Misgendering

Chan Tov; McNamarah
2021
Pronouns are en vogue. Not long ago, introductions were limited to exchanges of names. Today, however, they are increasingly enhanced with a recitation of the speaker's appropriate gendered forms of address: he/him/his, she/her/hers, they/them/theirs, or neopronouns like zie/zir/zirs, xe/xem/xirs, or sie/hir/hirs. This development-like every other dimension of progress for LGBTQ+ people-has been met with fierce resistance. In particular, four prominent objections have surfaced: (1) that calls
more » ... r pronoun respect are a fraught demand for "special rights" from a vocal queer minority; (2) that, semantically, gendered pronouns, honorifics, and titles cannot constitute offensive speech; (3) that these gendered labels are "just words," and any consequences of their misuse are trivial and legally incognizable; and (4) that sanctions against misgendering violate the First Amendment by both unconstitutionally compelling and restricting speech.
doi:10.15779/z38cv4bs4m fatcat:tymbke7eevhbndc3tllptruari