CNN waded into one of the most combustible corners of the language debate with a guide explaining neopronouns, including terms such as “xe,” “ze,” “fae” and noun-based forms such as “leafself.”
The article, titled “A guide to neopronouns, from ae to ze,” described neopronouns as gender-neutral or nonbinary pronouns distinct from “she,” “he” and “they.” CNN reported that some forms have appeared in writing for centuries as attempts to refer to people without assuming gender.
The piece also noted that neopronouns are now used by some nonbinary and transgender people.
CNN’s examples included ‘xe,’ ‘fae’ and ‘ey’
According to the source article, CNN consulted the Human Rights Campaign for examples of pronunciation and usage.
Among the examples cited were “xe/xyr,” commonly pronounced “zee/zeer,” used in a sentence such as, “I asked xyr to come to the movies. Xe said yes!” Another example used “fae/faer,” pronounced “fay/fair,” in the sentence, “Fae told me that faer best friend is in town this week.”
CNN also listed “ey/em/eir,” pronounced “aye/em/air,” with sample usage involving taking someone to a park and referring to “eir camera.”
The guide also covered ‘nounself’ pronouns
The article went beyond neopronouns and addressed “nounself” pronouns, which CNN described as pronouns based on nouns such as “star,” “starself,” or nature-related terms.
CNN cited linguist Jason D’Angelo, who told The New York Times that nounself pronouns were popularized on Tumblr around 2012 and 2013 and remain in use among some fandom communities.
One example cited in the source involved the nounself pronoun “leaf,” with sample sentences such as, “I hope leaf knows how proud we are that leaf is getting to know leafself better.”
Supporters frame it as identity; critics see institutional overreach
CNN’s explainer presented neopronouns as part of a broader effort by some people to use language that better reflects their identity.
The source article also cited a 2016 paper by Danish linguist Ehm Hjorth Miltersen, who wrote that nounself pronouns can allow people to “construct new ways to identify and be perceived by others” in ways that better match “complex and diverse identities.”
Critics, however, treated CNN’s guide as evidence of a widening gap between elite institutions and ordinary speech. The source article argued that terms once confined to activist or online subcultures can move into workplaces, politics and media expectations.
Several social media users quoted in the source mocked the CNN article, with one calling it “embarrassing” and another saying it was an example of why the public does not trust the media.
A language fight with workplace stakes
The deeper dispute is not only about pronunciation. It is about whether institutions should recognize highly individualized pronouns, and whether employees, journalists, teachers or public officials may eventually be expected to use them.
The source article connected CNN’s guide to earlier language fights over terms such as “Latinx,” “unhoused” and “undocumented immigrants,” arguing that contested terminology can migrate from activist spaces into mainstream professional settings.
CNN’s guide does not, by itself, establish any new workplace rule or legal requirement. But its publication shows how a once-niche vocabulary has reached national media — and why pronouns remain one of the sharpest pressure points in America’s culture war.
