quick disclaimer

this carrd is specific for .emoji. pronouns. if this is your first time hearing about “gnc” + different or “unconventional” pronouns, i’d recommend you go check the neopronouns carrd, before reading this one. that way, it’ll be easier to understand what emojiself pronouns are! i’d also recommend reading these carrds on neuro/xenogenders, etc. but if you’ve read about it before and understand neo pronouns and people’s complex relationship with gender... then, sure. let’s begin!

the definition

as i‘ve mentioned before, .emoji. pronouns are a new “category” of neopronouns. they’re similar to nounself pronouns, but only online, as they’re emojis! if you used them irl, though, there would be a nounself pronoun equivalent for it.

why people use it

emoji pronouns can be used for various reasons, such as the person using them liking the way they look or the way they may sound in their head, or merely as a way of replacing nounself pronouns.

they could also be used because one feels they describe them, their internet persona or their gender, amongst other reasons... but the most common is safety, so people don’t get outed!

using it online

it’s not a rule, but most emojiself pronouns tend to follow the same grammatical formula, with the only thing changed being the .emoji. itself; and if something does change, it’ll be specified.

any emojis can be used as pronouns, and almost all the sets of pronouns will be something like:
emoji/emoji/emojis/emojis/emojiself.

you can use the website pronouny.xyz to specify your own pronouns, nouns, names, etc!

for example:

“they’re so cute, i really love them! today, (friend) and i went to their house. wait... was it theirs? well, they don’t look like themself anymore. i’m worried about them.”

becomes...

“🧚🏻 is so cute, i really love 🧚🏻! today, (friend) and i went to 🧚🏻s house. wait... was it 🧚🏻’s? well, 🧚🏻 doesn’t look like 🧚🏻self anymore. i’m worried about 🧚🏻.” (see? it’s easy)

using them in person

now, if you’re asking how to use them in person, it’s a matter of preference. a lot of people will use the noun itself (as an example, 🦊 > fox).

while that may be the case for 🦊, some emojis may not have word alternatives, and others could have different pronouns they prefer to use irl! some, of course, with no correlation between them and their emoji pronouns.

for example, a person could use 🦅 online and they/them in person! just ask the person you’re talking to politely, and they’ll teach you.

notes

nounself pronouns: a type of neopronouns that are derived from a noun to be used as a gender neutral pronoun set. any noun can be turned into a pronoun, as an example: fae.

(that is, fae/fae/faer/faers/faeself)

carrds

none of those are mine, but they’re really good!

f.a.q

Q: aren’t emoji pronouns harmful? they give us transphobes a reason to hate and disrespect us!
A: transphobes are gonna hate us as long as we exist. blaming ourselves will only feed internalized transphobia and hold us back, which is convenient for them. we must learn to accept their bigotry doesn’t see “logic” and it’s not our fault.

Q: but emojis aren’t even proper words!
A: that’s the exact reason why some people might find it comforting! most people don’t even read as something other than silence. besides, the world is evolving. right now, we use a lot of resources to communicate that we didn’t use before.

Q: but some autistic people won’t understand!
A: neurodivergent people may have trouble with understanding some stuff, but that doesn’t make us incapable of it. besides, those pronouns are being used by neurodivergent people.

Q: but they could just use they/them!
A: the more you say that to people, the more it feels like non-binary is a third-gender. the more it feels like a third-gender, the more people who don’t feel like they have a gender or experience it differently for whatever reason are gonna diverge from those “rules”. it’s gender non-conforming for a reason, ok? don’t expect them to conform; they’re not going to. the least we could do is let them enjoy themselves.

Q: but i have an autistic friend, and i–
A: you may have an autistic relative, but you clearly don’t know what it’s like to be autistic. you only watch as things happen, but you don’t experience it. don’t try to speak for us.

Q: that’s bullshit, so i’m gonna tell people i go by 💩/💩 and make fun of it just because i can!
A: be ableist all you want, but i’ll refer to you as your so-called preferred pronouns until you drop the act. respect us or leave us alone.

you can also send me a curiouscat if you have any more questions!