Chaz Bono has been in the news this week with a cameo appearance on Degrassi. I've noticed that you can tell a person's age when they talk about Chaz or Sonny Bono. There's a dividing line at about age 45 or so. People older than that can just say Chaz and Sonny's family name normally, while anyone under that age will pause slightly as they remind themselves to pronounce it bow-know, rather than bon-owe. Similarly, people over 45 will exhibit the awkward pause when discussing U2's lead singer.
But Chaz has made the problem even worse in recent years by undergoing a sex change. Now any conversations about Chaz will trigger a pause even when using a pronoun, as we have to stop and remind ourselves to say "he" rather than "she." For instance, discussing the Degrassi appearance I would end up saying, "Chaz...Bono is in Toronto because...he is going to be on Degrassi."
No comments:
Post a Comment