I want to be respectful but if they say they don’t care what pronouns I use for them, that feels like it puts the decision on me to choose what to call them and I guess I would probably default to “they” because choosing a gender for them feels weird… am I wrong?

  • foo@withachanceof.com
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    1 year ago

    if they say they don’t care what pronouns I use for them

    I’m taking it at face value then and using whatever I think is appropriate. There’s no point in wasting time playing games with this.

  • BumpingFuglies@lemmy.zip
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    1 year ago

    If someone tells you they don’t care about pronoun usage, believe them. I’m nonbinary and don’t care what pronoun people use for me, because I identify as both male and female. Most people default to “he” for me because of my beard, but others use “they” because of my proclivity for wearing skirts, nail polish, and lipstick. Rarely I’ll have someone use “she” (or I’ll use it myself), but ultimately, I’m just a person who exists outside of the gender spectrum (or right in the middle), and pronouns are just a grammatical tool to save time, so I prefer that people use whatever comes most naturally to them.

  • LuckingFurker (Any/All)@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    1 year ago

    As someone whose pronouns are any/all I genuinely don’t care, I’m not going to be offended if you pick one pronoun and stick with it - I am lazy and present male, being AMAB, so people default to he/him anyway - or just use the first one that springs to mind everytime you refer to me. Obviously I can’t speak for everyone who is any/all but I imagine if most people cared they wouldn’t go with any/all

      • Devi@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        I’m in that box, I’m generally She/her, but I have friends who use he/him for me which I take as a compliment tbf from those people for various reasons. If a complete stranger started with a he/him I’d be bemused but not upset at all. I understand that’s not ‘standard’ but I’m genuinely not that bothered.

  • Floey@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    As a nonbinary someone who accepts any/all I would say whatever comes naturally or is your preference. I’ve identified as agender since I was young and so personally I don’t really like defining myself to other people in terms of gendered language. I would say if someone tells you their pronouns are any/all to trust them that they are actually fine with that.

    • DragonWasabi@monyet.ccOP
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      Thanks, I do believe that they’re fine with whatever pronouns I call them by, this was more of a me problem about not knowing what to actually call them in that case lol. Like paradox of choice kind of, except I also wonder about what my choice might indicate to them and whether I should randomise it or base it on something.

  • Track_Shovel@slrpnk.net
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    1 year ago

    I’m probably the least qualified person to comment on this, but I would probably just default to their name.

    That’s Bob’s coffee

    Those are Sarah’s keys.

    Less chance of fucking it up, IMO

  • DiploRaucous@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    The pronouns you use don’t affect who I am, they simply express your perception of me. I suppose I’m just an asshole who doesn’t care who or what you think I am. I know who I am regardless of what you say. Call me whatever makes you comfortable.

  • 31415926535@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    I’m tomboyish queer chick, probably wouldve seriously considered transitioning if born in later decades. Get called sir, man a lot. Doesn’t bother me. I got used to playing mmorpgs, everyone is assumed to be male, I never took issue with it, sometimes had fun with it.

    My understanding is… if you’re a minority with special requests. You’re gonna know people might be confused. Don’t judge harshly. Give people a chance to understand. If you want to be referred to a certain way, it’s up to you to say that up front. And be prepared not everyone will be receptive.

    I’m not speaking for everyone, or people wanting any, all pronouns used. This is more for the people wanting to accommodate, worried they’ll offend.

  • June@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    As an enby myself, I’d probably default to they/them but try to sprinkle in gendered pronouns when I saw them presenting more one way or another.

    Depending on how close your relationship is, you can ask them if they have certain times that they prefer particular pronouns or not.

    • shapesandstuff@feddit.de
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      1 year ago

      I’d read any/all as “whatever you (the person talking about them) feels most comfortable with”

      I’d probably default to they/them but in everyday language i tend to slip into whatever matches how they’re presenting unless i know they have a preference.

      • June@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        You’re absolutely right that they’re are legit ok with whatever.

        But as a person who does sometime prefer femme pronouns but for the sake of simplicity request they/them, I know that there are times when a person may be presenting in a way that reflects that they’re feeling gendered and that acknowledging that gender would result in euphoria. In general any pronoun is fine and they’ll never be offended by any particular pronoun, but if you want to be a good friend you can dig deeper and discover what gives them a sense of euphoria.

        • shapesandstuff@feddit.de
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          1 year ago

          Aye good advice :)

          If anything I’d go by what they’re actively choosing to present, i never do that guessing game of assigned at birth.

    • ekky43@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 year ago

      It/that - coincidally also the pronouns I go by when in groblin mode.

      “would it like a glass of chocomuh?” - yes, it always wants a glass of chocomuh.

    • Valmond@lemmy.mindoki.com
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      Just curious ; if I feel like you’re a he one day, and then a she another (for example), would that bother you, or would you prefer a person being a bit stable in the pronouns they use?

      I’m only talking about the pronouns used.

  • cooopsspace
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    1 year ago

    “They” is perfectly acceptable, in fact I’ve taken to writing work emails as such too. Because you can’t always work it out through their name alone.

    The real problem is not learning or correcting themselves when told.

    “This is Alice, she…”.

    “Oh he is a nice pers…”.

    “She, mum”.

    Be open to correcting yourself when told, people are used to correcting people. But continually not correcting yourself makes you look like a bigot even if you don’t mean it.

  • ℕ𝕖𝕞𝕠@midwest.social
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    1 year ago

    I’m a man, I give my pronouns as any/all, because I’m comfortable with all.

    I have a coworker who only uses feminine pronouns for me, because that’s what she uses for everyone, including herself. She is also a man. I also use feminine pronouns for myself sometimes, eg. when quoting something I find analogous to myself that was written using feminine pronouns.

    Obviously both male and neutral pronouns are fine as well.

    Gender is a social construct, and IMO most men who get offended by being referred to by feminine words do so because they really believe being a woman is lesser to being a man. I’m not about that.

  • Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    1 year ago

    The answer is going to vary from person to person and the easiest way to find out is to just ask. If you don’t know them well enough to feel comfortable asking, my two cents as a trans person is that I generally hold the same view as Leslie Feinberg:

    I care which pronoun is used, but people have been respectful to me with the wrong pronoun and disrespectful with the right one. It matters whether someone is using the pronoun as a bigot, or if they are trying to demonstrate respect.

  • Jackthelad@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I’ve never understood the fuss over pronouns, because if I’m talking to you I’ll refer to you by your name. And if I’m referring to you in a conversation with someone else, I’ll refer to you by your name, but if I used any pronouns you wouldn’t hear it anyway. 🤷

      • Jackthelad@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Exactly. I was taught as a kid that saying he/him or she/her while the person is in the room with you is rude. That’s why I use their name and find all this fuss bizarre.

    • TexMexBazooka@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Signaling. From a respect perspective I just call people what they want to be called, but I will rarely apologize for misgendering someone accidentally.