Non-binary singer Sam Smith has clapped back at a Twitter user for misgendering them.
Smith, who came out as non-binary earlier this year, responded to a Twitter post that referred to them as “batty boy.” Smith replied with a succinct clarification: “It’s batty them.”
It almost goes without saying, but the original tweeter has since deleted the “batty boy” post.
Related: LISTEN: Sam Smith releases a cover of ‘I Feel Love’
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Smith’s reply, however, has received thousands of likes and encouraging responses.
Batty boy who even uses that term now go back to 1957 ??? weirdo
— Gary ????? (@Garywilliams83) November 11, 2019
“Batty boy who even uses that term now go back to 1957 weirdo,” said user @Garywilliams83.
“Thank u for making me feel valid as a nonbinary person!!” user @juIietIive wrote.
thank u for making me feel valid as a nonbinary person !!
— robin (@juIietIive) November 11, 2019
Sam Smith first exploded onto the pop scene with the tune “Stay with Me” in 2014. Since then, they’ve gone on to win an Academy Award and four Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year. They came out as nonbinary earlier in 2019, and have endured a fair amount of criticism for their gender identity.
sfhairy
That’s not a takedown FFS.
Loki
His comeback doesn’t even make sense. He was called a “batty boy” – you can’t replace a singular definite noun with a plural pronoun! Try saying it with the other pronouns… “a batty she”? “A batty her”? “A batty him”? It violates English language rules of (grammatical person) agreement.
Cam
Really? That response got an entire posting written about it?? I was expecting something really sharp or clever.
Josh447
Smith isn’t going to gain majority acceptance on this they them headtrip plural reference for a singular person thing. Ever. It’s a completely irrational idea, disrespectful to the English language, and puts binaries at risk. If he thinks he’ll prevail, he’s dream’n.
pharaon.em.joe
Yea? At least Sam Smith is a human, unlike the english language. What do you mean by “put binaries at risk”? Are you daft?
Loki
@pharaoh
All languages have grammatical rules. Many languages are highly gendered. German has three genders, for instance: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Smith couldn’t pull this they/them stuff in German because the word for they, she and the formal you is the same (sie/sie/Sie)! You need to see/hear the context to tell the difference.
rray63
How can a single person be a “they”?
DreadedPrince
A person who goes by they/them pronouns does not feel their gender is that of the male or female binary
craigbrew2
I totally agree with you. I’ve been trying for years to understand these new pronouns and I just don’t get it. One person can’t be a plural “they”. And those others…. zie, zim, zir, zis, zieself, sie, sie, hir, hirs, hirself, ey, em, eir, eirs, eirself, ve, ver, vis, vers, verself, tey, ter, tem, ters, terself, e, em, eir, eirs, emself. YES these are all real. Come on people!!! This is going way overboard!
CalderBear
I thought that too until someone pointed out that I already use it naturally. If someone said “I was worried, so I went to see the doctor” I’d likely reply “oh, and what did they say?” without any suggestion I was referring to a plural.
Loki
@Calder
Well, the English language is missing nifty features like clusivity. Spanish has two words for they: ellos and ellas. Ellos can refer to a group of all men or a mix of men and women. Ellas is a group of only women. Again, Smith could not do this sort of thing in most other languages.
KellyRobinsonJr
Everyone Uses Singular ‘They,’ Whether They Realize It Or Not. We have all used “they” as a singular pronoun every day since the 14th century.
Prowelsh56
what a wasted article space…
OzJosh
Yawn
tjack47
This shite has grown tiresome.
ElPillo
All this genderexpansive descriptions bore me. Be whatever, don’t Insist; feels like a cry for attention. I don’t go around screaming my Irishness, or my blood type, or my religious beliefs. I’m more than that. I sometimes feel speciesexpansive and identify as a dolphin; although many will react aggressive and say like baboon instead.
Jackrabbit
They have an ugly body
Loki
They is ugly? They are ugly? Which is it?! Hahahahaha!
Glynn
Some interesting comments above about the English language. $@m could certainly do with a few elocution lessons. Have you heard $@m’ s whiny cover of “I Feel Love”? Or as $@m annunciates it “Ah Fee Luh”. Donna’ s perfect original version cannot be bettered.
Yooper
New math.
djmcgamester
If people need Twitter to validate their gender they’ve got bigger issues. Get off Twitter and talk to people in person. Results are almost certain to be better. It’s easy to talk down about people from behind a keyboard. They say things they’d never say in person.
maxdadmark
Anyone remember the “multiple personality disorder” craze in the early 1990s? Roseanne (Barr) insisted that she had several. When people start demanding that you address them by whatever, it isn’t a far stretch to assume that there is a pathological need for attention.
basicguy58
I agree 100%. Those that are actually offended when you don’t use the “proper” improper pronoun have a serious identity problem that many years of growing up may still not fix. I shudder to think where these people will be in 40 or 50 years! They won’t even know who’s looking back at them (him, her, he, she, it?) in the mirror! In a world that is already SO confusing, WHY is it so important to make it worse??
chupacabra
i’m sorry (not sorry) but he is such an ugly sissy
BigJohnSF
What about “it”? That’s singular.
cwaigy
I love him
Glynn
$@m loves you too