Because... it's Grammar

[bcholmes]

From an article about a trans death. (That phrase is almost redundant. Articles about trans people in the mainstream media are almost always about our deaths):

The murder of Eddie "Gwen" Araujo Jr. has raised a question of grammar with serious implications for transgender people - should the slain teen who lived as a girl be referred to as he or she?

[...]

Others argued that allowing people to essentially self-declare their gender without undergoing a physical change is too subjective an approach to grammar.

Poor grammar. Taking a beating at the hands of trans people anywhere.

(Some days I think I live in a different world than most reporters).

Comments

[skylark-10.livejournal.com]

pronoun selection, like verb conjugation, is generally considered to be an exercise of grammar. it cannot be entirely separated from other factors of "meaning", such as semantics or etymology, and in fact directly relates to the latter.

all aspects of language contribute to the robustness of the channel.

as the dormouse said, "'i breathe when i sleep' is not the same as i 'sleep when i breathe.'"