I went to the doctor a couple of days ago. As I was checking in with the receptionist, she was asking the usual questions. Name? Date of birth? Stupid Covid questions. Which was annoying enough. But then, she asked me what my pronouns are.
I was dumbfounded. I sat there for a minute in disbelief. I know, I should have seen it coming. But I didn't. I had already filled out the check-in form online where I had to specify three times that I am female. So then to get there and be asked my pronouns was too much. So, after a pause to gather my thoughts, I said, "I am female." She must've sensed the shock/irritation in my voice because she got all huffy and defensive. She said something to the effect of she couldn't assume because she would get in trouble with HR.
In all my 52 years on this earth I have never been asked what my pronouns are. It should be pretty obvious that I'm female. Is it not something you learn as a child, toddler even? One of the first things children learn is the difference between male and female. When a child is learning to talk, before they can even speak proper sentences, they understand male and female pronouns. For instance, a child may say, "Her went to the store." Mixing up the pronouns her with she, but still using the correct gender of the pronoun.
I have never been confused for a man before, by anybody. So why would my pronouns be in question? Doesn't language prescribe that the female pronouns be used when speaking about females and male pronouns be used when speaking about males? It's very simple. As I mentioned, toddlers understand this.
You don't choose your pronouns. The correct pronouns are used depending on the sex of the person being talked about. There are two sexes – male and female. And there are male and female pronouns. Neither of which is something you can choose or change.
Words have meanings. When you change the meanings of words, words mean nothing. Language becomes useless.
In trying to cater to a minuscule percentage of mentally ill people, society is not only annoying and offending the majority of the population, but also, more importantly, destroying language.
Without meaningful language, we are unable to communicate effectively. This is a big part of being human. Words matter. Language matters.
That's my two cents.
