I know that there are plenty of (maybe most) people who only find one or two pronouns acceptable and nothing else will do. But for me it’s actually not that easy, there is a hierarchy of pronouns that are good or bad.
(text version:)
Best: Thon/thon/thons/thonself, they/them/their/theimself
Acceptable: he/him/his/himself
Activism-only*: it/it/its/itself
Not good: Other invented pronouns
Just don’t: sie/hir/hirs/hirself
There are easier ways to get me to stop talking to you: she/her/hers/herself
Number fail: they/them/their/themselves
Essentially:Stick to the first one and we’ll be great. Stick to the second one and we’ll be alright. Drift any lower and we have issues. If you really want to use “themselves” I actually don’t have a problem with that, but will be amused. At your expense.
*activism only explanation: I generally don’t like it, but if you ever run into someone who insists that ‘it’ is inherently dehumanizing (a concept that I find to be extremely binarist and busted), you have my blessing and encouragement to point to me while saying “So you’re saying that your view of pronouns is more important than using the right pronouns for it?!”. However, you are not allowed to use it for shock value, sensationalism, or cheapening trans or non-binary issues. You really aren’t allowed to use it disrespectfully. For all other times- stick to the first 2 on the chart.
