A QUICK & EASY GUIDE TO THEY/THEM PRONOUNS

This cartoon guide provides readers with information and advice about nonbinary pronouns and identities using equal parts sarcasm and sincerity.

Archie, a white nonbinary person with a septum piercing, teamed up with their friend Tristan, a bearded white cis man, to “educate and inform people on gender neutral pronouns...so that you don’t have to do all the heavy lifting yourself.” In expressive but sparsely illustrated panels, this book explains what pronouns are (“a substitute for a noun that you don’t know the identity of or…shorthand when the person/place/thing you’re talking about is understood”), Archie’s experiences of being misgendered, different ways for allies to support nonbinary people, and tips and tricks for navigating the world with a gender identity that isn’t just “male” or “female.” At some points the snark is a little grating, and at other points the earnestness can be cloying. The absence of any discussion of how race, ability, or other marginalized identities intersect with gender may be intentional to keep a sharp focus, but this also results in a flattening of perspective that may frustrate nonbinary readers with identities that Archie and Tristan don’t acknowledge. However, the text is conversational and accessible, providing helpful information to binary readers without privileging their needs over those of a nonbinary audience.

A helpful introduction to they/them pronouns for those in the know and those in the process of learning more.