Although this might be puzzling to some, some people use gender neutral pronouns such as they/them because they aren’t comfortable using the regular gendered pronouns such as she or he. Many might criticize this saying that it’s wrong to use gender neutral pronouns in the singular pronoun because they think it sounds grammatically incorrect. They couldn’t be more wrong. Some lines in The Canterbury Tales use they as a singular pronoun: they use whoso which means whoever which denotes that it could stand for anyone, so it’s a gender neutral pronoun.
The use of gender neutral pronouns should be normalized. You do not know what a person identifies as. So, to be on the safe side, you should use gender neutral pronouns.
According to the dictionary, Non-binary gender is an umbrella term to describe any gender identity that does not fit into the gender binary of male and female.
There is a misconception that only non-binary or transgender people use gender neutral pronouns. Many cisgender people use them. Pronouns do not equate gender. People will use the pronouns they are comfortable with.
You should also understand that not all non-binary or transgender people use gender neutral pronouns. They use the pronouns they are comfortable with. Just because they use their preferred pronouns doesn’t mean they’re any less valid.
Neopronouns are also used as gender neutral pronouns. They also have been used before and is not a new concept. Thon which stands for that one was a gender neutral pronoun created by Charles Crozat Converse in 1884. Some examples of neopronouns are xe/xem, e/em and ze/zir.
We need to understand that some are not comfortable with the gendered pronouns as they might not feel that reflects their gender identity or gender expression or they’re simple more comfortable with gender neutral pronouns. If we understand just how easier it is to use gender neutral pronouns on people, gender neutral pronouns can be more normalized and anyone can use it if they are comfortable with it.