Formal English authorities offer no rules for the slash-separated pronoun strings currently moving through the culture. Organizations that usually police the page—MLA, APA, and Chicago Style—remain silent on the specific syntax of "she/they" versus "she/them." Without a central weight to pull these words into a fixed orbit, the way people label themselves remains a jagged, unstandardized mess of usage.
"There is no governing body for the English language… this just doesn't come up in formal writing."
The Logic of the Slash
The current habit relies on a messy shorthand. While traditionalists expect a Subject/Object pair (she/her), those who mix categories have drifted toward a Subject/Subject bridge (she/they). The pairing of a female-coded subject with a non-binary-coded object (she/them) is a linguistic ghost, appearing almost nowhere in recorded digital text.
The Subject/Object format is the old floorboards of the language.
A Subject/Subject split indicates a refusal to choose one bucket.
Data shows that even in niche LGBTQ circles, the specific string "she/them" lacks traction.
Some outliers, particularly younger groups, have begun using it/its as a deliberate break from human-centric labels.
Syntax Breakdown
| Format | Logic | Prevalence |
|---|---|---|
| She/Her | Subject / Object | Standard |
| She/They | Subject (A) / Subject (B) | High in social spaces |
| She/Them | Subject (A) / Object (B) | Near-Zero |
Empty Rulebooks
The lack of a governing body means that correctness is currently determined by whoever speaks the loudest or writes the most. While Washington and Lee University has attempted to document these shifts, the results are observational rather than law. The language is growing in an asymmetrical way, ignored by the gatekeepers of "proper" prose because it hasn't yet forced its way into the dry, stiff world of legal or academic formalism.
Read More: Linguists Explain How 'Any' Word Means Total Indifference
Historical Context
Pronoun sets were historically locked. The current cracking of these sets into mixed slashes—where one person claims two different grammatical roles—is a new friction. It represents a move away from the clarity of the sentence and toward the signaling of the self. The grammar is no longer a tool for the reader to understand the action; it is a costume for the actor.