Aineiston nimi

Generic and Nonbinary Pronouns in English: Use and Attitudes 2017

Aineistonumero

FSD4034

Pysyvät tunnisteet

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD4034
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd4034

Aineiston laatu

Kvantitatiivinen aineisto

Tekijät

• Hekanaho, Laura (University of Helsinki)

Sisällön kuvaus

The survey examined respondents' views on the use of English pronouns, language-related attitudes, and linguistic phenomena connected to gender. In addition, it explored respondents' attitudes toward gender-neutral pronouns and their application in different communication contexts.

First, the survey investigated respondents' perceptions of linguistic structures and language change. Participants were asked to complete sentences and evaluate the naturalness and acceptability of various English pronoun constructions. Attitudes toward feminist language use, sexist language, and language that promotes gender equality were also assessed. Respondents further evaluated how language influences worldviews and how gendered language choices relate to broader societal attitudes.

Next, the survey addressed respondents' views on individuals belonging to gender minorities (for example, transgender and nonbinary people) and the use of their pronouns. Respondents evaluated both the use of singular they and newer pronouns such as ze and xe, in both specific and general contexts. The survey also explored which genders respondents believe are included in various pronoun references, such as 'average person” or 'everyone.” In addition, participants were asked to assess the relationship between language and gender equality and to consider whether English should have distinct pronouns for trans and nonbinary individuals.

Background variables in the dataset include gender, age, country of residence (current and childhood), language proficiency, educational background—including whether respondents have studied gender studies or linguistics—and connection to the LGBT+ community.

Asiasanat

Attitudes; Gender equality; Language variations; Linguistics; Non-binary persons; Sociolinguistics; Women's movement

Tieteenala/Aihealue

• Humanities (OKM:n tieteenalaluokitus)
• Social sciences (OKM:n tieteenalaluokitus)
• Language and linguistics (CESSDAn aihepiiriluokitus)
• Gender and gender roles (CESSDAn aihepiiriluokitus)
• Social change (CESSDAn aihepiiriluokitus)

Sarja

Individual datasets

Jakelija

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Käyttöoikeudet

The dataset is (C) available only for research including master's theses.

Kerääjät

• Hekanaho, Laura (University of Helsinki)

Rahoittajat

• Jutikkala Fund
• University of Helsinki
• Finnish Concordia Fund

Ajallinen kattavuus

2017

Aineistonkeruun ajankohta

2017-02-02 – 2017-03-13

Maa

Finland, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, United States of America, New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, France, China, Cyprus, Estonia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand

Kohdealue

Finland, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, United States of America, New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, France, China, Cyprus, Estonia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Korea, Republic of, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand

Havaintoyksikkötyyppi

Individual

Perusjoukko/otos

People aged 18 and over who speak English as their native language, as well as Finnish or Swedish native speakers who speak English fluently

Tutkimuksen aikaulottuvuus

Cross-section

Otantamenetelmä

Non-probability: Availability

The research invitation was distributed widely via the internet, and the majority of respondents saw the survey advertisement on the Reddit discussion forum. In the sampling process, the aim was to follow the principles of quota sampling, but not to reflect the actual population distribution. During the sampling, efforts were made to reach respondents representing different genders and age groups (n=100 per group), but not all quotas were fully met.

Keruumenetelmä

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Keruuväline tai –ohje

Semi-structured questionnaire

Datatiedostojen kieli

Aineistopaketti voi sisältää samoja tiedostoja eri kielisinä.

Aineisto sisältää datatiedostoja seuraavilla kielillä: englanti.

Tietoarkisto kääntää kvantitatiivisia datatiedostoja englanniksi. Lisätietoja käännöspyynnön jättämisestä.

Havaintojen ja muuttujien lukumäärä

122 muuttujaa ja 1128 havaintoa.

Datan versio

1.0

Aineiston käytössä huomioitavaa

The data have been anonymised by the researcher. The researcher has removed variables related to religion and political views. In addition, some variables, such as gender and belonging to the LGBT+ community, have been categorized to reduce identifiability. Identifying information that participants provided without being asked has also been removed.

The data contains several variables created by the researcher. In addition, the researcher has classified open-ended responses in some variables and combined response options, so the data does not fully correspond to the questionnaire.

For anonymisation purposes, the country of residence of two respondents was removed from the data at FSD.

The archived data set does not include the responses to the final part of the survey (Part 7).

Painokertoimet

There are no weight variables in the data.

Viittausvaatimus

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Malliviittaus

Hekanaho, Laura (University of Helsinki): Generic and Nonbinary Pronouns in English: Use and Attitudes 2017 [dataset]. Data version 1.0 (2026-01-15). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd4034; URN: https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD4034

Julkaisusta tiedottaminen

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Erityisehdot

Users of the data shall cite the following publication: Hekanaho, Laura (2020). Generic and nonbinary pronouns: Usage, acceptability and attitudes. Doctoral dissertation (monograph), University of Helsinki. https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/321581

Varaumat

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Käytön ja kuvailun oheismateriaalit

Hekanaho, Laura (2020). Generic and nonbinary pronouns: Usage, acceptability and attitudes. Doctoral dissertation (monograph), University of Helsinki.

Julkaisut aineistosta

Hekanaho, Laura (2020). Generic and nonbinary pronouns: Usage, acceptability and attitudes. Väitöskirja (monografia), Helsingin yliopisto. Saatavilla: https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/321581

Hekanaho, Laura (2022). A thematic analysis of attitudes towards nonbinary pronouns. Journal of Language and Sexuality, 11(2), 190 - 216. https://doi.org/10.1075/jls.21025.hek

Hekanaho, Laura (2024). The communicative functions of 3rd person singular pronouns: Cisgender and transgender perspectives. Teoksessa: Nevala, Minna & Palander-Collin, Minna (toim.). Self- and other-references in social contexts: From global to local discourses, 138 - 165. John Benjamins Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.342.07hek