Pronouns

December 11, 2022

As of this writing, it is my understanding that best practices for fostering gender identity inclusion involves stating one's pronouns and that doing so normalizes the spectrum of gender identity. I like this idea of this, but have felt resistence to doing so due to my own personal baggage around gender identity.

I won't get into the details, since they are banal AF and not really the point. The main ideas I want to convey are:

1. Ideologically I am very happy to move into a world where we only use they/them.
2. I worry that cis people using they/them is co-opting a queer space.
3. I cannot separate my feelings about the social status of women from my feelings about living in the world as a woman.

Finally, despite my preferred pronouns being she/her, please do not feel the need to feminize any terms around me. I know this is a contentious issue, but if you haven't shifted your vocabulary to gender-neutral terms, do not substitute in feminized versions because I happen to be in the room. It sounds ridiculous and serves as a reminder that my presence is a cognitive burden. Be cool.