Genderless protagonist = They/Them pronouns?

[UrMom]

Depends on your preference, and how you see your character. I have a genderless-sexless character for a different story I plan on doing someday who is referred to as 'it', the pronoun fits for what the character is, and 'it' is something I never really saw offense with. Many people find the term demeaning, but there are non-binary and agendered people who do use 'it' rather than 'they/them' due to "grammar nazi" retaliation, or personal preference.

[artsylilbastard]

Yeah so I am Non gender conforming and I personally go by they/them but my best friend who is agender (like your character) goes by it. Some people find it insulting but they are mostly gender conforming adn don't understand our points of view. So on behalf of two NGC ppl you can go with either. Personally I would go with it as it is an alien BLOB. Also is this a comic or novel u are making adn where can I read it coz u got me hooked already

[vothnthorvaldson]

I asked myself the same question for an alien character in a story I'm just starting to write.
My alien is sentient and can somewhat communicate with humans, which personally would make me tend to choose 'they', but 'it' would not be out of question either.
I finally chose 'they' for the following reason: my alien character mostly interact with a human character who, due to demographic, lifestyle etc, would likely use 'they'. So I thought, as the main interlocutor, this human character should determine my choice of pronouns for my alien.

[artsylilbastard]

I have faith fro the writing community because of authors like you who pay close attention to detail because those really are important

[vothnthorvaldson]

I'm genderless too, so I know how important (but puzzling) it can be.

[artsylilbastard]

Actually tho, I lowkey hate how ppl don't understand that we don't chose this, it's who we are adn we are very confused without the negativity so it always warms my heart when ppl ask questions like this
One thing that ppl do to me that I personally hate is call me a "trap"
Like okay yes i dress feminine and yes i was born a boy but it's not my fault you automatically assume everyone in pink musy be a girl also the term trap is actually kinda insulting
but what ever sorry for the rambling

[BlairFujin]

Depends how you want your audience to perceive your blob - they suggests a person, while it - an object or animal, leaning slightly more into object... I guess

[uglygirlnextdoor]

Why not use his name instead of a pronoun. and avoid sentences that would use his/her/their

[artsylilbastard]

While this is a creative take i would imagine it would make the writing process a whole new level of hard

[uglygirlnextdoor]

Not really. I dunno his name, so I will call him Bob. Imagine bob discover coffee.

While Bob took the mug on the table, there is the realization of the taste. Bob never felt it and a bitter but nice flavor flow into the mouth of the alien.
- What are you drinking; asks one of the new friends.
Bob protected the mug as a precious treasure which was now discovered.

[artsylilbastard]

Yes that is a good scene. I just meant that if the other characters are talking about him it might seem poorly worded if they say

Hey meet my friend Bob. Bob is an alien. Bob is lazy creature and Bob also happens to like coffee

Versus

Hey meet my friend Bob. It is an alien. Bob is a lazy creature and it also happens to like coffee

[uglygirlnextdoor]

Honestly, I prefer the first dialogue. It sounded much more natural and rather awkward because I am talking about an alien. Is not like I talk about an alien every day.

[BlueWorldComics]

No name, so that wouldn't work out.

Plus there is zero dialogue in the comic; only narration.

[artsylilbastard]

Poor Bob he has been killed... lol

[BlueWorldComics]

Also is this a comic or novel u are making adn where can I read it coz u got me hooked already

A comic... It'll be a while lol

One of the things I thought about was that this could be an opportunity to help normalize alternative pronouns. I had no idea people went by It... That's actually really interesting news.

Maybe this character can one day become an agender icon.

[uglygirlnextdoor]

Wow... No dialogue?? Okay, good to know.

[artsylilbastard]

I will definetly support it adn I am sure it will. I will personally make lil buttons. Also the no dialougue is going to be really cool and intersting I don't think I have ever seen a comic like that. If you want/need any help let me know!

[Prisim]

To me I think it depends on how sentient the blob is. Like if it's sentient like a human would you feel comfortable referring to them as an it? Right now based off the not being able to hear or speak then I'd probably lean toward it being safe to call them it.

I had a kind of similar situation in my Draygon books. I had a dragon character that in their dragon form I called them "it" but the second the dragon took on a humanoid form it didn't feel right to keep referring to them as "it" because they were essentially human at that point, but my dragons also have no gender which is why in their dragon form they were "it" to begin with, so I started to use they/them. They were as sentient as the MC is and thus deserved a pronoun. Likely whenever I get around to editing it I'll always use they/them instead of it in their dragon form since even in that form they're still very sentient. At the time I wrote it I didn't know they'd take on a humanoid form (or even become important to the plot LOL) so the "it" use was fine, now not so much.

Basically if the blob acts like a human or even a blob with real feelings who just can't speak or hear, give them a pronoun. If they don't, then you're probably safe with it.

[BlueWorldComics]

A lot of people have mentioned this so I sat around and thought of a way to describe the level of sentients for the character...

I would compare it to a caveman. Perfectly capable of learning, absorbing, and adapting to new information, just blissfully ignorant living in a more natural environment. When removed from the natural environment and thrust into this story, you will start to see the familiar level of sentients possible for the character.

[TAMAnnoying]

What could be a fun thing depending on the direction of the story and what you do with it, the narration can begin calling the blob “it” and then as it discovered new things and invents it’s own personality the narrator can start to slowly call the blob “them” if it wants to embrace that aspect of humanities dialect and nuance.