Gender- adding they/them pronouns

@ACT_1 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/they 

—used to refer to a single person whose gender identity is nonbinary (see NONBINARY sense c)I knew certain things about … the person I was interviewing.… They had adopted their gender-neutral name a few years ago, when they began to consciously identify as nonbinary—that is, neither male nor female. They were in their late 20s, working as an event planner, applying to graduate school.

@brittanyii 

"They" always sounds like more than one to me

They (Merriam-Webster) should make up a new word... Not Him | Her ...  Hir   ? ? ?

nonbinary
… many people with nonbinary genders use "they" and "their" pronouns …

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/they

1: those ones : those people, animals, or things
They dance well.

3a—used with a singular indefinite pronoun antecedent

d—used to refer to a single person whose gender identity is nonbinary (see NONBINARY sense c c I knew certain things about … the person I was interviewing.… They had adopted their gender-neutral name a few years ago, when they began to consciously identify as nonbinary—that is, neither male nor female. They were in their late 20s, working as an event planner, applying to graduate school. 

It seems to me that most groups are not referred to with any pronoun since only names with birth dates have a pronoun in the automated mini-bio.

@Peter_pbn Thanks, I didn't realize that.

@ACT_1 Perhaps staffers should merge some threads.

@rachel_thweatt​ Why would someone need to update a biography every time a new credit is added to their page? A biography on IMDb isn't supposed to reiterate every single credit the person has had, since those credits are supposed to all be listed in the database already. If the person has a lot of credits, normally the biography should mention only their more notable or important credits.

As smaller artists' portfolios grow they might want to add more notable credits or larger jobs. As it currently stands, if someone does not have a biography, one is auto generated using their gender saying "he was an actor in _____, he edited for _____, etc" this is of course a loose paraphrase but it is something to this extent. If they don't want IMDB to misgender them on their own description, they have to create their own biography. As they build their portfolio they would need to continue to edit the bio with the new credits. Sure, it might seem like splitting hairs to someone who identifies within the gender binary, but it's a small, easy fix that benefits a lot of people. 

Rachel: But if the person puts in a biography referring to themself as "they" instead of "he" or "she", that biography will remain up indefinitely regardless of whether they get any additional credits. They don't need to change the biography every time they get a new credit just to avoid being automatically called "he" or "she". If they write their own biography, that's a one-time data submission.

Once they have submitted their own biography, they might choose to add additional credits later as they work on more projects, but that's the same situation that any male or female person who had submitted their own biography would have, too. 

I would suggest that anyone who is active in the entertainment industry should submit a proper biography to IMDb if they don't have one yet, to avoid having the generic biography displayed -- not just nonbinary people, but everyone.

I understand it is not automatically changed when a new credit is added. But someone who uses he or she pronouns only needs to add a credit and then their automatically generated biography will reflect that, no need to update the biography that they submitted. Someone who does not use these would need to add the credit and then go in and change the biography they submitted as well to reflect this information. It's not the end of the world. But if IMDB would just add the option for they/them pronouns, a very easy fix, it would make it entirely unnecessary. However, you seem dead set on arguing against they/them pronouns so I don't feel the need to go back and forth about it with you any longer. 

@rachel_thweatt​ I haven't said anything against they/them pronouns in this thread.

I would note that for a male or female person who uses he or she pronouns, IMDb does not necessarily update their automatically generated biography with each new credit they earn. Only three of a person's credits are listed in their automatically generated biography, and not necessarily the three most recent ones, but whichever three credits the algorithm deems most important.