--- title: "About one-in-five U.S. adults know someone who goes by a gender-neutral pronoun" description: "A majority of Americans have heard about the use of gender-neutral pronouns, and about one-in-five personally know someone who goes by such pronouns." date: "2019-09-05" authors: - name: "A.W. Geiger" job_title: "Former Associate Digital Producer/Writer" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/abigail-geiger/" - name: "Nikki Graf" job_title: "Former Research Associate" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/nikki-graf/" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/09/05/gender-neutral-pronouns/" categories: - "Comparison of Generations" - "Gender" - "Gender & LGBTQ" - "Gender Identity" - "Leisure" - "Lifestyle" --- # About one-in-five U.S. adults know someone who goes by a gender-neutral pronoun ![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/FT_19.08.14_GenderPronouns_feature.png) As the experiences of people who don’t identify as a man or a woman have [gained attention](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/04/magazine/gender-nonbinary.html), a majority of Americans say they have heard at least a little about the use of gender-neutral pronouns. And about one-in-five (18%) say they personally know someone who goes by such pronouns. [![About one-in-five Americans say they personally know someone who prefers a pronoun other than 'he' or 'she'](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/09/FT_19.08.14_GenderPronouns_1.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/09/05/gender-neutral-pronouns/ft_19-08-14_genderpronouns_1/) Overall, six-in-ten Americans say they have heard at least a little about people preferring that others use gender-neutral pronouns such as “they” instead of “he” or “she” when referring to them, including 22% who say they have heard *a lot *about preferences for such pronouns, according to a [Pew Research Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/01/17/generation-z-looks-a-lot-like-millennials-on-key-social-and-political-issues/#generations-differ-in-their-familiarity-and-comfort-with-using-gender-neutral-pronouns) conducted in fall 2018. ***See also:** [About four-in-ten U.S. adults say forms should offer more than two gender options](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/12/18/gender-options-on-forms-or-online-profiles/)* Age and political affiliation are major factors in Americans’ awareness of the use of gender-neutral pronouns. [![Younger Americans are more likely to be familiar with the use of gender-neutral pronouns](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/09/FT_19.08.14_GenderPronouns_2.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/09/05/gender-neutral-pronouns/ft_19-08-14_genderpronouns_2/) Younger adults are more likely than older adults to say they have heard of people preferring gender-neutral pronouns and to know someone who goes by these pronouns. Roughly three-quarters of Americans ages 18 to 29 (73%) say they have heard a little or a lot about people preferring nonbinary pronouns, compared with about two-thirds of those 30 to 49 (65%) and smaller shares of those ages 50 to 64 (54%) and 65 and older (46%). Meanwhile, about three-in-ten adults ages 18 to 29 (32%) personally know someone who goes by these types of pronouns, compared with smaller shares of older adults. While majorities of both Democrats and Republicans have heard at least a little about people going by gender-neutral pronouns, there is a larger gap between partisans in whether they personally know someone who identifies in this way. A quarter of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say they know someone who prefers being referred to using gender-neutral pronouns, versus 11% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. Party differences remain even when looking only at young adults: About four-in-ten Democrats ages 18 to 29 (39%) say they know someone who goes by gender-neutral pronouns, compared with 22% of Republicans of the same age. #### Are Americans comfortable with the use of gender-neutral pronouns? [![Americans are split on comfort level with using gender-neutral pronouns](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/09/FT_19.08.14_GenderPronouns_3.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/09/05/gender-neutral-pronouns/ft_19-08-14_genderpronouns_3/) Americans are divided when it comes to their comfort with using gender-neutral pronouns. As is the case with some other questions on nonbinary pronoun use, there are notable differences by age and party on whether Americans feel comfortable using gender-neutral pronouns to address those who ask for it, with young adults and Democrats more likely than older Americans and Republicans to express comfort. Overall, roughly half of Americans (52%) say they would be somewhat or very comfortable using a gender-neutral pronoun to refer to someone, while 47% say they would be somewhat or very uncomfortable doing so. Among Americans ages 18 to 29, about six-in-ten (61%) say they would feel somewhat or very comfortable using a gender-neutral pronoun to refer to someone if they asked them to do so. By comparison, roughly half of those ages 30 to 49 (52%) and 50 and older (48%) express comfort. About two-thirds of Democrats (66%) say they would be somewhat or very comfortable using these pronouns to refer to someone if asked to do so, compared with 34% of Republicans. Party divides are present among young adults, too: Roughly seven-in-ten Democrats ages 18 to 29 (72%) say they would be comfortable referring to others with nonbinary pronouns, compared with 44% of Republicans in this age group. *Note: Findings on these questions were previously released as part of a *[*report*](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/01/17/generation-z-looks-a-lot-like-millennials-on-key-social-and-political-issues/)* that explored generational differences in views of political and social issues. That report combined data from two surveys: a survey of U.S. adults ages 18 and older and a survey of teens ages 13 to 17. The findings in this post are based only on the survey of adults ages 18 and older. See full [topline results](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/FT_19.09.05_GenderNeutralPronouns_Topline.pdf) and [methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/FT_19.09.05_GenderNeutralPronouns_Methodology_2.pdf).*