In unrelated but similar situation 20 million people today in the world, were born with intersex genitals. 20 million people doctors, surgeons and parents decided gender as they have for generations.
To no one's notice, no one's business, no news items. Their sexual identity chosen for them by doctors.
That some, with good, great, metal, physical and none of your business reasons, ALSO choose to present who they are, be who they are, is why PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS is guaranteed.
@georgetakei when I need to school someone on how “they” is used as a singular pronoun, I use the anecdote:
“A person on a motorcycle drove past me, and then they turned right.”
I can see the gears churning in their head as they work out, was it a man or woman? Maybe I can’t tell, on account of the helmet. Or maybe IT DOESN’T MATTER!
Tellingly, it’s worth noting that you only need to know someone’s gender if you’re planning on treating them differently based on the answer.
@georgetakei
The same #JuliaHartleyBrewer who tweeted that the perpetrator of the #Sydney stabbing murders last weekend was an Islamist terrorist:
"The verified account of Julia Hartley-Brewer, a presenter on British channel TalkTV, claimed the attacker was an “Islamist terrorist”, which she later clarified was incorrect."
Respecting pronouns is very simple. It's the Golden Rule and basic respect. Or was until the right decided to add it to their culture war, which isn't about culture - it's about dominance and political power.
@georgetakei besides the obvious bigotry, the singular they has been used since the 14th century. Since what counts as "proper" English was always more descriptive than prescriptive, it means it's perfectly correct grammar.