Here's a neat trick:

Someone left their cell phone on the table in a diner. You don't know who they are.

You wonder, "Should I try to call them? ..Wait.. how could I call them, their phone is here. Oh, I know! I'll call someone in their contacts, and they can tell me how to find them."

This is regular English, it doesn't require any special rules.

When someone goes by "they / them" pronouns, it's spoken in English exactly as if their gender is unknown or indeterminate.

...

eta:
a user on a message board, whose identity you don't know, is automaticlaly referred to as "they/them"
a suspect in a criminal investigation, whose identity hasn't been release to the public, is automaticlaly referred to as "they/them"
an unkown benefactor who has made an anonymous donation to charity, is automaticlaly referred to as "they/them"
a random person who accidentally let go of a balloon you see floating high above the city, is automaticlaly referred to as "they/them"
 

Last edited by Flint (3/19/2024 6:45 pm)

r/terriblefacebookmemes