Each month Fatima Johnson, Brightlane’s Community Engagement & DEI Strategist, will be sharing a DEI insight as we continue to learn together. This month she is helping us explore the importance of pronouns.
What are gender pronouns and why do they matter?
We have all been asked for our pronouns at some point, but have you ever wondered why? Gender pronouns are words that refer to the person or people you are talking about, such as she/her/hers or he/him/his. They also are how we refer to someone’s gender identity. However, this is often an assumption based on a person’s gender expression and outward appearance. Most of us conform to gender norms, which leads to us often categorizing someone in the binary of male or female, which may not be how the person we are referring to identifies. Misidentifying someone by using incorrect pronouns could lead to them feeling disrespected, uncomfortable, hurt, and excluded.
As we continue on our journey to be more inclusive, I would like to invite you to learn more about pronouns beginning with the resources below.
Read:
- Why Pronouns are Important and How They Should Be Used
- Why We Ask Each Other Our Pronouns
- Why Pronouns Matter