PioTalks: International Pronouns Day
Confused by all the talk about pronouns? Join us for a lively discussion!
International Pronouns Day seeks to make respecting, sharing, and educating about personal pronouns commonplace. Referring to people by the pronouns they determine for themselves is basic to human dignity. Being referred to by the wrong pronouns particularly affects transgender and gender nonconforming people. Together, we can transform society to celebrate people’s multiple, intersecting identities. International Pronouns Day began in 2018 and takes place on the 3rd Wednesday of October each year.
Intersecting forms of oppression can deeply impact our communities. Transgender people, especially those whose gender is or is perceived to be outside of a man/woman binary, are sometimes harassed and treated with hostility, which is often evidenced by intentional or repeated use of the wrong pronouns.
We seek to stop the violence that disproportionately affects transgender women and femmes of color, which often seeks to humiliate and obliterate, and which is rooted in the desire to exert power, to erase and control. Using the right pronouns is one of the most basic starting points to acknowledging the humanity of transgender and gender nonconforming people. While that may not in and of itself stop the violence, it is an entry point into conversation.