Introducing yourself with your pronouns can often make it safer and more comfortable for others who might not necessarily use 'traditional' pronouns to come out in that space. Introducing yourself with your pronouns is an effective way to be an active ally to trans, genderqueer, and gender non-conforming folks.
Gender pronouns are the terms people choose to refer to themselves that reflect their gender identity. These might be he/him, she/her or gender-neutral pronouns such as they/them. Knowing and using a person's correct pronouns fosters inclusion, makes people feel respected and valued, and affirms their gender identity.
Offering pronouns promotes diversity and inclusion
By simply offering your pronouns, you can become a better ally and help normalize gender identity and sexual orientation. Using someone's correct pronouns is also a way to show you respect them and helps create an inclusive environment.
But she says it was from the 18th century onwards that people started using male pronouns when describing someone of a non-specific gender in writing and this marks the time when opinions on what pronouns should be used started to change.
Intentional refusal to use someone's correct pronouns is equivalent to harassment and a violation of one's civil rights. The Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 expressly prohibits workplace discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.
When someone asks you to use their pronouns, they are asking for you to respect their identity. When someone refers to another person using the wrong pronouns, especially on purpose, that can lead to that person feeling disrespected and can lead to dysphoria, exclusion and alienation.
Rule: Avoid first and second-person pronouns
The reason you should avoid first-person pronouns in academic writing is that they can weaken the ethos (credibility and trustworthiness) of yourself as the author. Claims that you make as an author should be supported by evidence (such as research and logic).
Gender pronouns are the terms people use when referring to someone in the third person. Like their name, gender pronouns affirm part of a person's identity. It is just as disrespectful to use the wrong pronouns as it is to call someone by the wrong name. As a general rule, you shouldn't assume a person's pronouns.
Gendered pronouns specifically reference someone's gender: he/him/his or she/her/hers. Non-gendered or nonbinary pronouns are not gender specific and are most often used by people who identify outside of a gender binary.
Many non-binary people use “they” while others use “he” or “she,” and still others use other pronouns. Asking whether someone should be referred to as “he,” “she,” “they,” or another pronoun may feel awkward at first, but is one of the simplest and most important ways to show respect for someone's identity.
Why Focus on Pronouns? You may have noticed that people are sharing their pronouns in introductions, on name tags, and at the beginning of meetings. This gives everyone in the room the opportunity to self identify instead of assuming someone's identity or which pronouns they use.
They are linguistic tools that we use to refer to people, such as they/them/theirs, she/her/hers, he/him/his or even zie/zir/zirs. Someone's pronouns inform us how to best refer to and honor them. It is not necessary to know someone's gender identity or pronouns in advance of meeting them.
Although 75% of youth use either he/him or she/her exclusively, 25% of LGBTQ youth use they/them exclusively, a combination of he/him, she/her, or they/them, or neopronouns such as ze/zir or fae/faer.
Pronouns commonly have a gendered association, however, anyone of any gender can use any pronouns that fit for them. Everyone has pronouns, not just transgender, nonbinary, or intersex people. Keep in mind that some people may use more than one set of pronouns to refer to themselves (e.g., 'she/her' and 'they/them').
Within the United States, and much of the world, it is the cultural norm to classify people as male or female – this is called the gender binary. Many individuals have a gender identity that does not fit within this binary, and use the umbrella term non-binary.
What does it mean when a person is nonbinary? Being nonbinary is identifying gender as not 100% male or 100% female. Someone who has a nonbinary gender could describe themselves as having no gender, multiple genders, a masculine or feminine gender, or any other gender that is not fully male or fully female.
Forcing students or teachers to use pronouns that do not correspond with an individual's biological sex is a clear violation of not only Virginia state law but also the First Amendment. The government cannot compel speech and require any citizen to affirm a belief they do not hold.
A person's pronouns convey their gender identity. Transgender, gender nonconforming, gender-fluid, non-binary, and other LGBTQ+ people use a wide variety of pronouns that affirm who they are. Using someone's self-defined pronouns respects all identities on the spectrum.
There are seven types of pronouns that both English and English as a second language writers must recognize: the personal pronoun, the demonstrative pronoun, the interrogative pronoun, the relative pronoun, the indefinite pronoun, the reflexive pronoun, and the intensive pronoun.
Common pronouns include she/her/hers, he/him/his, and they/them/theirs. There are other nonbinary pronouns. It is important to ask people what their pronouns are. If you have questions, politely ask the person if they feel comfortable giving examples of how to use those pronouns.
Individuals may choose to go by gender-specific pronouns such as she/her or he/him. Alternatively, they may choose gender inclusive pronouns, which do not associate a specific gender with an individual, such as they, them, their, ze, sie, zie and hir.
Gender fluidity refers to change over time in a person's gender expression or gender identity, or both. That change might be in expression, but not identity, or in identity, but not expression. Or both expression and identity might change together.
She/They and He/They
Someone who uses she/they pronouns may identify as both being a woman and nonbinary. Or, they could be genderfluid, genderqueer, bigender, or another identity.
Ze is pronounced like “zee” can also be spelled zie or xe, and replaces she/he/they.