Singular pronouns are dying – Part 1 The gender factor

THE CONCEPT of gender had long been underpinned by the physiognomy and genitalia people were born with. Those born with male physical features, including penis and testes, were said to belong to the masculine gender, while those with female physical features including the vagina and ovaries were members of the feminine gender.

This idea that there are only two genders is called gender-binary, and a person belongs to one or the other, thus the term binary. Closely associated with it is the term, cisgender, which is used to describe a person whose gender identity (masculine, feminine) corresponds to the sex (male, female) assigned at birth.

This has given rise to the notions of gender roles and behaviour. Males are supposed to be masculine and do masculine things; females ought to behave feminine and do feminine things. Sex (male/female) is equated with gender.

However, it turns out that things are not so clear-cut anymore, especially in this the 21st century, the age of gender-fluidity.

In an online article called, What are some types of gender identity?, written by Veronica Zambon and published on November 5, 2020, the writer says, “A person’s sex is typically based on certain biological factors, such as their reproductive organs, genes, and hormones … A person may have the genes that people may associate with being male or female, but their reproductive organs, genitals, or both may look different. This is called differences in sex development. People may also refer to differences in sex development as intersex. People typically use the terms ‘male’, ‘female’ or ‘intersex’ to refer to a person’s sex.”

She also states that “gender is different than sex. Although genetic factors typically define a person’s sex, gender refers to how they identify on the inside. Only the person themselves can determine what their gender identity is”.

Welcome to the age of non-binary people, people who do not identify with any of the two traditional genders, but who “identify with more than one gender, no gender, or have a fluctuating gender identity”.

Gender then is not defined by genetical/physical features, she argues, but is determined by how people feel about themselves and their outlook on life. In essence, a person’s gender identity is not restricted to being either masculine or feminine, thus the term nonbinary. And, some people do not identify with any gender at all, while others identify with multiple genders. Therefore, there is now a spectrum of gender-identities.

These gender-identities are widely recognised in many parts of the world. And because of this, some males do not want to be referred to as man, mister, sir, he, him, and his, while some females do not want to be referred to as miss, woman, madam, she, and her, despite their physical attributes. Thus, the preference for gender-neutral plural pronouns such as ‘they’, ‘them’, ‘themselves’ and ‘their’, in order to be politically correct or to not run the risk of misgendering anybody.

Misgendering is regarded an intentional or unintentional reference to a gender a person does not identify with or express. For example, reference to a transgender person by the person’s birth gender/sex is widely regarded as harassment and bullying in some quarters. It is also big a legal and social debate in Europe and North America, and will continue to be for a very long time.

Now, to what extent are Caribbean educators, employers, journalists, churches, medics, family members, and general members of the public prepared to communicate with the rest of the world using these ‘gender-neutral’ plural pronouns? The question arises since we are a part of what is regarded a global village, full of sexual and gender diversities.

Who then is going to initiate the discourse about gender identities in our public institutions? Is it The University of the West Indies, that a recent newspaper story says is on the verge of establishing a “new gender policy which will require EVERYONE connected to the regional institution to be referred to by the gender with which THEY identify”?

How are we going to relate to family members, teachers/students/parents, employers/employees, medics/patients, police/civilian, etcetera, who do not identify with, or expressed themselves as, any of the traditional genders of masculine and feminine or traditional sexes of male or female, despite their physical features that people think should have made them identify with such? Are we ready for the changes and the implications? For, Jamaica is still very much a homophobic space, where issues of gender and sexuality are invariably intertwined.