Raven Saunders, A 'Non-Binary' USA Olympian, Causes Commentator Pronoun Controversy
Many people might not be familiar with Raven Saunders, but if you see Saunders once, you'll never forget.
Saunders is on the Team USA Track & Field team at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. The athlete competes in the shot put competition and is one of 12 competitors to reach the women's shot put final, scheduled for Friday.
What makes Saunders memorable? Saunders claims that an alter ego, "Hulk," takes over when it's time to compete. The American shot putter also competes with long, crazily-designed fingernails and a full face-covering mask.
Saunders also identifies as "non-binary" and wants people to use "they/them" pronouns when discussing the athlete that competes in the women's division.
It's interesting, though, that people who don't want to be labeled by gender always compete in the women's category.
If Saunders truly believes that neither gender fits, then Saunders probably shouldn't compete in athletics that are divided by gender.
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That being said, Saunders does refer to herself as a woman in some social posts. Apparently, she identifies as a woman when she competes in athletics.
But I digress.
One commentator for the BBC made the GRAVE mistake of referring to Saunders as "she" and was quickly corrected by the other commentator.
How dare he assume that someone in the WOMEN'S shot put at the Olympics is a "she"!
On a totally separate note, the pronoun stuff drives me bonkers as a writer. The reason that we have words is to express ourselves clearly.
"They" and "them" are plural pronouns. It's confusing and grammatically incorrect to refer to one person as a "they."
Team USA shot putter Raven Saunders, known for wearing masks and having crazy fingernails, also identifies as "non-binary" and wants people to use "they/them" pronouns.
(Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The Huffington Post wrote this story and posted a headline that reads: "BBC Broadcaster Corrects Colleague Who Misgenders U.S. Shot Putter Raven Saunders."
I'll never understand this language. How is it "misgendering" a woman by referring to "her" as a "she"?
Either way, Saunders is chasing an Olympic gold medal for the United States. The American took home a silver medal during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.