A different kind of MC

Cindy From Oregon said:

Good morning! I've been working on a new story, in a genre new for me - fantasy. I couldn't decide if my MC was male or female, so I went with neither - a genderless species, all referred to as "he" for simplicity's sake. Also in this species, you are a Youth until you are an Elder. No ages. This is a war story, so there are battles and death (mostly offscreen) but it's primarily a story about challenges and faults and heroism, winning and losing.
So here's my question: do you think a genderless, any-age-between-infant-and-young-adult MC would be tough to pitch? I'm writing it for a 10-13 year old, and it would go on a shelf next the the Ranger's Apprentice reboot and the Inheritance cycle.

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No, but I think referring to them as 'he' is a problem.

My perspective is of a genderqueer parent who hears from readers that age, because I haven't pitched MG.

There is a market for children's adventure fantasy featuring androgynous youths. I agree with cornflake that he/him pronouns for all the characters would be problematic for most of that market. Regardless of your intentions, that would almost certainly be read as a statement that you're promoting the concept of a default gender.

Caroline Lawrence wrote the PK Pinkerton series, set in the Old West with a gender-fluid protagonist. It's done well and is fairly low-key, but clear what her intention is. That was about 5-9 years ago, I'm sure there are even more recent example worth citing. But, state of kidslit being what it is, I doubt genderless characters will be a challenge to pitch. Thirding that that using 'he' pronouns would be an issue.

NEVER "IT". NEVER. AT ALL. DO NOT CALL A GENDERLESS PERSON "IT" WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION. YOU. WILL. BE. EVISCERATED. AND YOU WILL DESERVE IT

Unless the character has made their preferences known, the correct pronouns would be "they/them/their/theirs". I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH TO NOT USE "IT". You will be debasing the character(s) and reducing them to a thing. They will no longer exist as a person, which is exactly what genderless/genderqueer folks in the real world experience every day. Unless it's a side point you're trying to make about another character's ignorance regarding them, do not do it.

Once again: DO NOT LABEL A GENDERLESS CHARACTER AS "IT" UNLESS THE CHARACTER HAS SAID SO.

edited for "never" clarification because "never say 'never'"

You could also make up a pronoun, or use one of the x or z ones.

One the other hand, I think the 'ageless' thing works. I'm assuming that they age, like any other species, but that the division between 'adult' and 'youth' is a matter of reaching some goal. Like calling the new man on the job 'Kid' until he shows he can do the job.
So there might be performance goals (learning an adult skill, joining the army, etc), social goals (training others, becoming a parent, etc), or extraordinary goals (saves a village, kills a giant bear, makes peace with the neighbours).

In modern terms, the guy who lives in his parents' basement, playing video games, and not evolving in his life would be a 'youth' for life. A ten year old who protects the house from burglars could be considered an 'adult' at ten.

It'll be interesting to see what your plans are.

I'm increasingly fond of ne/nem/nir/nirs pronouns.

A set that based on the species' name is nice in fiction. I think that helps with reading comprehension, sometimes. Example (made up on the spot): The agender Gergins might use ge/gem/ger/gers. "One Gergin approached. I recognized ger curled ears and pattern of jagged stripes from my last landing. Ge would certainly help with our repairs."

I would definitely read other books that have gender neutral main characters and talk with/interview people who are gender neutral. Something that you thought was perfectly harmless, such as using "it", would be a huge issue for the book.