International Pronouns Day began in 2018, and falls annually on the third Wednesday of October. The day seeks to make respecting, sharing, and educating about personal pronouns commonplace; specifically third-person pronouns such as she/her, he/him, they/them.
The explicit use of preferred pronouns has become more commonplace in recent years, such as including preferred pronouns in email signatures, on Zoom calls, and in conversation. Listing your preferred pronouns in these places/situations can be an easy way to extend gender inclusivity to various stakeholders with whom you interact (students, staff, faculty, etc.), and by using preferred pronouns, we can work together to make preferred pronoun usage more commonplace.
Each year, an increasing number of applicants to Ohio State graduate and professional programs choose the “U” (“Undisclosed”) gender option on the application, rather than “F” or “M.” Some would even argue that “Undisclosed” isn’t the best non-binary option—some students are happy to disclose that they’re non-binary! As these students (and those who may be exploring an upcoming gender transition) enter our graduate and professional programs, it’s important to learn how to use pronouns and to gender people correctly (“correctly” meaning however they prefer). You cannot assume someone’s pronouns just by looking at them or their name, and using incorrect pronouns can make someone feel excluded, disrespected, and/or alienated.
This is a pretty significant culture shift compared to even just a few years ago, and being aware of preferred pronouns may not be an instant or an easy change for everyone to adopt. However, it is an important one. Gendering people correctly is not optional, and one of the easiest ways to get better at this is to be aware of pronoun use. It’s important to acknowledge that we will all make mistakes as we embark on this journey, and that’s OK, as long as we’re consistently trying to improve.
There are a lot of great resources at MyPronouns.org, and if anyone has other resources, feel free to send them along!
-Sammie (she/her/hers)