I have a friend who is a college professor. In his job, pronouns have become a challenge. In particular, some students have difficulty deciding which pronouns to adopt and don’t always let everyone know when they’ve selected new ones. He’s had students use several different sets of pronouns in the course of a semester. It’s hard enough to remember names and pronounce them correctly without adding this layer of complexity.

But, I wouldn’t worry about it, Sylvia. It’s a trend destined for oblivion. People are lazy. Most don’t have the rigor to make sure everyone gets their pronouns right or to remember everyone else’s. It’s overly optimistic to assume one day the whole world will get in line with the idea. Not in our lifetimes it won’t.

What’s really funny is that it used to be considered rude to call someone by a pronoun. I remember hearing teachers saying, “She (or he) has a name!” That didn’t last either.