeks to make respecting, sharing, and educating about personal pronouns commonplace. Referring to people by the pronouns they determine for themselves is basic to human dignity.

You have to be joking!

It's not an actual day. who says it is. who gets to decide? It's utter nonsense.

I celebrated it by hoovering the stairs, cleaning the bathroom and buying some birdseed.

It's also World Menopause Day

Everyday is pronouns day around here.

Ah.

That may explain my coming here to say “Oh do fuck off” when I read the thread title.

Honestly this pisses me off so much. What is it with the either/or thing? It makes no sense at all. I have 3 colleagues who are extremely good at their jobs and very lovely, yet who have bought into this he/him bollocks, and it upsets me greatly.

Everyday is pronouns day around here.

Same here - not a day goes by without me referring to at least one person as 'he' or 'she', except I never need to be repeatedly 'educated' about how to call a male 'he' or a female 'she', as I learned this fully at an extremely young age.

I also use a lot of nouns, verbs and adjectives on a daily basis - but equally, I'm good for how they work too, without needing a special day of recognition for each category, thanks.

Not to brag, but I'm truly amazing; I've even learned how to wipe my own bottom and wash my own hands when I've been to the toilet!

What a massive coincidence 🤔

When is international apostrophe day or Metaphor week? It seems unfair to exclude them.

I haven't watched the new revival of Big Brother, as I think it already started to go stale over 20 years ago; but they showed a clip on something or other where they were meeting the new housemates and one of them was trans.

One housemate virtue-signalled and suggested that they should all go around the table and state their pronouns - why this was remotely necessary for anybody except the trans person, I haven't the faintest clue.

I mean, it's not even like the words 'he' or 'she' are remotely offensive, so why you'd be upset at being referred to the 'wrong one' if your appearance 'strongly suggests' which one people would naturally use for you, I do not know. Many very much non-trans people have, on occasion, been mistaken - on the phone, by people not looking properly or just making assumptions - and they all seem to have managed to come out the other side unscathed.

I've just learned what a clitic is. I think they'd've their own day.

When is international apostrophe day or Metaphor week? It seems unfair to exclude them.

They could bring back a seriously dulled-down version of More magazine - who wouldn't be desperately racing home from the newsagent in order to cop a good look at Preposition of the Fortnight?!

Or reader's conjunctions!

I wonder if that explains why I had to reply to an email explaining that I don't want to display my pronouns in my department today?

Quite. I've never understood what's supposed to be so triggering/ upsetting about being misgendered, or even dead named. I'm misgendered not infrequently, despite very definitely presenting as the sex that I am. I also get called by my sister's/ daughter's/ nephew's/ father's name, and at work by some random names. I've survived without any injury to my sense of self. Although I do wonder why so many people over the years have independently thought that my name is Rachel - a name which sounds nothing like my real one and isn't the name of anyone close to me. I also get Rebecca quite a lot. Apparently I come across as someone whose name starts with R. I am not. Nevertheless, I have survived this far.

Oh please can we have a Hyphens Day? I love hyphens, and they are so neglected these days. Everyone uses pronouns every day, that’s probably why they got so vain and think they’re something special.

I got madame'd <shudder>

Yeah. 'Your' is the worst pronoun for this, obviously. So vain it thought it had a song about it.

We could always have a Colon Day - where people can feel free to stick all these pointless 'international days'... wherever they deem appropriate!

International Pronouns Day.

Is / it?

Excellent. I think I'll celebrate it by saying 'it', 'us' and 'oneself' a lot.

'Your' is the worst pronoun for this, obviously. So vain it thought it had a song about it.

Ahem. <language teacher alert> 'Your' is a possessive adjective, not a pronoun. Also it's 'You're so vain'. Admittedly, the 'you' in 'you're' is a pronoun.

We could always have a Colon Day - where people can feel free to stick all these pointless 'international days'... wherever they deem appropriate!

Excellent

Yes, one realised one should have said 'you'

Can I put in a word for the most vulnerable and marginalised piece of speech - the gerundive? It can't even be said as a single word.