Non-binary pronouns a growing part of gender identity

(AP) — In coming out to dozens of co-workers at a buttoned-up health research office, Aubri Drake had to start from the beginning.

Drake, 29, of Easthampton — where trans protections were recently affirmed — is one of many people in the Valley and across the country whose gender identity goes beyond the male/female binary to something more complex.

[...] they say that, often, that realization brings a need for a shift in language.

While the spotlight on transgender celebrities such as Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner has helped illuminate the fact that gender is not always black and white, and the experiences of those who identify outside of a gender binary are largely missing from the cultural consciousness, say Drake and others.

At UMass freshman orientation, incoming students can choose one or more of the following identifiers: man, woman, trans or another identity.

[...] students applying for admission to UMass for the fall 2017 semester will for the first time have the option to identify a gender other than male or female in their applications, Beemyn said.

Facebook in 2014 began allowing users to pick from a list of 58 genders and has since replaced that expanded list with a fill-in box.

In the United Kingdom, several government agencies recognize the use of "Mx." as a gender neutral alternative to "Mr." ''Mrs." ''Miss" or "Ms." In Australia, gender can be listed on passports as male, female or "X."

The study of grammar and language is really just an attempt to map the fluid river that is our living language.

Papademetriou is the author of more than a dozen books, a former book editor and most recently the person behind humorous grammar website IvanaCorrectya.com.

"If I say 'I went to the doctor today and I got some important news,' many people would respond 'What did they say?' because I haven't specified the gender of the doctor — it's ambiguous gender," she said.

The Oxford English Dictionary, which bills itself as "the definitive record of the English language," offers a definition of "they" as referring to a "singular noun or pronoun of undetermined gender: he or she."

In their recent research regarding nonbinary college students, Beemyn said they observed the use of a variety of pronouns, though about 90 percent of those interviewed used they/them.

The use of specific words attached to gender in social interactions is largely unique compared to the way one addresses other perceived cultural differences.

"The example that I give is if you're in a large classroom teaching, you would never call on someone saying, 'The Asian person in the back there,'" they said.

Though people might silently assume another person's race based on that person's appearance, it's considered offensive to make that assumption known, Beemyn said.

[...] it was very much the opposite — 'Why do you care about this so much, you're just gay.'

In their presentations to higher education faculty and staff, Beemyn advocates for not assuming that everyone identifies within a gender binary, suggesting that professors give students the option of introducing their pronouns to the class.

Beemyn recently highlighted this concept to incoming first-year students at orientation.