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Cited by 41Gender Studies in LanguageGender and Feminist StudiesLGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy

A Little Word That Means A Lot: A Reassessment of Singular They in a New Era of Gender Politics

Saguy, Abigail C., Williams, Juliet A.·2022·Gender & Society
DOI 10.1177/08912432211057921
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Abstract

Singular they has emerged as a key term in contemporary gender politics, reflecting growing usage of they/them as nonbinary personal pronouns. Drawing on interviews with 54 progressive gender activists, we consider how singular they can be used to resist and redo aspects of the prevailing gender structure. We identify three distinct usages of singular they: (1) as a nonbinary personal pronoun, (2) as a universal gender-neutral pronoun, and (3) as an indefinite pronoun when a person’s self-identified gender is unknown. While previous research on singular they as a gender-inclusive language practice has focused primarily on its usage as a nonbinary personal pronoun, our findings point to the relevance for gender politics of all three usages. Our analysis offers new insight into how nonbinary they challenges dominant gender norms and practices beyond incorporating additional gender categories. Given our findings, we propose further investigation of how using gender-neutral pronouns for everyone in specific contexts can advance progressive activists’ goals. Finally, we argue that the longstanding usage of singular they as an indefinite pronoun has new importance today in affirming gender as a self-determined identity.

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Crossref · 10.1177/08912432211057921

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46 of 46 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. Associated Press. 2015. Tennessee students asked to use gender-neutral pronouns. Tennessean, August 30. https://bit.ly/3qmGamr.
  2. Baron Dennis. 2018. A brief history of singular “they.” Oxford English Dictionary, September 4. https://bit.ly/3wxn51L.
  3. Baron Dennis, 2020, What’s your pronoun? Beyond he & she
  4. Clarke Jessica A., 2019, Harvard Law Review, 132, 894
  5. Currah Paisley, 2006, Transgender rights
  6. Schlafly Phyllis, 1977, The power of the positive woman
  7. Wayne Linda D., 2005, Canadian Women’s Studies, 24, 85

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Related

Authors
Saguy, A. C., & Williams, J. A.
Affiliations
University of California, Los Angeles (US)
Corresponding author
Saguy, Abigail C.
ORCID
Venue
Gender & Society
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2021-11-20
Volume
36
Issue
1
Pages
5-31
ISSN
  • 0891-2432 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-3977
DOI
10.1177/08912432211057921
OpenAlex
W3215219922
Semantic Scholar
5c41a60803ce82f2b834759aecc2e813009b9bb8
Cited by
41
References
46
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 6
FWCI
9.77
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.sagepub.com/licence-information-for-chorus (vor, 365 d)
Locations
Gender & Society (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Science Foundation (1734340)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Studies in Language
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender and Feminist Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy
Keywords
singular they, gender-neutral pronouns, indefinite pronouns, gender politics, gender activism, gender-inclusive language, gender norms

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