International Pronouns Day began in 2018 and takes place on the third Wednesday of October each year. The day seeks to make respecting, sharing and educating about personal pronouns common practice.
Pronouns have become more commonly discussed in recent years with the rise in visibility of various identities, and the growing awareness of the fact that people may not identify with the gender assigned at birth, or with any gender at all.
Pronouns are the words we use to refer to someone when we are not using their name. For example instead of ‘man’, we use he/him/his, for ‘woman’, she/her/hers. Gender neutral or gender inclusive pronouns (e.g. they/them/theirs/ze) refer to pronouns that do not associate the individual we are talking about with a specific gender. You can find out and read more about pronouns to support your understanding.
Sex does not predetermine a person’s gender and some people’s gender doesn’t sit comfortably with the sex they were assigned at birth. A person’s gender identity is their internal sense of their own gender and what feels right for them. This might be male, female, non-binary (outside of male or female), genderless, or some other gender identity.
Using someone’s correct personal pronouns is a way to respect their identity and helps create an inclusive environment. Often, people make assumptions about the gender of another person based on the person’s appearance or name. These assumptions aren’t always correct, and can send a potentially harmful message - that people have to look a certain way to demonstrate the gender that they are or are not.
We all make mistakes. If you get someone’s pronouns wrong, apologise and correct yourself and try your best to get it right in the future. You can also show solidarity with someone who uses pronouns that others may mistake by politely correcting someone who has used the wrong pronoun.
If you would like to find out more about equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) at the University of Huddersfield, please visit the EDI webpages.