it would be funny if the proportion of people using they/them peaks and declines such that it becomes primarily associated with...
it would be funny if the proportion of people using they/them peaks and declines such that it becomes primarily associated with a specific generation of old people, like the name “Ethel”.
or “Ms.”
indeed!
Also I kind of wonder to what extent “Ethel” and “Esther” benefited from sounding like the ethyls and esters of cutting-edge Industrial Age chemistry