Sharing pronouns, for many of us, is a way to acknowledge how we prefer to be addressed, and using someone’s preferred pronouns is a way to show respect for that individual’s choices. On the other hand, there are those of us who feel is it unnecessary and is a hallmark of a society that is becoming ever more polarized. Assuming something about someone based solely on pronouns is indeed polarizing.
Just as some of us have blue eyes, some green, and some brown, we as humans don’t get the luxury of choosing the appearance we’re born with. And just as some choose to share their personal lives in a professional setting, and some choose not to, we must respect someone when they choose to share something with us – be it a life update or pronouns and gender identity.
This is why I’m choosing to share my pronouns. I believe it fosters a more inclusive community, increases diversity, and creates connections between individual members of our society, especially with people who identify as LGBTQIA+. Using pronouns can help alleviate assumptions about gender based on name, appearance, or other factors. For example, having pronouns in email signatures can provide clarity and certainty about our individual gender identification, regardless of names, profile pictures, or the content of the emails.
Not all languages have gendered pronouns. Some use the same word for she/her, he/him, and they/them. Others gender everything—la mesa is a (feminine) table, while le soleil is the (masculine) sun. Misogynistic assumptions aside, el problema, the problem, is masculine, while la razón, reason, is feminine. Sometimes the meaning of the word changes depending on the pronoun: el corte, the cut, and la corte, the court. We don’t do this in English, so variable pronouns are not a natural thing in our language.
Linguistics aside, everyone deserves to be called in the way they feel comfortable. As a copy editor, I am the first to admit that using ‘they’ to refer to a singular person gives me brain wrinkles. My brain is slow to compute – but the second I consider not seeing that person’s face or identity, they makes perfect sense. Either way, I’m trying because I firmly believe that everyone deserves respect, at least until they show me otherwise.