Nonbinary languages

Demi Lovato has announced that they identify as nonbinary and are now using they/them pronouns.

This just makes me reflect on the fact that for the two Filipino languages I speak (Hiligayon and Tagalog), non-gender specific pronouns have always been natural or the default. For adult English speakers, initial shifts like this may be a little challenging.

For those who speak other languages, curious if those languages use gendered or non-gendered pronouns? And does this consciously or unconsciously shape attitudes in your culture towards evolving gender identities and sexual orientations?

Speaking only from personal observation and experience, I feel there has been more cultural acceptance, or at least a recognized role, for members of the LGBTQ+ in Philippine society compared to the USA, historically.

I’m not saying Philippine society is more culturally advanced. The Philippines is still behind the USA when it comes to recognizing gay marriage and other legal protections that promote true equality for members of the LGBTQ+ community. The country still has a long way to go.

When I say I’ve observed more cultural acceptance in Philippine society, I mean that openly gay people have been having successful careers or running successful enterprises without any issue or bias for as long as I could remember (since the early eighties). Sure, they were viewed with a slightly diminished status, or some amusement, in our largely Catholic country. But gays were never ostracized for being gay. They could love freely. They could express freely. The only thing they couldn’t do is marry someone of the same sex. (And I hope that one day they could).

I believe the language we use influences our behavior and actions. God, Himself, spoke the words that created the universe. Scientists also recognize how words influence the thoughts that influence the reality one experiences. Is it culture that shapes language? Or is it language that shapes culture?

In the pre-colonial times, babaylans held an elevated and honored role in ancient Philippine society. They were often women or feminized men. In the ancient babayin alphabet, babaylan was spelled with a letter “ba” — also the symbol for female or babaye — and the letter “la” — also the symbol for male or “lalake.”

Perhaps that balance of female and male in one being is what gave babaylans the strong spiritual connection to nature as well as the authority and wisdom to guide their communities. Babaylans held a place of great honor. They, like the other members of their community, were referred to with non-gendered pronouns in the native tongue.

Maybe, just maybe, the dominant language of our thoughts influences the way we move through this world. Reflect on that for a moment.

Regardless of a person’s point of you, we hold some truths to be self evident: Words matter. Labels facilitate interactions. Love is understood universally.