Why Pronouns Matter

Wed, 06/08/2022

KU Staff Senate D&I Committee

We’ve seen increased attention given to individuals’ pronouns over the past few years. Whether it’s on buttons or nametags or in email signatures, sharing the pronouns we use to identify ourselves has become more common. Why do they matter? How can sharing our pronouns make campus more inclusive for staff, faculty and students?

According to MyPronouns.org:

“Using someone’s correct personal pronouns is a way to respect them and create an inclusive environment, just as using a person’s name can be a way to respect them. Just as it can be offensive or even harassing to make up a nickname for someone and call them that nickname against their will, it can be offensive or harassing to guess at someone’s pronouns and refer to them using those pronouns if that is not how that person wants to be known. Or, worse, actively choosing to ignore the pronouns someone has stated that they go by could imply the oppressive notion that intersex, transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people do not or should not exist.”
“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 the act of making an assumption (even if correct) sends a potentially harmful message – that people have to look a certain way to demonstrate the gender that they are or are not.”
“A great way to create and normalize space for people to share their pronouns is first to share your own. You can do this by saying, for example, “Hi, my name is Farida and I go by the pronoun ‘she’” or “I’m Yoshi, and I’m referred to by ‘he/him’ pronouns.”
Common pronouns you might hear people use are she/her, he/his, they/them and ze/hir – but this isn’t a complete list. People can also change the pronouns they use to identify themselves. GLAAD offers this scenario: “A person who is questioning or exploring their gender identity may take some time to figure out what's true for them. They might, for example, use a name or pronoun, and then decide at a later time to change the name or pronoun again. Do your best to be respectful and use the name and pronoun requested.”
Mistakes happen! “If you catch yourself using the wrong pronouns for someone – or you’re corrected – don’t make a big deal out of it to draw attention to the flub. Simply correct it, apologize to the person affected and work to get it right in the future.”

Add Your Pronouns to Your KU Email Signature

KU Marketing Communications suggests adding your personal pronouns below your contact information, with the word “Pronouns:” in front of the pronouns you use.

To update your email signature:

Open a new email in Outlook. In the top navigation bar, find Signatures (in the middle of the navigation options).
Click on the triangle at the bottom of the icon. This will bring up a dropdown menu with all your current email signatures.
Click on the bottom option, Signatures.
In the box that pops up, click the name of the signature you want to edit in the left-hand dropdown menu.
In the Edit Signature box, type Pronouns: and your pronouns on the last line of your signature.
Click OK to save.

Pronouns can also be included on your KU business cards.

KU’s Center for Sexuality & Gender Diversity shares how to update your preferred name and pronouns with KU IT, HR, Learning Management Systems (including Canvas), and on your KU ID card. If you have questions, contact sgd@ku.edu.