Rolling pronouns
Rolling pronouns, or rotating pronouns,[1][2] is the use of multiple personal pronouns that can be used alternately or shift over time. They are usually used by non-binary, transfeminine, and transmasculine people, and are usually used to signify their connection with their gender identity while affirming their identity.
Use
Rolling pronouns are usually used by non-binary, transfeminine, and transmasculine people, and the people that use them usually encourage others to rotate or mix them when speaking to or referring to them. The pronouns are meant to signify their connection with their gender identity, while affirming their non-binary identity. Likewise, rolling pronouns are necessary for genderfluid people to affirm their fluctuating gender identity. For instance, writer and podcast host Ada Powers uses she and they pronouns and as expressed: "I identify as a woman, but also as nonbinary. I don't feel womanhood tells my full story, but I'm not fully divested from it, either.".[3] When generalized to languages other than English, rolling grammatical gender is used by languages which maintain strict masculine/feminine grammatical gender, as there is no neuter grammatical gender by which non-binary people can refer to themselves with.
According to the 2020 Gender Census, around a third of transgender and non-binary people preferred to use two sets of pronouns, and over 10% stated that they liked three or even more sets. The LGBTQ Nation magazine has argued that rolling pronouns are becoming more common as a growing amount of young people identified as non-binary.[3] Some use pronounfluid or multipronominal to describe this experience.[4][5]
People
Notable people who use rolling pronouns include the following:
- Amandla Stenberg (she/they), The Hate U Give actress[6][7]
- Anjimile (he/they), musical artist[8]
- Arca (she/it/they), musical artist[9][10]
- Ari Fitz (he/they), model and vlogger[11]
- Ashnikko (she/they), rapper and singer[12][13]
- Bella Ramsey (any), actor[14]
- Ben Levi Ross (they/he), actor[11]
- Bob the Drag Queen (she/he), participant in RuPaul's Drag Race[6][7]
- Demi Lovato (they/she), singer and actor[15][16]
- Dua Saleh (they/xe), singer and actor[10]
- Elliot Page (he/they), Umbrella Academy and Juno actor[3][6][7]
- Emma Corrin (she/they), The Crown's actress[3][6][7]
- Gerard Way (he/they), My Chemical Romance vocalist[3][6][7]
- Gloria Groove (she/he), singer and drag queen[17][18][19]
- Halsey (she/they), singer[3][6][7]
- Ian Alexander (he/they), Star Trek: Discovery actor[3][6][7]
- Janelle Monae (they/she), musician and actor[20]
- Jesse James Keitel (she/they), actor, writer, and artist[11]
- JoJo Siwa (any), singer and dancer[1][21]
- Jonathan Van Ness (she/they/he), Queer Eye regular[3][6][7]
- Kae Tempest (they/he), musical artist and writer[22]
- Kehlani (she/they), singer[3][6][7]
- King Princess (any), musician and actor[23]
- Leslie Feinberg (ze/she/he), activist and writer[24][25]
- Lily Gladstone (she/they), Killers of the Flower Moon and Under the Bridge actress[26][27]
- Mae Martin (they/she), comedian and actor[11]
- maia arson crimew (it/she), Swiss hacktivist[28]
- Melissa King (she/they), chef[11]
- Morgxn (he/they/xe), musician[10]
- ND Stevenson (any), cartoonist and producer[11]
- NoSo (he/they), musician[29]
- Quintessa Swindell (they/he), actor[30]
- Rahul Kohli (he/they), The Haunting of Bly Manor actor[6][7]
- Rebecca Sugar (she/they), animator and musician[11]
- Ruby Rose (she/they), actor and model[31]
- Sara Ramirez (she/they), Grey's Anatomy's actress[3]
- Shamir (he/she/they), musician[32]
- Shea Couleé (she/they), drag performer and musician[6][7]
See also
- Gender pronoun transposition – LGBTQ linguistic phenomenon of switching pronouns
- Neopronoun – Neologistic personal pronoun
- Preferred gender pronoun – Third person individual gender pronouns
References
- 1 2 Street, Mikelle (2025-04-23). "What Does It Mean to Use "Any" and "All" Pronouns?". Them. Retrieved 2025-06-08.
- ↑ Rahilly, Elizabeth (2022-07-25). ""Well Duh, That's How You Raise a Kid": Gender-Open Parenting in a (Non)Binary World". LGBTQ+ Family. 18 (3): 262–280. doi:10.1080/27703371.2022.2089309. ISSN 2770-3371.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Why some people use she/they & he/they pronouns". LGBTQ Nation. 2022-05-30. Retrieved 2025-06-07.
- ↑ Whitnell, Dee (2025-02-21). Beyond Bananas and Condoms: The LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Sex Education You Never Got at School. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-80501-220-7.
