He or She, Not It

By Gradi Lisaso

​Grammatically, the pronouns He and She are used for mobile and living beings, and It is used for objects or beings that are not mobile. In this case, if we examine the case of nonhuman animals, what are they? Of course, they are mobile and living beings. They have feelings like humans, they run, jump just like us. So why are people still using the pronoun It when they know that nonhuman animals are in some ways just like us? 

In the reading, Liberate Your Language, Dr. Carol Glasser (2012) said:
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“animals are ‘it,’ not ‘he’ or ‘she;’ they are ‘that’ and ‘which,’ not ‘who’ or ‘whom.’ Rendering an animal sexless, classifying him or her as ‘it that’ rather than ‘s/he who’ takes away a crucial aspect of the way in which the English language identifies (human) subjects.” 

Objectifying nonhuman animals makes them seem worthless, and that is probably why they are still treated badly in some cultures around the world. 

When humans use the pronouns It or That for nonhuman animals, they do not realize how much it has an impact on who they actually are. In my country, Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is rare to see someone calling a dog, for example, He or She (which is Il or Elle in French). When they do not know the gender of the nonhuman animals, they will say C’est mignon ce chien which means It is cute this dog. They devalue the personality of nonhuman animals because they are used for a certain purpose and not to be human’s companions. Diane McNally (2008) said, “We do not need to attribute emotions and thoughts to objects, so referring to an animal as ‘it’ conveniently does away with that troubling aspect of their beings and makes it easier to treat them badly.” This quote shows that nonhuman animals also have feelings and using the pronoun “it” for them denies that aspect of them. According to one English usage blog, using a gendered personal pronoun to refer to an indefinite animal, or an animal of unknown gender, is just another kind of personification. 

A question that some people might ask themselves is “What pronouns should I use when I do not know the gender of the nonhuman animal?” One day, my friend saw a dog and she said, “he is so cute” and the owner replied with a high tone, “she.” Knowing and using the right personal pronoun towards nonhuman animals defines their personalities. Like humans who choose the pronouns that they want to be called, nonhuman animals also have to be called with the right pronoun. I have seen some articles that say that if we do not know the gender of the nonhuman animal, just to be careful, we should be using the pronoun “it.” Phil Williams (2015) wrote on his blog called English Lessons Brightonthis following statement: 

“[A]nimals clearly do have sexual genders though, so it is still appropriate to use he and she to describe the animal when we know what that gender is. With that in mind, though, it does sound strange to refer to an animal as he or she when you don’t know the gender. So, to be safe, use it for animals unless the gender is clear.” 
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Jakub Marian also said, “it is customary to refer to all animals as “he” or “she” in certain circles, especially among animal rights activists and vegans.” These groups of people are trying to defend themselves by saying that nonhuman animals are called “s/he” depending on their relationship with humans. Vegans and animal rights activists are those people who have a pure bonding with nonhuman animals, but they are not only the ones that should be treating other animals kindly. Would we like to be referred as “it”? I do not think so. As much as we get that respect from others, nonhuman animals should be getting the same respect.

It is not an obligation that I am trying to make everyone refer nonhuman animals as “s/he,” but we should consider the fact that they are also living beings. They have individuality that we should respect, they have feelings just like us, and they are way different from being objects. Referring them with the right pronoun actually defines who they really are in the world. Harold W. Noonan (2012) said, “People and animals do not differ in their cognitive capacities, they are, we may say, cognitively identical.” There is no difference between us and our friends. We should refer to them as it should be and attribute them the personality they deserve.

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References
Glasser, C. “Liberate your language.” Working for a Peaceful World for Humans, Animals and the Environment. July 2012.
McNally, D. (2008, Mar 04). Animals deserve people pronouns. Times – Colonist. Retrieved from Link
English Usage and Language. (2017, May 21). Using the pronouns “he” and “she” for animals. English Language & Usage. Retrieved from Link
Williams, P. (2015, March 12). Gendered pronouns – when to use he, she and it for animals, objects and people. English Lessons Brighton. Retrieved from Link
Marian, J. Genders in english – are animals and things he, she, or it. Jakub Marian’s Language Learning, Science & Art. Retrieved from Link
Noonan, H. (2012). Personal pronoun revisionism — asking the right question. Analysis, 72(2), 316-318. Retrieved from Link

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Author Bio

​Gradi Lisaso is a freshman at Minnesota State University Mankato, majoring in Corporate Finance. He is from the DR Congo. During his spare time, he likes bowling, hanging out with his friends, and pray.