Pronoun Logic
This work addresses the need for precise and evolving gender expression in TGNB communities, though it is incremental as it applies existing logical methods to a new domain.
The paper tackles the problem of expressing nuanced personal pronoun preferences in transgender and nonbinary communities by proposing formal logic as a tool, exploring three logical foundations (linear, temporal, and free logic) and their trade-offs.
Particularly in transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) communities, it is an increasingly common practice to publicly share one's personal pronouns so that we may be gendered correctly in others' speech. Many of us have nuanced desires for how we are gendered, leading us to use more complex descriptions of our wishes; for example, the descriptor 'she/they'. We observe that these descriptions of our wishes have the structure of a little language all their own. We thus propose formal logic as a tool for expressing one's personal pronouns and potentially other aspects of gender. We explore three potential logical foundations (linear logic, temporal logic, and free logic with definite descriptions) and their trade-offs. Our foremost motivation for this proposal is play, affirming that one can be both a logician and TGNB at the same time. We present formalization as something that can continue to evolve over time with society's understanding of gender. This implies that outreach is a major potential application: we can show TGNB youth that they belong in logic and have a unique contribution to make. Tools for evaluating whether one's pronouns are respected are an application as well.