In recent years, some non-binary and transgender people have advocated for the use of “they/them” pronouns for themselves. While many people adopted these changes without an issue, some see the use of “they/them” pronouns as wrong on the grounds that as there are two genders, there should also be only two types of pronouns. Recently, anchor Julia Hartley-Brewer got into an argument with journalist Shivani Dave over the use of pronouns. Brewer had invited Dave to her show on TalkTV to discuss the findings of CASS Review, a report that looks into gender identity and gender dysmorphia amongst children in the UK.
While introducing Dave to the show, Brewer uses “she/her” pronouns even though Dave goes by “they/them”. Dave corrected Brewer and said, “Good afternoon, Julia. You know my pronouns are they/them. How are you doing?” This ignited a passive-aggressive exchange between the two, as Brewer insisted that she is entitled to use “correct grammar”.
Defending her position, Brewer said, “You’re not a plural. You’re one person, and you’re a female person. So, I will use ‘she’ and ‘her,’ thank you very much.” To this, Dave calmly said that Brewer can “do whatever” she likes but they were just pointing out their preferred pronouns so make sure that other viewers know what they prefer.
A clip of this exchange has gone viral, with many people criticising Brewer for being disrespectful and ignorant. An Instagram user commented, “So disgusting. It’s not that hard to use they/them pronouns for one person. We do it all the time if we don’t know the gender of a person.”
Another person explained, “Someone drops their keys in a crowded room. “Oops! Hey everyone! someone dropped THEIR keys!” Does not mean multiple people dropped one pair of keys. SOMEONE dropped THEIR keys and you don’t know who, so you don’t know how to refer to THEM so you use they/them. It’s not hard, I just did it!! Ignorance is rampant these days.”
People also lauded Dave for maintaining composure throughout. An Instagram user wrote, “Well done to Shivani who remained polite and respectful throughout that conversation, I could not have done that when the anchor was being so blatantly contemptuous. Absolutely disgusting way to treat anyone and that anchor should be taken off the air so people no longer can be subjected to her spiteful prejudice.”
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