Pronoun Paradox

By: Katie Harbaugh

If you’ve been on any form of social media lately, you’ve probably noticed that lots of people have added their pronouns to their bios. As a background, pronouns differ from person to person. Some individuals go by she/her, while others use he/him, or they/them, etc. For a long time, mainly nonbinary and transgender people put their pronouns in their bios, so people wouldn’t address them incorrectly. The problem with this is that consequently, transphobic people became more inclined to target those with pronouns in their bio.

The solution: everyone puts their pronouns out in the open, whether it is next to your name on Zoom, in a social media bio, etc. This incredibly easy step not only shows one’s alliance with trans and nonbinary people, but also helps those around you know how to address you properly, avoiding awkwardness. All it takes is 30 seconds, and you are automatically making it a little bit harder for online trolls to target LGBT+ people.

Still, there are people who refuse to address the universal concept of pronouns. Again, it is true that pronouns differ, it is a known truth (grammatically and societally) that everyone has pronouns. So, as a reminder to anyone who hates on those who state their pronouns: You have pronouns too!