By: Zainab Salam, Staff Writer
Content warning: descriptions of misgendering and transphobia.
A surge in anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate crimes and discrimination in Canada over the past few years is emboldened by the anti-trans agenda pushed by right-wing figures like Pierre Poilievre. Such rhetoric is often thinly veiled beneath false claims of intellectual superiority regarding biological and linguistic “correctness.” For example, some refuse to respect peoples’ pronouns because “they” as a singular pronoun is supposedly “grammatically incorrect.” The internet is rife with clips of right-wing figures on radio shows or college campuses roping queer individuals into a debate about their identities and basic human rights to make a spectacle for ridicule. For example, a clip between UK TV host Julia Hartley-Brewer and journalist Shivani Dave went viral after Brewer invited Dave to the show under misleading pretenses to purposefully misgender them for the sake of “correct grammar.” Such interactions are predictable at this point. They’re a deliberate misdirection to catch queer people off guard with a linguistic debate that dehumanizes them.
To show you how this has nothing to do with grammar, let’s be clear: “they” is grammatically correct and has functioned as a singular pronoun in English from as far back as the 1300s, including in the works of Shakespeare and Jane Austen. It is still part of everyday language, even by transphobes themselves, when referring to a person whose gender is unknown. These so-called grammar experts wouldn’t blink twice at someone saying, “Can I speak to the manager? I want to complain to them.” However, as soon as they see the person, they want to immediately assume their gender identity based on a limited binary.
Language changes all the time to adapt to speakers’ needs. For example, the singular pronoun “thou” and plural “ye” used in Old English were replaced with “you.” “You” has also been adapted into “y’all” in certain areas to accommodate for a plural “you.” Did civilization collapse? No. Furthermore, approximately 57% of languages spoken worldwide don’t employ gendered pronouns. Citing English as the authority for how we see the world is not just wrong, but it reinforces colonialism.
This is not a matter of semantics, though. Language is political and changes because society changes. It shapes and reflects who holds power, who are seen as “normal,” and who are pushed to the margins. When people insist that “they” is an invalid pronoun, they assert that only identities within the gender binary deserve to be recognized.
The idea that there are only two genders is not universal. Many cultures around the globe have long recognized the existence of genders beyond the women-men binary. Indigenous cultures on Turtle Island, for instance, have always recognized and embraced more than two genders in their communities. While Indigenous cultures have their own unique terms, the umbrella term “Two-Spirit” was developed in 1990 to describe identities that blend or move beyond categories of men and women. The Navajo Nation uses the word “nádleehí,” which means “one who transforms.” In Cree, “aayahkwew” means “neither man nor woman.”
Even if singular “they” was a recent invention, language is not fixed — new words and forms of grammar emerge constantly. We’ve embraced countless neologisms in the past two decades alone — “selfie,” “unfriend,” “Google” as a verb. The question to ask is not whether the language is “correct,” but whether it serves the purpose of reflecting and respecting the people who use it. The answer is obvious: respecting people’s identities is more important than clinging to grammatical purity.
Queer people have always existed. Both as regular people and as notable history-altering individuals. The right-wing’s reaction to people using non-conforming pronouns presents queerness as a new-age phenomenon, protesting to exclude inclusivity from education spaces or limit access to gender-affirming care. They claim this is an effort to protect children, or women, when in reality, these things exist to help queer and trans people. Yes, 2SLGBTQIA+ acceptance and its influence over language might be relatively new, but that doesn’t mean that queerness and queer people are.
We shouldn’t excuse persistently misgendering people for innocent reasons, when it doesn’t take much to ask a person for their pronouns and respect them. The issue is not grammar: it’s power. Using someone’s correct pronouns, whether they use “they,” multiple pronouns, or neopronouns, is about acknowledging their personhood. Something as basic as sharing your pronouns can encourage others to share theirs without.
So yes, “they” is grammatically correct. More importantly, it’s ethically correct. Grammar is not a cage, it is a tool. And tools are meant to serve people.
