Sweden’s Newly Official Gender-Neutral Pronoun
“It is a word which is in use and without a doubt fills a function.” — Sven-Goran Malmgren
Swedish authorities have just announced that the Swedish dictionary will be swelling by about 13,000 new words soon, but of those 13,000, one in particular has been met with celebration from the nation and the world (Neuman). That word is hen — a gender-neutral pronoun used “because [the gender] is unknown, because the person is transgender, or the speaker or writer deems the gender to be superfluous information” (Neuman). It has been in unofficial use for years; first coined in the 1960s by Swedish feminists, “hen” experienced a drop in popularity before its recent revival by transgender activists (Usborne).
For context, “she” in Swedish is hon, and “he,” han (Neuman). Hen is not quite the equivalent of “they” in English; it’s closer to such clunky combinations as “he or she” and “s/he” (which is my personal go-to). Coining a new word, as the Swedes did, is simpler — it avoids angering pedantic douchebags who insist “they” is only plural, and it resolves the wordiness of mentioning both existing pronouns in a “he or she”-type combo.
But why is a gender-neutral pronoun necessary? Can’t everybody just choose one of the existing categories?
(You have probably read enough of my posts to know the answer to that second question: NO.)
“What’s the number one misconception about non-binary people? It’s that we don’t exist.” — Adrian Ballou
The gender binary is a human construction, much like racism and sexism. Many people are only now realizing that genders other than “male” and “female” are valid options, and indeed, more common than you’d think. Nonbinary, writes one blogger, is an “imperfect umbrella term for anyone who does not solely identify as male or female” (Ballou). It can apply to people who are transgender, but it doesn’t have to. Other labels such as agender may fit under “nonbinary,” or they might not. Basically, gender is a complicated spectrum, much like sexuality. There aren’t just two options anymore.
The problem with there not being just two options anymore is that English hasn’t caught up. If you don’t feel like you’re male and you don’t feel like you’re female — or if you’re in the process of transitioning from one to the other, or any number of situations — then being called exclusively “she” or exclusively “he” can feel wrong and insulting. One comic creator I follow has a wonderful explanation of being agender here (Stiffler). Their name is A. Stiffler, and they use they/them pronouns, though as they note in the comic, they don’t mind “she” and “he” if they are interchanged often — since Stiffler doesn’t feel like a man or a woman, neither pronoun is more right or wrong than the other.
There are, of course, the grammar snobs who insist that “they” is a word that is solely plural. This is complete and utter fallacy, of course; I guarantee you that you have used “they” in a singular sense in your lifetime. It’s a colloquial thing, gaining traction in much the same way hen did: unofficially.
“Artificial coinages are rarely successful; language is also not very susceptible to campaigns.” — Professor John Mullan
Why haven’t alternatives to “they” caught on in English? “Xie” and “hie” have been proposed and subsequently rejected, along with a slew of other combinations and portmanteaus (Usborne). The prevailing opinion is that they just sound silly. It’s hard to create a whole new word without it sounding strange to most people. Sweden appears to have done it, but English speakers have been resistant to the idea so far. It seems like the best option, going forward, would be to allow “they” to continue its transition from plural to all-encompassing. Language shifts and changes over time, and it’s just dumb to fight it. Who cares if “they” used to be only used in plural situations? The people have spoken — and they’re using “they” in all kinds of ways.
It’s time for official, dictionary-sanctioned English to catch up and fill the need for a gender-neutral pronoun.
“Even identifying me as ‘that fucking asshole’ is pretty nice in my book, and probably more accurate.” — A. Stiffler
Neuman, Scott. “He, She Or Hen? Sweden’s New Gender-Neutral Pronoun.” NPR. NPR, 27 Mar. 2015. Web.
Stiffler, A., and K. Copeland. “Agender Agenda.” ChaosLife. N.p., 13 May 2013. Web.
I think that Sweden has come up with a great idea. We should be following their example and supporting people who would benefit from something like this. It is undeniable that our nation needs to raise more awareness for the topic of the gender binary, and how not all people fall into one sex or the other. My English teacher in high school was definitely one of those people who abhorred the grammatically “incorrect” use of the word ‘they,’ but I think that the use of the term in a singular sense will catch on in the future. And by the way, I just loved the last quote.
This is totally awesome! Non-binary awareness is such a huge step for progress, and it’s good to see one country stepping up protecting people who are gender non-binary or agender. I’d love for America to also make a stand for them too! Also, I think it’s cool because the transvisibility day was only a few days ago, and while transvisibility and non-binary pronouns aren’t the same issue, they’re both huge steps towards equality and acceptance of all genders. Woo!