- ↑ Thomas-Hébert, Charlotte (2022-09-06). "Énonciation des pronoms et subjectivités militantes dans l'activisme étatsunien contemporain". Revue française d'études américaines (in French). 172 (3): 122–135. doi:10.3917/rfea.172.0122. ISSN 0397-7870.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 López, Quispe. "12 celebrities who use rolling gender pronouns". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-06-07.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "12 LGBTQ+ celebrities who use rolling gender pronouns". South China Morning Post. 2021-09-28. Retrieved 2025-06-07.
- ↑ Daw, Stephen (2023-09-07). "How Anjimile Turned Black Trans Rage Into His Magnum Opus With 'The King'". Billboard. Retrieved 2026-06-26.
- ↑ Fallon, Patric (2019-11-08). "Arca Is the Artist of the Decade". VICE. Retrieved 2026-06-26.
- 1 2 3 Yasmine. "6 underrated nonbinary artists who deserve far more hype". Alternative Press Magazine. Archived from the original on 2025-07-25. Retrieved 2026-06-26.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rude, Mey (2021-08-24). "15 Celebs Who Use Multiple Sets of Pronouns". Out. Retrieved 2026-06-26.
- ↑ Levine, Nick (2025-02-05). "Ashnikko: "I was sick with stress for years, but now I know my job is inherently joyful"". NME. Retrieved 2026-06-24.
- ↑ "Ashnikko Pens Heartfelt Letter to the LGBTQ+ Community for Pride: "I Feel So Hopeful For You"". Seventeen. 2023-06-05. Retrieved 2026-06-26.
- ↑ Ahlgrim, Callie. "18 celebrities who don't identify as either male or female". Business Insider. Retrieved 2026-06-24.
- ↑ Daw, Stephen (2023-06-13). "Demi Lovato Explains the 'Exhausting' Process That Led to Them Re-Adopting Feminine Pronouns". Billboard. Retrieved 2026-06-24.
- ↑ Kaplan, Ilana (2025-01-22). "Demi Lovato Shares Message of Support for Non-Binary Community After Readopting She/Her Pronouns: 'I Am with You'". People. Retrieved 2026-06-26.
- ↑ "Gloria Groove rejeita rótulos e limites à sua criatividade: 'Sinto poder entre o masculino e o feminino'". GQ (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2022-08-21. Retrieved 2025-06-08.
- ↑ "'Drag Queen não me define, me liberta', dispara Gloria Groove em ensaio exclusivo". Revista Marie Claire (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2022-08-25. Retrieved 2025-06-08.
- ↑ Nunn, Jerry (2022-06-06). "MUSIC Grag doll: Brazilian drag queen makes waves in the U.S." Windy City Times. Retrieved 2025-06-08.
- ↑ Irvin, Jack (2022-04-22). "Janelle Monáe Reveals She's Non-Binary on 'Red Table Talk' : 'I Just Don't See Myself as a Woman, Solely'". People. Retrieved 2026-05-24.
- ↑ "JoJo Siwa updates pronouns on Celebrity Big Brother UK". www.out.com. Retrieved 2025-06-08.
- ↑ Lobb, Adrian (2025-11-08). "Kae Tempest: 'Seeing all these young queer people makes me feel so happy'". Big Issue. Retrieved 2026-06-26.
- ↑ "King Princess Is 'Raw Dogging Everything' in Girl, Interrupted". Playbill. Retrieved 2026-06-26.
- ↑ Weber, Bruce (November 25, 2014). "Leslie Feinberg, Writer and Transgender Activist, Dies at 65". New York Times. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- ↑ Tyroler, Jamie (July 28, 2006). "Transmissions – Interview with Leslie Feinberg". CampCK.com. Archived from the original on November 23, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
- ↑ López, Quispe (2024-05-10). "Lily Gladstone Is Not Two-Spirit. They Just Use Rolling Pronouns". Them. Retrieved 2025-06-07.
- ↑ Mackey, Joshua S. (2024-01-02). "The reason why Lily Gladstone uses 'she/they' pronouns". INTO. Retrieved 2026-06-26.
- ↑ Kelly, Maura. "How a kitten hacked the government". Whitman Wire. Retrieved 2026-06-26.
- ↑ "Meet NoSo: The self-proclaimed gear nerd drawing in diverse crowds with dreamy indie-pop". guitar.com. Retrieved 2026-06-26.
- ↑ Wratten, Marcus (2025-01-20). "Non-binary star Quintessa Swindell praises queer plot in new show Prime Target". PinkNews. Retrieved 2026-06-26.
- ↑ Nguyen, Giselle Au-Nhien (2023-07-09). "Ruby Rose: 'I've not always been the best representation of myself'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-06-24.
- ↑ Blistein, Jon (2025-03-19). "Shamir Says Goodbye With a Little Help From Their Friends on Final Album, 'Ten'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2026-06-26.
External links
- López, Quispe (2023-05-23). "Gender Pronouns 101: How to Use Them and Everything You Need To Know". Them.
- Sanders, Wren (2021-03-05). "How To Affirm the People in Your Life Who Use Multiple Sets of Pronouns". Them. Retrieved 2025-06-07.