have you used the gender-neutral title Mx.?

[Bramblethorn]

YOu are full of crap. If, like your examples above, I used 'they'

There's no "if" about it. Those quotes are pasted directly from your own stories. Anybody who wants to verify that I've quoted them accurately can follow the links.

it is the euphemistic general they, not the they/them a transsexual expects to be addressed.

Your complaint was about "they/them referring to single individual". Which is what you were doing in those examples that I quoted. If what you intended was different to what you wrote, that's on you.

Using 'they' as the indeterminate pronoun, instead of as a preferred personal pronoun.

That is a meaningful distinction, but I don't think it's quite the right one here, because some of those examples aren't really about "indeterminate" gender. The first Shakespeare, for instance:

"There's not a man I meet but doth salute me
As if I were their well-acquainted friend"
The site I linked has several examples from Austen where she uses "they" for people whose gender is made clear by context:

"Poor Julia, the only one out of the nine not tolerably satisfied with their lot..."
"I cannot pretend to be sorry ... that he [Darcy] or that any man should not be estimated beyond their deserts; but with him I believe it does not often happen."
"Both sisters were uncomfortable enough. Each felt for the other, and of course for themselves..."
""I have not a doubt of it," said Marianne; "and I have nothing to regret -- nothing but my own folly." "Rather say your mother's imprudence, my child," said Mrs. Dashwood: "she must be answerable." Marianne would not let her proceed; and Elinor, satisfied that each [only women are referred to here] felt their own error, wished to avoid any survey of the past that might weaken her sister's spirits..."

Same for the last one I quoted from Gamblnluck. The story makes it clear that the "lovers" referred to are three guys named Brian, Eric and Richard.

So AFAICT he's okay with using "they" for somebody who's known to be a guy (as defined by his dick), just not with using "they" for somebody who actually wants to be called "they". That seems like the attitude of somebody who's going out of their way to pick fights with the world.

 

[Bramblethorn]

View attachment 2290252

 

[Bramblethorn]

Bramblethorn showed examples of Shakespeare using the word they. He says I use it in my stories. Yes, as in a plural they.

Bullshit.

"In Louisiana at least one party had to know they were being recorded."
"I intuitively picked up on subtle signs that a patient was having problems long before they began to slide down the tubes."
"And that includes if you let one of your lovers into the house and they do the damage."

"One party". "A patient". "One of your lovers". These are all singular, not plural.

The other examples I quoted all invoke "somebody", which can refer to one or multiple people, but is treated grammatically as a singular. We might write:

"one person has been here"
"two people have been here"
"somebody has been here"

But we don't write "somebody have been here", even when we think there's more than one.

 

[Gamblnluck]

Bullshit.

"In Louisiana at least one party had to know they were being recorded."
"I intuitively picked up on subtle signs that a patient was having problems long before they began to slide down the tubes."
"And that includes if you let one of your lovers into the house and they do the damage."

Yep, sure did. (Except in the first sentence they is plural since it is a conversation.) Only ONE party had to know they (the conversation) was being recorded.

But none of those are the 'they/them' used to refer to non-binary or whatever the folk want to be referred as.
If you'd been following the thread it was about terminology used for those nonbinary. Rob Royale also mentioned the 'they/them' plural for a single person.
THAT was the conversation, not the semantics of can 'they' be used as a singular in literature. Nor if I say a bunch of something it has to mean grapes or bananas.

 

[Winter_Fare]

But none of those are the 'they/them' used to refer to non-binary or whatever the folk want to be referred as.

That's pretty arbitrary...
And contradictory...
Weak logic.
What are your plans then, if you meet someone who's gender is indeterminate? Who asks to be called they/them? You going to guess m/f? Or just pretend they don't exist, take an aspirin and lie down?

 

[PandemicReader8]

Like "Latinx", which runs roughshod over the important gender distinctions built into Spanish.

I work and live in close proximity to a large number of Hispanic folks, most first generation immigrants. The wife in the couple we are closest with - minds out of the gutter - is sweet, soft spoken, and polite. My daughter - recent college grad - made a point out of beating LatinX like a drum while a group of us where hanging out. My friend's wife smiled, stayed absolutely kindhearted, and sweet, and dismantled my daughter's ill conceived notion of the term.

 

[Winter_Fare]

My daughter - recent college grad - made a point out of beating LatinX like a drum

There's an alternative: latine, which evolved naturally in trans communities from Spanish speaking countries. It's easier for Spanish people to say, and is less "USA"

Is there a feasible alternative to Mx? A more natural evolution?

 

[samhasstories]

In reality I'm not sure when would be the last time I used Mr., Ms., or Mrs., either. I'm not a child in school or a Reservoir Dog. I usually just use people's names.

 

[Winter_Fare]

In reality I'm not sure when would be the last time I used Mr., Ms., or Mrs., either. I'm not a child in school or a Reservoir Dog. I usually just use people's names.

A person might need a title in legal, medical or formal situations like professional job interview, or government documentation. After formal intro you can go to first names, but it is a step.

 

[samhasstories]

A person might need a title in legal, medical or formal situations like professional job interview, or government documentation. After formal intro you can go to first names, but it is a step.

Sure, I’m not questioning the legitimacy of having such a word. Just reflecting on the initial question - I haven’t used it, but nor have I used the more traditional terms lately.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

I'm fine with a gender neutral pronoun, but they/them confuses me. They are plural terms.

There's enough genders for them to pick one, anyway.

 

[LonRivers]

I don't go by the various gender identifications in my stories. You are either male or female. Sir or Ma'am, Mr. Ms. Miss or Mrs. in my stories. gay, straight, Bi or Trans. If I ever have a Trans character or a character that identifies as one or the other, I will address them accordingly based on who that character needs to be.

I am not going to disrespect them by writing about something I know nothing about. So, not writing about them means that there is no need to address that concern. I DO have LGBT friends, but I am not comfortable asking them questions for the sake of writing erotica. And honestly, there really is no safe way to just pop out those questions without suspicion unless you were there through their entire experience.