Pronouns

Introduction
General Information
Transgender Topics
Neopronouns
English Pronouns
External Links: Definitions and Such
External Links: Test out Pronouns
External Links: Additional Resources

Introduction

Pronouns. Virtually everyone uses them. It is difficult not to in the english-speaking world (and most other languages). Pronouns are commonly taught to children in schools (alongside adjectives, nouns, verbs, adverbs, etc).

On the internet, it has become common practice to put your pronouns in your bio (or profile description) on social media so that others know how to refer to you in conversation. This is especially convenient for those using websites with some degree of anonymity, for ease of communication without revealing too many other personal details. Even if you are not transgender, or you are on a platform where you are showing your face, providing your pronouns is still good practice.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people whose reaction to the idea of "pronouns in bio" is "I don't use pronouns" - an ironic statement undercut by the first word in it being a pronoun. Perhaps some of the confusion on the topic can be attributed to declining literacy rates in the United States, or perhaps just the argumentative nature of certain online spaces.

This page is intended to provide information on the basics of pronouns for English speakers.

General Information

Pronouns are words that are used to refer to people and animals in place of their names. Such words include, but are not limited to; I, we, us, me, she, he, and they. Pronouns can also be used in place of referring to an object, such as it and that. Most languages use pronouns because these words make it easier to communicate thoughts and ideas. Some languages such as French use gendered pronouns to refer to objects in addition to people.

Preferred pronouns are the pronouns that an individual would prefer to be called. For example, a cisgender man would typically prefer to be called using he/him pronouns. Using the correct and preferred pronouns for another person is form of gender affirmation (aka, affirming that you see that person as the gender that they are).

Transgender Topics

The topic of pronouns comes up a lot in conversations regarding transgender people. This is because many transgender people will change the pronouns that they use as a part of their transitions. Having a good ally use the correct pronouns can be a major source of gender euphoria for transgender people. Having a transphobe go out of their way to use the incorrect pronouns for a transgender person (especially after having been told the correct pronouns) can be a major source of gender dysphoria.

While nonbinary people are typically associated with using they/them pronouns, not all nonbinary people use they/them. What pronouns anyone uses will vary based on that individual's personal preferences and gender. Some more examples of pronouns other than he/him or they/them can be found further down on this page.

Some people use more than one pronoun set (ex. she/they, he/it, xe/ey). If you know someone who uses more than one set of pronoun, try switching between them in conversation. Some people use any/all to describe their pronouns. Unlike other pronoun sets, any/all pronouns typically does not mean that that person uses the words "any" and "all" as pronouns. It means that that person uses any and all pronouns. Switch between any set of pronouns to refer to that person. Try to avoid sticking to a singular pronoun set when talking about somoene who uses any/all pronouns.

Some people don't use any pronouns. While it can be difficult to talk about someone who does not use any pronouns, try to stick to using the name of that person, as opposed to using pronouns.

Neopronouns

Neopronouns are highly customizable and popular among nonbinary people, particularly among those who are neurodivergent. Some will use archaeopronouns, some will use nounself pronouns, and some will use pronouns typically used to refer to objects. There have been numerous attempts to create a third-person pronoun in english throughout history. In modern times (thanks, internet) you can probably find a user for every attempt at a neutral pronoun out there (though some are, of course, more common than others).

Nounself pronouns are pronouns where an object has been used to replace the pronoun. These are more common among those who identify with xenogenders, and come up with their own pronouns to describe their unique genders. Virtually any word can be incorporated into a nounself pronoun, but some examples can be found below.

Emoji pronouns (or "emojiself" pronouns) are pronouns where emojis are used in replacement of pronouns. Not typically intended to be spoken out loud, these unique pronouns are typically used to express one's identity online. They are also sometimes used by younger trans people in an effort to try and stay closeted if they live in an unsafe or transphobic household where transphobic family members may try and peek at their messages. An example of emojiself pronouns can be found in the table below.

English Pronouns

Subject/Nominative	Accusative/Object/Oblique	Possessive Determiner/Genitive	Possessive Pronoun/Genitive	Reflexive
Ae	Aer	Aer	Aers	Aerself
Bingus	Bingus	Bingus	Binguses	Binguself
Doll	Doll	Dolls	Dolls	Dollself
E	Em	Eir	Eirs	Emself
Ey	Em	Eir	Eirs	Emself
Fae	Faer	Faer	Faers	Faerself
He	Him	His	His	Himself
It	It	Its	Its	Itself
Ne	Nem	Nir	Nirs	Nemself
One	One	One's	One's	Oneself
Per	Per	Per	Pers	Perself
She	Her	Her	Hers	Herself
Star	Star	Stars	Stars	Starself
They	Them	Their	Theirs	Themself
Thon	Thon	Thons	Thon's	Thonself
Ve	Ver	Ver	Vers	Verself
Xe	Xem	Xyr	Xyrs	Xemself
Ze	Hir	Hir	Hirs	Hirself
Ze	Zir	Zir	Zirs	Zirself
🦑	🦑	🦑s	🦑s	🦑self

The Transgender Dictionary

Pronouns

Table of Contents

Introduction

General Information

Transgender Topics

Neopronouns

English Pronouns

Definitions and Such

Test out Pronouns

Additional Resources