Using initials like that assumes that you use it regularly, which is not true of the average American, something that is not surprising since only about 5% of Americans share one of the intitials. I've worked on this for some time and the best I've been able to come up is alternative gender. I like this because it can cover a wide variety of habits, characteristics and behaviors. Also, having been in a category long known as alternative journalist for a long time, I look at alternative as a positive descritive term.
Haven't come up with anything, however, as a good pronoun for those of various trans character. The best I could think of was to drop the "h" from "he" and the "sh" from "she" and use "e" instead of "they." which is currently gaining some popularity. As an editor, the latter annoys me as it makes the word "they" non-descritive in its traditional sense. And you're not going to make any friends out there scolding folks for not using it.
That this is not an easy matter, can by seen from this review of its history by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Plus (LGBTQ+) Resource Center at the University of Milwaukee:
Native English Pronouns
“Ou, a”: Native English Gender-Neutral Pronouns. According to Dennis Baron’s Grammar and Gender: In 1789, William H. Marshall records the existence of a dialectal English epicene pronoun, singular ou : "'Ou will' expresses either he will, she will, or it will." Marshall traces ou to Middle English epicene a, used by the fourteenth-century English writer John of Trevisa, and both the OED and Wright's English Dialect Dictionary confirm the use of a for he, she, it, they, and even I.
The dialectal epicene pronoun a is a reduced form of the Old and Middle English masculine and feminine pronouns he and heo. By the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the masculine and feminine pronouns had developed to a point where, according to the OED, they were "almost or wholly indistinguishable in pronunciation." The modern feminine pronoun she, which first appears in the mid twelfth century, seems to have been drafted at least partly to reduce the increasing ambiguity of the pronoun system....
He goes on to describe how relics of these sex-neutral terms survive in some British dialects of Modern English, and sometimes a pronoun of one gender might be applied to a person or animal of the opposite gender.
So, have fun coming up with answer. Just be sure the average American knows what the hell you're talking about.Language Authorities
“One” - In 1770, Robert Baker suggested use of “one, ones” instead of “one, his”, since there was no equivalent “one, hers”. Others shared this sentiment in 1868, 1884, 1979, and even now. Others throughout this period disagreed, finding it too pedantic.
“His or Her” vs. Singular “They”
Around 1795, the language authorities Lindley Murray, Joseph Priestly, and Hugh Blair, amongst others, campaigned against pronoun irregularities in pronoun use, such as lack of agreement in gender and number. Without coining words, this can only be done in the third person singular by use of compound terms like “his or her”. Grammarians in 1879, 1922, 1931, 1957, and the 1970s have accepted “they” as a singular term that could be used in place of “he” or “he or she”, though sometimes limiting it to informal constructions. Others in 1795, 1825, 1863, 1898, 1926, and 1982 argued against it for various reasons. And whatever the grammarians might argue, people have been using the singular “they” for about the last 600 years, though (as mentioned earlier) it can only be applied in certain cases. If new gender-neutral pronouns are not adopted, i’m sure that singular “they” will still be a point of contention for centuries to come. For further information on the use of singular “their” throughout the centuries, see the large body of information that Henry Churchyard has compiled on the subject.
