"It" is actually the correct gender-neutral pronoun in the English language, but it's never used for humans because humans are either male or female, so they are referred to by either the masculine "he" or feminine "she." "They" is just the plural form of "it," but we see it as more humanizing because "they" is actually used to describe groups of humans, while "it" is never used for humans. Personally, I wouldn't refer to anyone as either. I always use the correct sex-based pronouns. I hate lying.