&#x27;They&#x27; isn&#x27;t a viable substitute just when gender is irrelevant.<p>There isn&#x27;t really a label for what I identify as, but it is not &#x27;she&#x27; or &#x27;he,&#x27; it&#x27;s somewhere in-between and neither at the same time. So even &#x27;he or she&#x27; wouldn&#x27;t apply to me: I&#x27;m not one or the other.<p>I _prefer_ xe&#x2F;etc; but I&#x27;m absolutely 100% fine with they&#x2F;them. Just don&#x27;t call me he (because I&#x27;m not) or she (because I&#x27;m not). ;)<p>Does that make sense?<p>&gt; It&#x27;s a natural construct and universal to many languages.<p>I think this ignores too much how language imposes itself on a culture - and a culture on a language. The gender neutral pronoun is a natural construct and universal to many languages, too. We just don&#x27;t have an &quot;official&quot; one in English.