THEYBIES, I love you! Just a reminder that all language was invented. That people don’t get mad when new words like “tweet” and “hangry” are developed and recognized, they get mad when new words about gender and sexuality are. This disproportionate scrutiny + backlash is about transphobia, not the integrity of language. The purpose of language is to make meaning — we are constantly creating new ways of fashioning language to be more particular, nuanced, and precise. Language shifts and adapts with time. That is a good thing that gives more clarity, more options, and more specificity. What’s happening here is entitlement: cis hetero patriarchy wants to be able to control + monopolize language and name us accordingly; they don’t want queer people to have the power to name and narrate ourselves. When you control language, you control reality, and this is part of a historic + ongoing effort to disappear queer + trans people. If you care more about “grammar,” than you do extending a small courtesy to living breathing humans for whom this could go a long way in making our lives a little less exasperating — then you need to question your priorities + your power.
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