"They", as a third-person singular pronoun has been in use since the 14th century. Today we use the singular “they” all the time when the gender of a person is unknown.

Examples:

• "Someone left their umbrella behind"
• "Someone dropped their wallet! I’ll put it in the lost and found. They must be looking everywhere for it."

All major dictionaries recognize the singular “they” as grammatically correct and the AP and Chicago Style Guides also recognize its usage in cases where a subject doesn’t identify as male or female.

Besides… if you really would like to get picky, we leave you with this thought: no one finds the royal "we" unremarkable in its use as a third person singular when it is grammatically a third person plural.

Using someone's correct pronouns is a form of respect.

Purposefully disrespecting someone’s pronouns is a form of homophobia and transphobia and leads to an environment that is unwelcoming, unsafe and potentially dangerous for some members of our community.

An increasing number of people use "they/them" pronouns or pronouns other than "he/him" or "she/her". Sometimes simply because they don't want to use pronouns that have a gender association - just as some people use "Ms." regardless of marriage status because they don’t think it should be relevant - and sometimes people these pronouns because they identify as nonbinary (genderqueer, agender, gender-fluid, third/additional genders)

Please note that while some nonbinary people identify as trans, there are some who do not, and many trans people identify as male or female. Everyone has the right to choose which set of pronouns they are comfortable with.

Contrary to popular perception, this is not actually new.

There have always been trans, non-binary, gender queer, gender fluid, agender, third/more genders around the world. The fight for inclusion and accessibility has simply become more widespread, with more folks working towards being allies and creating safe spaces.

This is a positive step forward and we must keep striving to create welcoming, safe and inclusive spaces.

That’s great if you are using the pronouns they told you to use. But if your friend prefers  a different pronoun and are simply not correcting you every time, chances are that they feel unsafe doing so. They may be afraid of getting into an awkward situation by repeating themselves to someone who is not listening.

It takes a lot of courage and trust for someone to come out and to express what they would like for people to use to refer to them. You don’t get a free pass because you are someone’s parent/sibling/childhood friend/family member. You are just making them uncomfortable and reinforcing that you aren’t supportive or a safe person.