[Serra Britt]

I myself, with a (technically) male body, sort of let gender rules cover me since I look and act female. I usually think of myself as female too, but for the most part I'm neither. I personally don't refer to anyone as "sir" or "ma'am" ever, and tend to shy away from gender terms for people until I know them for a while.

As for the conversation at hand...sometimes I do use they or just the person's name, or reword the sentence so I don't need to use a gender term. Bad for grammar? Maybe, but considering how I feel when people call me "he" I don't want others to feel the same because of something I say or write.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

For some papers I wrote for class I did the DnD book thing and just alternated between "he" and "she" while writing. ;). "They" bugs me too because it's a plural term and I may only be speaking of one person. I do use it on occasion now and then though, and it seems to be becoming more accepted to use it when gender is ambiguous or unknown.

[Ultima]

"They" is my preferred pronoun, only because I do not like "he" or "she", "it" is almost insulting, "zie" and "hir" aren't heard-of enough... So therefore, "they" is just about my only option...

People already use it too.
"My English teacher is such an idiot."
"What'd they do?"
"She made us read the wrong book!"

We already use it for when we don't know the gender of someone. We don't even really realize it.

[Kiddiss]

People have been using "they" as their preferred pronoun since before I started school. I started around the time that the education system in the US was changing thanks to the nationalization of government rule over education (I could ne wrong, but I believe he U.S. Board of Education started under the Carter Administration). Older teachers were very, very strict about "proper" grammatical use of pronouns, whilst younger/newer teachers were more lax. I also (as a Navy Brat) went to several elementary schools, three Jr. High/Middle schools, and three Sr. High schools... from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and right in the middle of the U.S. I noticed that the further west we moved, the easier my schools were (I started in VA, then GA, TN, and was in CA for the end of elementary and beginning of Jr. High. I started Sr. High in TX, and moved back to CA the second semester of my Sophomore year. I moved to a different county my Jr. year and finished Sr. High by the beach. That was the easiest of the three high schools - and after my whirlwind schooling across the U.S., I can definitely say that the "Bible Belt" schools were the strictest as far as all classes went, but especially English. If you didn't assign a singular pronoun when speaking or writing about a single person, even the math teachers would correct you Ô_Õ In CA, the teachers didn't really seem to give a shit. Same thing at the university which I attended- which is kinda sad considering it was a private school supposedly on par with "Ivy League" universities. I guess that it has come to a point where it is not only socially, but scholarly acceptable to refer to one person as "they". My own personal bellied is that it is because "they" is the most politically correct word to use. I wish I could remember in which story there was actually a non-gender specific pronoun used (Brave New World, perhaps?). I think that with as much gender ambiguity we have in Western culture, a non-gender specific pronoun should be taught in schools, rather than propagate improper grammar. It's not like new words aren't being added to the English language at an ever-imcreasing rate with the computer world the way it is. Is it offensive to people to want a gender-neutral pronoun? Is it something you folks would welcome in our modern language, or is it too intrusive to want a proper replacement for the use of "they"?
We are living in a culture that is more open to gender-bender roles than any other in history (if you think the Greeks were as open, I disagree. They were primarily homosexual - heterosexual was mainly for procreation, not recreation). As that is the case, I believe we should have a non-gender specific pronoun to use, if nothing else, for the sake of being polite- especially online where gender only exists when/if a person decides to assign one to one's self.
Oh, heh, I forgot to warn you guys that my "title" on a couple of avatar sites is "Queen of the Wall 'o Text" *smile* (Arikana & Pink Pantzer will back me up on that ^_~ )

[Espy]

-sees the italics-

-runs to check BNW-

Nope, it's got gender-specific pronouns.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

It would be nice if you would break your writing down into paragraphs or make sure that paragraphs have a space in between them since indents don't work all that well in forum posts. It would make your text easier to read.

