He/she are not enough.‘They’ becomes word of the decade

They won the year. And the decade. Literally. Last week, the American Dialect Society crowned the singular pronoun ‘they’ as the word of the decade. The word, which is increasingly becoming popular as the pronoun of choice among those who don’t conform to the he/she binary, has become a “vital indicator of social trends”. Ben Zimmer, chair of the American Dialect Society’s new words committee, said, “When a basic part of speech like pronouns becomes a vital indicator of social trends, linguists pay attention. The selection of ‘(my) pronouns’ as word of the year speaks to how the personal expression of gender identity has become an increasing part of our shared discourse. The same trend is also reflected in singular ‘they’ being chosen as word of the decade.” However, this is not the first time that ‘they’ popped up as the most popular word. Last month, Merriam-Webster also chose ‘they’ as the word of the year. While the growing recognition of the word is a step towards gender inclusivity, when and how did this four-letter word end up being the word of the decade? And how did it go from being a pronoun to being an indicator of social trends? Growing popularity of the wordWhile the focus on gender inclusivity is still not in the mainstream discourse in several parts of the world, gender inclusivity has become a focus for multiple brands. In 2019, both Apple and Google launched gender ambiguous emojis. Another company launched a virtual assistant, who unlike Siri or Alexa, has an ambiguous voice. Many scholars credit this trend of being ‘gender woke’ to social media, which has provided a platform for people to openly talk about their gender identities and for the discourse to pick up pace.Merriam-Webster chose ‘they’ as their word of the year based on data that showed searches for the definition of “they” on the publisher’s website and apps increased by 313% in 2019 over the previous year. “With the word’s non-binary usage, people are sensing that it means something new or different, and they are going to the dictionary. When you see look-ups for it triple, you know that they is a word that is in flux,” said Peter Sokolowski, an editor-at-large at Merriam-Webster. Celebs who are gender non-binaryIn an interview with an entertainment magazine, Fantastic Beasts’ Ezra Miller said, "I don’t identify as a man. I don’t identify as a woman. I barely identify as a human."In an interview with an LGBTQIA+ entertainment and lifestyle magazine, Jonathan Van Ness from Queer Eye, said, “The older I get, the more I think that I’m non-binary – I’m gender nonconforming. Some days I feel like a man, other days I feel like a woman. Any opportunity I have to break down stereotypes of the binary, I’m here for it.” After sharing that they/them makes them comfortable, The Hunger Games’ Amandla Stenberg said that they were fine with she/her since people wouldn't understand their choice. She also shared that they’d like to begin using they/them pronouns, saying. “I’m allowed to explore myself and how I see myself in the world however the f*** I want.” In September 2019, singer-songwriter Sam Smith announced on social media, “After a lifetime of being at war with my gender, I’ve decided to embrace myself for who I am, inside and out. I’m so excited and privileged to be surrounded by people that support me.” Smith continued, “I am at no stage just yet to eloquently speak at length about what it means to be non-binary but I can’t wait for the day that I am.” While she goes by she, Ruby Rose refers to herself as gender fluid. “For the most part, I definitely don’t identify as any gender. I’m not a guy; I don’t really feel like a woman, but obviously I was born one. So, I’m somewhere in the middle, which is like having the best of both sexes,” she said in an interview with a fashion magazine.Other contenders for word of the decade#BlackLivesMatter: This expression refers to the protests over increasing police brutality against African Americans in the USA. The movement gained momentum after innocent black teenagers were fatally shot by white police officers. Climate: While it didn’t win word of the decade, climate emergency won oxford dictionaries’ word of the year title. 2019 saw worldwide protests against the climate crisis, which were primarily inspired by Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg. while 2019 saw wild fires ravage across the amazon forest and California, the rest of the decade witnessed extreme temperatures, melting icebergs and consequent rising sea levels. #MeToo: Founded by Tarana Burke in 2006, the MeToo movement began as a social phenomenon in October 2017 as a hashtag started by Alyssa Milano who shared her story of sexual assault against Harvey Weinstein. Meme: From Mark Zuckerberg and people eating detergent to salt bae, Harambe and Ok boomer, the decade saw a meme for almost everything that happened around the world. Emoji: When out of words, use an emoji! From being limited as a small, yellow coloured icon, the decade saw emojis getting creative, racially diverse and gender inclusive. Selfie: There are even songs about it. Whether in front of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, the pyramids in Egypt or while chillin’ with exotic animals, in the age of social media, selfies have shown no signs of slowing down. Woke: The word refers to someone who is socially aware, especially about issues of racial and social injustice. The word woke became entwined with the Black Lives Matter movement; instead of just being a word that signaled awareness of injustice, it became a word of action.