As ever: http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~evans/cs655/readings/purity.html

I do this. I'm sorry I'm offending you. That's not my intention.

I use it not for some political purpose, but because I actually believe gender is irrelevant to the things I'm saying. I am almost never trying to say "I went with Dave in his essential maleness to his house" I'm just trying to say I went to Dave's house. I'm not trying to reference occupation or nationality or anything else. Referencing gender is noise.

It's also impractical to have to ask everyone their gender and keep that huge database in my head. Much easier just to use one word.

'They' isn't a viable substitute just when gender is irrelevant.

There isn't really a label for what I identify as, but it is not 'she' or 'he,' it's somewhere in-between and neither at the same time. So even 'he or she' wouldn't apply to me: I'm not one or the other.

I _prefer_ xe/etc; but I'm absolutely 100% fine with they/them. Just don't call me he (because I'm not) or she (because I'm not). ;)

Does that make sense?

> It's a natural construct and universal to many languages.

I think this ignores too much how language imposes itself on a culture - and a culture on a language. The gender neutral pronoun is a natural construct and universal to many languages, too. We just don't have an "official" one in English.

I saw a comic strip once where someone was talking to a nonbinary person. Somewhere in it, the (presumably) cisgendered person said "but then I won't know your gender!"

And the nonbinary person replied "that's okay, because I don't know it either."

(I probably mis-remembered parts, and I'm not telling it anywhere near as well)

Just because people use singular they doesn't mean we can't still use gender-specific, third-person pronouns.

I think the grandfather post is saying that this is motivated by people who wish to eliminate gender, not that we are precluded from he or she.