The New Puritans: How the Religion of Social Justice Captured the Western World

by Andrew Doyle

Announcing one’s pronouns has no practical purpose in most scenarios, given that we do not refer to individuals by their pronouns unless we are talking about them, rather than to them. In other words, there appears to be little utility in announcing pronouns other than to endorse the notion of gender identity. But this is a specifically ideological stance, one that people should not be pressurised into making against their will. Moreover, even raising the question can be offensive. Feminist campaigner Julie Bindel has pointed out that women who reject traditional notions of femininity are frequently told that they ‘look like men’. To ask such an individual for her pronouns can be construed as a kind of attack, given that she will have struggled to achieve acceptance as a woman who simply does not conform to sex stereotypes. Then there is the added complication of neo-pronouns. On university campuses, it is not uncommon for badges to be distributed during freshers’ week in order to limit the potential for faux pas. ‘My pronouns are he/him/his’ the badge might say, but it could just as easily be ‘they/ them/their’, ‘xe/xem/xyr’, ‘ne/nym/nis’, ‘ve/ver/vis’, ‘fae/faer/faers’ or ‘zie/ zim/zir’. This kind of cryptic puzzle makes for quite the initiation. Although no employers are as yet mandating pronoun declaration, there is something coercive about the request. An actor friend of mine recently told me that it is now common practice for members of a new cast to announce their p...

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