Here are a few I’ve heard:
- “Identifying as demisexual is just a form of slut-shaming”
- “‘Demisexuality’ is just the human norm, most people don’t fuck someone they just met”
- “Asexual claims of discrimination are an insult to the Black Americans who struggled in the Civil Rights Movement”
- “Anyone who identifies as asexual is either an incel in denial or has a medical problem that needs to be cured”
“‘They’ is never a singular pronoun” from someone who was a high school English teacher no less
It’s older than singular “you”!
Even before pronouns were in vogue, I’ve been using ‘they’ as a singular pronoun my entire life in colloquial language without even thinking about it. English teachers tend to be prescriptionist pedants though, obsessed more with grammar and syntax rules than with legibility and communication.
It’s like they think language is a magic spell that you have to use the right formula for
I once got told not to do use singular they for a character who was literally genderless and non-corporeal
The person in question was like “editors won’t accept that” and all I could think was “motherfucker, it’s sci-fi, that is far from the most ‘out there’ thing in the genre’s published works”
I’m writing a character now who is an arch fey and a patron to the MC. I use xe/xir as pronouns. It’s kinda fun. Xe got the MC in a horribly 1 sided pact and talks in nearly unreadable legalese.
I also got this one from my high school english teacher.