Hello, my name is A.D. Ellis. I’m a teacher and author. My pronouns are she/her.
Before we get started, if you are in need of learning/understanding terms, here’s a great resource: https://www.glaad.org/reference) Also, I’m a visual learner so the image HERE (and shared on this post) is very helpful to me. It helps to visualize the spectrums of assigned sex, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.
**I’m a cis gender person (meaning, I identify with the gender assigned to me at birth.) So why do I have my pronouns (note: there’s a push to change “preferred pronouns” to just “pronouns” because a person’s pronouns aren’t just a preference they are who the person is)…anyway, as a cis gender person, why do I list my pronouns on my email signature (so far I *think* I’m the only staff member doing this, but I’d highly encourage everyone to do it) and on my social media profiles? If I, as someone with the privilege to have never had to worry about my pronouns, makes it seem like a normal practice then it CAN become a normal practice.
“As a cisgender person, it costs you nothing. For a cisgender person (a person whose gender is in alignment with the sex they were assigned at birth- more on that another time!) there is little to no risk in sharing your pronouns. When you’ve never questioned what pronouns people use for you, or even thought about the idea of pronouns after you learned about them in 2nd grade, sharing your pronouns on digital profiles is easy and costs you nothing.
For a person who is transgender or nonbinary, sharing pronouns can be a bit riskier. If someone is transitioning at work and only a few people know about it, sharing pronouns may out them before they’re ready. For a nonbinary person, sharing they/them pronouns often only sparks a lengthier conversation (*coughthisarticlecough*) rather than simply inform people.
That’s why we ask cisgender people to lead the change by sharing pronouns. It normalizes the process, has little risk, and actually makes for a safer environment for everyone.”
**Here are some GREAT tips for allies of transgender people: https://www.glaad.org/transgender/allies
Some other great sources:
—https://www.cultureamp.com/blog/sharing-gender-pronouns-at-work/
—https://www.themuse.com/advice/using-pronouns-gender-inclusive-language-in-the-office
