Social media is inherently flawed, but Instagram’s new move to give users the option to display their preferred pronouns will hopefully expand people’s understanding of gender and normalize terms beyond the binary. Right now, Instagram users in the UK, Australia, USA and Canada can visit the “edit profile” section and enter their pronouns—with options ranging from the commonly seen they/their, he/him and she/her to lesser …
Mattel’s new “Creatable World” Doll kit is a gender-fluid doll that can be feminine-presenting, masculine-presenting, both or neither. The doll represents an important shift and is evidence of how the company is helping to usher in acceptance and understanding. “I think if we could have a hand in creating the idea that a boy can play with a perceived girl toy and a girl can …
In a significant step toward inclusivity, and another reminder of how powerful words are, Merriam-Webster has added the non-binary “them” to their dictionary. While accepting that the singular “they” has actually been in use for centuries (since the late 1300s, in fact), by adding it as a non-binary pronoun Merriam-Webster reinforces a more recent and remarkably important development. As Dennis Baron, professor emeritus of English …
