A Guide to Neopronouns and Xenogenders
Hello, I am Raccoons, Entity, or Feral (any of those names work). I am a queer autistic person and I would like to educate you on neopronouns and xenogenders. I will warn you that this is a very lengthy read with a lot of sources quoted. However, you do not have to continue reading. I will not force you to accept neopronouns nor will I judge people that don't know anything about them.
I will, though, request that you do read this, especially if someone you know or care about sent you this. Because it is probably important to them that you learn about this.
Neopronouns, Nounself Pronouns, and Autism;
History, Connections, and Explanations
"One of the first recorded uses of a neopronoun dates back to 1789 where one William H Marshall documented the use of “a” as a pronoun." That is the first highlighted sentence if you look up the phrase "neopronoun history" If you click the article made by mermaidsuk.org you will find that there was a composer named Charles Crosby Converse created the pronouns thon/thonself as a contraction of "that one." So to say that neopronouns are "something new" or it "isn't in the English language" would be far from the truth. Neopronouns, just as nounself pronouns, are just as much part of the English language as any other pronouns such as "I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, them." Or even "who, whom, whose, which, that, what, whatever, whoever, whomever, whichever, anything, everybody, another, each, few, many, none, some, all, any, anybody, anyone, everyone, everything, no one, nobody, nothing, none, other, others, several, somebody, someone, something, most, enough, little, more, both, either, neither, one, much, such."
And yes, those are all pronouns.Nounself pronouns are a different story, however they are not any less valid and can still cause gender dysphoria if not respected. The first documentation of someone using a nounself pronoun was a Tumblr user back in 2012-13. Of course there was discourse but most of that died down about a year later in 2014, up until recently when people started coming out and using them. The NY Times published a wonderful article back in April of 2021 stating, "Many neopronoun users are dead serious, and are also part of online communities that are quick to react swiftly to offenses. They are deeply versed in the style and mores of contemporary identity politics conversations," when discussing if neo and nounself pronouns were serious. When discussing people that didn't agree with nounself pronouns this was said, "Critics persist. “I’m not going to call u kitty/kittyself or doll/dollself just bc u think its cool,” one TikToker wrote in a video caption. “Pronouns are a form of identity not an aesthetic.” But what’s the difference between an aesthetic and an identity anyway?" Linguist and queer scholar Jason Di'Angelo said in a TikTok video “The noun-self pronouns emerged on Tumblr, starting around 2012, 2013... They’re a unique way of exploring people’s understanding of their own gender.” Once again, not an aesthetic or someone mocking the trans community. It's simply someone expressing their gender in a way that they feel comfortable. This is also where xenogenders come in, xenogenders are the genders that neo/nounself pronoun users come up with (usually designing their own flags) that correspond with their preferred neo/nounself pronouns.The autistic community has always had strong connection and ties in the lgbtq community. Studies have been done showing that autistic and other neurodivergent people and are much more likely to be gay or trans than allistic/neurotypical people. This is due to the fact that we view and process the world in a much different way than the societal cisgender heterosexual way. And because of this autistic and other neurodivergent people are more likely to use neopronouns or nounself pronouns as a result. I mean it is theorized that both William H Marshall and Charles Crosby Converse (mentioned above) were autistic. Although this doesn't mean that strictly neurodivergent trans people use these pronouns, some neurotypical people used these pronouns, once again for comfort in expressing their identity.
Why it's important to respect neos and xenogenders
Just like any other sets of pronouns for other people under the trans umbrella, neopronouns, nounself pronouns, and xenogenders should be respected. I mean the bottom line is that it's just basic human decency, and using bun/bunself pronouns (for example) doesn't make a person less human. Just because someone uses those pronouns, doesn't mean they think they are an animal. It just means that is how they are comfortable expressing their gender identity, and it's not being used as an "aesthetic" as some might suggest. Pronouns like bun/bunself or star/starself are usually used because they are deeply connected to a special interest and it makes them comfortable to hear when they are referred to as something connected to that. For example, I personally use flick/flicker and pyro/pyroself because fire is something that is a huge comfort to me and I feel very safe and comfortable when referred to as that. However, I don't exclusively use nounself pronouns as my preferred pronouns and I personally am okay with people calling me he/him, it/its, or they/them. But some people aren't comfortable with that. There was one person that said due to rye's misophonia he liked he/him and rye/ryes, because it was something that didn't trigger his misophonia. Everyone has a different reason to use them, the important part is that you don't actively shame someone for using them or disrespect them as people.And just like misgendering a trans person that uses "normal" pronouns, someone that uses neopronouns can also experience severe gender dysphoria or a bad RSD episode as a result of people saying they won't respect them as a trans person. RSD is Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria. RSD triggered by misgendering or by lack of acceptance from anyone (especially those under the trans umbrella that call us "transtrenders"). Can be extremely harmful for one's mental health. Not to mention to add to the fact that a lot of neurodivergent trans people are the ones using these pronouns, a lot of neurodivergent people (eg. people with adhd and/or autism) often times have RSD.The link below has guides on how to use neopronouns:
How to use Neopronouns PDF (SAFE DOWNLOAD)
Fun Facts about general LGBTQ History
⛥ Did you know that the pronoun "she" was once considered a neopronoun?
⛥ The lgbtq+ community wouldn't have rights today if it weren't for Marsha P. Johnson.
⛥ There are actually a lot of lgbtq figures in Greek and Roman mythology.
⛥ The first pride flag design was made in 1978
Works Sites
I have done copious amounts of research so that I could make sure what I was saying was historically accurate and correct. So below are my sources linked and labeled for you to read in case you are unsure of this carrd's accuracy
⛥ Nonbinary pronouns are older than you think
⛥ Nounself Pronouns
⛥ Neopronouns 101
⛥ Really Learn English (Pronouns)
⛥ Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD)
⛥ Nounself Pronouns (PDF SAFE DOWNLOAD)
⛥ What are Neopronouns?(NY Times)
Questions
If you are still confused I don't mind answering questions. And yes, there is a Tumblr link, I am not comfortable sharing my email and I know no other site that I can do this on (Instagram and Twitter are a no-go)