rant · moment 16 of 19
Gender Neutral Pronouns: Just Pick 'They/Them'
from The Christmas Episode | The Tim Dillon Show #328 · #328
7 min
Riffing on the banned book Gender Queer and its author's invented pronouns (e/em/eir), Tim proposes a 'deal' where non-binary people all just use 'they/them' for simplicity, mocking the proliferation of neopronouns like ze, zer, and em as unworkable.
- Tim opposes book banning but acknowledges concerns about age-appropriate content in schools.
- Growing up on Long Island, Tim never saw gender as a rigid binary—women could be masculine, men could be sensitive.
- Tim proposes a deal: people can opt out of gender entirely into one category using they/them pronouns.
- The author of Genderqueer uses eme and air pronouns instead of they/them.
- If people use different neopronouns like em, air, and ze, casual conversation becomes a Abbott and Costello routine.
- Tim's pitch: just make non-binary one thing so everyone can use they/them and communication stays simple.
- Examples of how neopronouns would sound in actual sentences—ze went to the store, this sandwich is heirs.
- Tim tells young people seeking constant validation that they're setting themselves up for a miserable life.
- Nobody advocating for all these pronouns actually has fun—everyone's exhausted from constantly policing what others say and do.
- Tell your kids at Christmas that they can just be they/them instead of demanding to be special with neopronouns.
gender pronounsGenderqueerLong IslandNew York