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moonyreadsbystarlight's review against another edition
informative
3.75
Star ratings are hard. This has a lot of neat information, but it's not a book for everyone. And the more I think about it, the more critiques I have tbh.
This history of the gender neutral pronoun was interesting. I did learn a lot - the majority of it focused on the 1800s and early-mid 1900s (though it does touch on times before and after as well). I didn't know that there was so much pronoun discourse in these early days - nor how similarly it was used politically by people (largely white men) to degrade and deflect from more tangible issues*.
This history of the gender neutral pronoun was interesting. I did learn a lot - the majority of it focused on the 1800s and early-mid 1900s (though it does touch on times before and after as well). I didn't know that there was so much pronoun discourse in these early days - nor how similarly it was used politically by people (largely white men) to degrade and deflect from more tangible issues*.
This was, however, quite repetative. I didnt mind so much in the beginning because it was a lot that I didnt know, but by the time the last chapters of the book came around, it was a little cumbersome. I think since they included the chronogy chapter, they could have cut or integrated some examples earlier in the book.
While the discussion about the past was very strong, I don't think the discussion of contemporary neopronoun usage was. That is actually what I came into the book knowing more about, so it was a little dissapointing to see how little it was engaged with when he was making his case for singular they at the very end of the book. I don't even really disagree that "they" makes the most sense as a singular gender neutral term more broadly (considering how the language has evolved organically... though I do take issue with some of his reasoning - but this review is already too long without all of that). But I don't think he engaged with current neopronoun usage enough. I don't expect it to be handled with the same rigor as the rest of the book (because his research is clearly more historical - a current look into it all would be quite different) but I think it could have been improved.
All that is to say, it has a lot of information. I found it very interesting and would recommend it to people already interested in the topic of historical pronoun usage with the caviat about repetition. However, if you're on the fence about reading a book that's about grammar and grammar seems a bit dry to you, this might not be the best one to start with (intro and first chapter are interesting if you want the main points, but the rest does get a but in the weeds).
--
*not that pronouns are unimportant. But when "but the integrity of the English language!" is the focus when women or trans people are facing, like, violence... it's pedantic at best and an accessory to violence at worst.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Deadnaming
pastelkerstin's review against another edition
informative
4.5
An interesting historical look at the quest for "the missing word" to refer to people of unknown or irrelevant gender or whose gender is to be obscured, and more recently the quest for words to talk about nonbinary people.
If you plan to read this, you should bring at least a passing interest in both grammar and feminism/women's rights. Don't expect the whole book to be about nonbinary and trans issues because it's not, although of course a part of it is. I find all of these topics interesting, so I had a good time and learned quite a bit, such as how old some of the pronouns people now often call "neopronouns" are. Nothing "neo" (new) about words that were coined in the 19th century!
Baron's voice is informational, but sarcastic enough to keep the book entertaining. But don't worry, he's clearly on the right side of history as he sides with feminists and trans and nonbinary people, preferring to ridicule overblown language purists, patriarchs, and conservatives.
Several reviewers have called this book repetitive, and, frankly, it is, but not more or less than pretty much every piece of academic writing I ever had the pleasure or misfortune to read, so I guess I'm used to it.
Minor grievance: Baron is aware of the changing terminology in discussions about gender and trans issues and explains how certain older words are now disfavoured by most people in the community. However, he doesn't seem to be aware of the preferred language of intersex people, as he uses the disfavoured h-word (and not just in a quotation) with no further commentary on it. Granted, this doesn't come up a lot in the book.
If you plan to read this, you should bring at least a passing interest in both grammar and feminism/women's rights. Don't expect the whole book to be about nonbinary and trans issues because it's not, although of course a part of it is. I find all of these topics interesting, so I had a good time and learned quite a bit, such as how old some of the pronouns people now often call "neopronouns" are. Nothing "neo" (new) about words that were coined in the 19th century!
Baron's voice is informational, but sarcastic enough to keep the book entertaining. But don't worry, he's clearly on the right side of history as he sides with feminists and trans and nonbinary people, preferring to ridicule overblown language purists, patriarchs, and conservatives.
Several reviewers have called this book repetitive, and, frankly, it is, but not more or less than pretty much every piece of academic writing I ever had the pleasure or misfortune to read, so I guess I'm used to it.
Minor grievance: Baron is aware of the changing terminology in discussions about gender and trans issues and explains how certain older words are now disfavoured by most people in the community. However, he doesn't seem to be aware of the preferred language of intersex people, as he uses the disfavoured h-word (and not just in a quotation) with no further commentary on it. Granted, this doesn't come up a lot in the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
Minor: Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Transphobia, Antisemitism, and Religious bigotry
bradley's review against another edition
funny
informative
slow-paced
3.75
What's Your Pronoun: Beyond He and She by Dennis Baron (he/him) is a discussion about the lack of a gender-neutral third-person singular pronoun. I picked this book up because of my interest in trans and nonbinary history, and by extension the roots of the gender neutral pronouns we see today such as xe/xem, zie/hir, and ey/em. Knowing many of these pronouns predate the 21st century--some of them even predating the 20th century--Baron does talk at length about the reasons these words were coined. That reason being a lapse in the English language that has been the source of debate for literal centuries.
In other words, what pronoun do you instert into this sentence:
In other words, what pronoun do you instert into this sentence:
Harry or his wife will stop by, and ______ will pick up the books.
The debate over the "correct" answer has been waged since at least 1770.
Like I said, this lapse in English wasn't really why I picked up the book, but not being the reason I was drawn to a book doesn't make it a bad book, and it did introduce me to concepts I hadn't considered such as using the so-called "generic he" in laws and how that effected women's sufferage and first wave feminism, as covered in the section The Politics of He.
What's Your Pronouns can get repeditive at times, and in the chapter titled The Politics of He in particular, can get downright hard to trudge through. The point behind the chapter stands tall, but example after example, only the names, dates, and cities really changing in the dozens of examples provided become boring.
Other chapters are engaging and interesting, my favorite of course being Queering the Pronoun, when Baron discusses the adoption of previously-thought failed pronouns are adopted by the nonbinary community. As Baron puts it, "thon's not dead yet." (!)
If you're looking for a book about how people react when a foundational word is missing from English, this will pertain more to your interests than if you're looking for a book to enlighten about the history of trans people, though it is touched upon (not in depth, but not superficially either.) But that wasn't how the book was advertised, and I did get out of the book what I was searching for--the origin of the pronouns I see today, plus more I wasn't particularly looking for, which I won't complain about.
Note: I included some content warnings below, but Dennis Baron is very respectful of trans and nonbinary identies, these are subjects touched upon due to the nature of discussing nonfiction transgender experiences, and not graphic detailed passages and are not perpetrated by Baron himself.
Content Warnings
Minor: Deadnaming, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and Religious bigotry
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