It seems a bit much to say that the Greeks were primarily homosexual. I've never seen anything to indicate that fact in particular, except that relationships between men and boys was not necessarily frowned on, though apparently relationshps between grown men was. To say that heterosexual relationshops were mainly for procreation, one would have to prove that men rarely visited brothels with women. Not sure how one would do that. Literature peppered with relationshps between men and women would also argue against solely homosexual recreation.

[Kiddiss]

I wish I knew in which text I read that marriage and heterosexual sex was primarily for procreation in ancient Greece (not exclusively, but primarily, from what I recall. I honestly would like to recall where I read that so that I could cite the reference. Without sufficient citation, I concede to you, Quiet ^_^ And thank you for the tip on breaking up my text walls with a space between paragraphs since tab doesn't seem to work here :3

Espy, thanks for looking that up. I admit, I was too lazy to Google it (I'm thumb typing my posts, and that takes a bit out of me).

I Googled it and no book or short story came up- so I clicked on an interesting article. The author suggests the word "em" as a singular, non-gender specific pronoun. I think I could get behind something like that. However, the reason I specifically asked what [I]you folks[/u] thought of a new word to be introduced to the English language is because I am not a qualified candidate to offer up such an academic idea as I received my B.A. almost 20 years ago, and I have no human children who may attend a public school at some point (due to two illnesses I have that pass from mother to fetus in the womb, my husband-creature and I decided to get me "fixed" 6 months after we got married, and have no plans to adopt). *YOU FOLKS*, however, are the future. I am guessing that many of you are students and/or are raising and teaching children. You will most likely accomplish much in your lifetimes C: Perhaps petitioning the Board of Education to start including a genderless pronoun for people to be added to modern curriculum. It's a win-win. Kids will be taught proper grammar, and our language will have a neutral pronoun for people. (I don't find it amusing when someone who is asexual or questioning is referred to as "it", Gramma be damned in that situation.)

It could start as a social experiment right here on Trisphee. There are new words for currencies and races created, why not at a gender neutral pronoun? I can think of a few people right off the bat who would find that more comfortable (they aren't members of Trisphee... yet ^_~)

Is there an appropriate forum im which to further discuss the idea of adding a new word to the Trisphee vocabulary? I think the whole grammar discussion derailed Matt's original post :/

Also, I want to find out more about Matt's doll collection ^_^ Kekeke!

Any suggestions?

[Rem]

Got that for you Kiddiss
I'm not a mod but I can help keep the forums neat and tidy!
There seems to be a double post epidemic around lol. I think the forums are hiccuping

As for gender roles, I don't believe in 'em and I think they're becoming more and more fluid as time goes on. I wouldn't berate someone that does believe in them though - have a few friends like that - so long as they don't try to pin OTHER people into gender roles and think there's something wrong with them if they don't follow -their- way of thinking.

Live and let live!

[Avox]

I've read most of the responses. About the 'em' concept... I don't like it, as 'em' is a shortened version of Emily. XD I see nothing wrong with making 'them' versatile so that it can also be used when referring to a singular person whose gender is unknown.

Gender roles were never really big in my family, honestly. XD So I can't say much there.

[Espy]

Ah, stay away from the whole "leave the playing videogames to guys"-thing around me. My dad already does that enough; if he weren't my dad, I'd rant my head off at him.

[Lauv Keiko]

Who says it's wrong? Pfft.
I'm a girl, but I prefer doing a man's job. Am I breaking a rule? nope.

Look at my siggy quote, that would explain everything ^^

[Quiet Man Cometh]

I hold doors for men. ;)

[Espy]

I hold doors for everyone XD

Nothing anyone else tells you that you should be is real, everything that you want to be is permitted.

[Ultima]

Originally Posted by Espy

everything that you want to be is permitted.

^ This, definitely this.

[Serra Britt]

That's a really good statement there Espy :3

[Espy]

That's close to what the Assassin's Creed motto really means, besides just being cool.