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baylaurels 's review for:
A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns
by Tristan Jimerson, Archie Bongiovanni
I did enjoy this book and thought that it had some good things to say about they/them pronouns, and the inclusion of the author's real-life story and experiences help strengthen their points. It does a good job of answering some of those basic questions, especially grammatical ones, to help take that burden off of nonbinary people in a theoretical reader's life.
However, I think the scope and tone if this book kind of limit the applicability to well-meaning liberal cis people who are just starting to research nonbinary identities and pronouns. (Though it's also probably the same self-selecting group who will be reading this book to begin with.) For this reason I feel like it may not work quite as well for the suggested purpose of required reading in scenarios such as the workplace, as the tone probably doesn't work as well for those more averse to the idea of changing their ways/language.
As an educational resource, I also thought there were a few notable exclusions. Namely, I think it would be valuable to spend a tiny bit more time talking about what nonbinary gender is - most people who are familiar with nb gender or they/them pronouns are familiar with both, and the same with those who are not. The book only touches extremely briefly on other nonbinary pronouns by mentioning ze/hir twice, and even just a brief list of other pronouns could be helpful, as well as the acknowledgement of those who use multiple pronouns (they/she, she/he/they, they/xe, etc.) and how to refer to those people grammatically and respectfully.
They also only say that it is rude to ask someone why they use they/them pronouns - which is true in many cases, but from an educational standpoint this book would be a great avenue to include some of those basic answers (again, a brief explanation of what nonbinary means). It also follows the narrative of "ask pronouns when introducing yourself," and I wish they had touched on the fact that not everyone is always comfortable sharing their pronouns, and that asking directly can upset those who are still closeted. (Relatedly, when talking about how to advocate for friends who are misgendered, and how it can vary person to person/situation by situation, address the fact that sometimes a friend may ask you to let them be misgendered in order to stay closeted in a certain scenario).
Overall despite my nitpicks I think this is a fairly good resource for those who are just starting to learn about they/them pronouns, and hope it can help to educate and encourage those people to read more.
However, I think the scope and tone if this book kind of limit the applicability to well-meaning liberal cis people who are just starting to research nonbinary identities and pronouns. (Though it's also probably the same self-selecting group who will be reading this book to begin with.) For this reason I feel like it may not work quite as well for the suggested purpose of required reading in scenarios such as the workplace, as the tone probably doesn't work as well for those more averse to the idea of changing their ways/language.
As an educational resource, I also thought there were a few notable exclusions. Namely, I think it would be valuable to spend a tiny bit more time talking about what nonbinary gender is - most people who are familiar with nb gender or they/them pronouns are familiar with both, and the same with those who are not. The book only touches extremely briefly on other nonbinary pronouns by mentioning ze/hir twice, and even just a brief list of other pronouns could be helpful, as well as the acknowledgement of those who use multiple pronouns (they/she, she/he/they, they/xe, etc.) and how to refer to those people grammatically and respectfully.
They also only say that it is rude to ask someone why they use they/them pronouns - which is true in many cases, but from an educational standpoint this book would be a great avenue to include some of those basic answers (again, a brief explanation of what nonbinary means). It also follows the narrative of "ask pronouns when introducing yourself," and I wish they had touched on the fact that not everyone is always comfortable sharing their pronouns, and that asking directly can upset those who are still closeted. (Relatedly, when talking about how to advocate for friends who are misgendered, and how it can vary person to person/situation by situation, address the fact that sometimes a friend may ask you to let them be misgendered in order to stay closeted in a certain scenario).
Overall despite my nitpicks I think this is a fairly good resource for those who are just starting to learn about they/them pronouns, and hope it can help to educate and encourage those people to read more.