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"It" Is Dehumanizing: Difference between revisions
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* In [[Real Life]] most of English's [[Pronoun Trouble]] comes from this trope. It is the only gender-neutral singular pronoun, but it is offensive to use when referring to other people.
** To avoid this, it is becoming increasingly common to use "they" (normally a third-person plural pronoun with no gender affiliation) when referring to an individual whose gender is uncertain for whatever reason. English language purists tend not to like this, but it is functional and other pronouns such as "you", originally the plural of "thou" (and after that, the more formal second person pronoun when used singularly) , have undergone similar transformations.
* While you'd be hard pressed to find ''anyone'' who likes being referred to as "it", this is a particular [[Berserk Button]] for
* In an aversion, it is generally considered acceptable to refer to an unborn baby as "it" (as in "when is it due?"), probably due to the fact that not everyone knows the gender of the child before it is born. Even infants outside of the womb sometimes receive this treatment.
* Inverted with Charles Lindbergh Jr., the 'Lindbergh Baby'. He was affectionately referred to as 'Little It' by his parents.
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