Ideological origins of resistance against gender-inclusive language reforms: Singular they as a de-gendering or multi-gendering strategy

Abstract

Gender is traditionally conceptualized as a binary construct, which is reflected in the use of binary-gendered third-person pronouns. Gender-inclusive pronouns such as singular they challenge this conceptualization, which can evoke resistance against their use. Singular they can be used generically when gender is unknown (de-gendering), or to specifically highlight an individual's non-binary gender identity (multi-gendering). The different uses of singular they can threaten different ideological convictions and impact the use and perception of the pronoun. Experiment 1 (N = 599) showed that in de-gendering contexts, participants preferred to use singular they but in multi-gendering contexts they preferred binary pronouns. Social identification with one's gender group, RWA and binary gender views predicted less use of singular they in both contexts. In Experiment 2 (N = 199), participants evaluated sentences with singular they in de-gendering and multi-gendering contexts. Overall, sentences with singular they in de-gendering contexts were more positively evaluated. SDO predicted less positive evaluations of they in de-gendering contexts, while RWA and binary gender views predicted less positive evaluations of they in multi-gendered contexts. The findings provide important knowledge in understanding ideological motivations for resistance against gender-inclusive language.