Waterfalls, the coast, confusing pronouns
How do you know which person "they" refers to?
Volcanic rock forms so many fun and interesting shapes. In Silver Falls State Park in Oregon, layers of basalt are harder than ash deposits and other rocks, so the basalt forms shelves and curves that waterfalls flow over. I’m more used to seeing granite as the substrate for waterfalls (in Yosemite Valley, for example) but basalt is a hard, darker-colored igneous rock that also sticks around for a long time even if water flows over the edge.
We drove out to the coast (sorry, missing Bend and Corvallis this time). The Oregon coast is truly beautiful, with tree-covered cliffs descending to fine sand and cobble beaches. Seals swim and float in the water. A large variety of birds nest on huge rocks near the shore. The most interesting bird I saw (I am a fan of ducks) was a harlequin duck, diving repeatedly into the waves. A volunteer at the preserve helped me identify it. I also saw lots of common murres, seagulls, crows, and cormorants.
Staying near the coast was gorgeous! The beach looked completely different during the day, in the evening, and in the morning when I woke up. The tides change the exposed land drastically, and the light casts shadows different places.
In the morning, we went on a walk to look at tide pools at low tide. So many mussels, anemones, starfish, seaweed, and sea urchins! I heard from the volunteer yesterday that they are thinking of releasing sea otters in this area to try to re-establish a population. It’s dependent on the population of sea urchins and health of the kelp forests. The otters form the other part of this food chain: the sea urchins feed on the kelp, and the otters eat the sea urchins. So re-introducing otters would change the entire ecosystem, presumably, closer to the way it was before human intervention.
Checking my phone in the parking lot of a Grocery Outlet, I received a comment: “I get confused in reading articles when "they" is used. Especially when the article is about more than one person and I don't know if the "they" is for the "they" person or for all of the people included in the article.”
I’ve gotten this feedback from multiple people: friends, family, strangers. They/them pronouns are confusing!
And I am here to tell you, yes, they can be. In some sentences, it’s unclear who is being referred to by “they” or “them.”
It’s almost as confusing as when you’re discussing four different women (which one is “she”?) or you work with two people both named Michael or your cat and the person you’re dating share the same name.
Pronouns (like “she,” “they,” or “he”) can be confusing in such a situation! So you may need to use someone’s name or some detail to clarify. “Jennifer, not Mary, went to the flea market.” “Michael B., not Michael J.” “I meant that I needed to feed my cat, not your girlfriend.”
That doesn’t mean “they” pronouns are useless, more confusing than other pronouns, or should be banned. “They” can be a straightforward, clear and affirming way to refer to a person!
There’s also a fine line between genuine confusion and trolling. Are you only confused when a trans person uses “they”? Are you fine when someone complains about a staff member or client using “they”? It can be stressful to speak about people in a way you’re not used to, especially if it’s such a touchy and subconscious thing like gender. But please trust me, it gets easier, and it’s not inherently confusing.
For more mountains, lakes, and wildlife, check out my trip videos on:
YouTube (videos of full hikes!): https://www.youtube.com/@reywrites
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@reywrites
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reywrite/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rreykatz
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Take care,
Rey
I think we should all be able to handle a little getting used to new language to allow folk to actually be addressed as what they actually are 😊
Seems like a lovely trip. I don’t get the supposed confusion over they/them as singular or plural pronouns. Nobody has trouble with singular and plural you/you. Here in Appalachia, we have the more complex you, y’all, and the all-encompassing all-y’all. In Indonesian, a language suffused with politeness, we have the delightful subtlety of kami (we, not including you) and kita (we, including you). Language is variable and changes, all-y’all need to adjust. As someone once said “call me whatever ya’ want, just don’t call me late for dinner.”