I’m probably making another assumption. It goes like this, “if your pronouns are not the mainstream she/her or he/him, you will want to wear them in the form of a button or necklace or some such thing so everyone will know the proper pronoun to use for you.” But would you?

I don’t wear buttons with facts about myself. Do you? It would be lovely for people to understand that I’m introverted and don’t like “small talk”, that I need space and alone time to regenerate, that I love people even if I don’t want to just hang out. I don’t think I’ll wear a button that says “Introverted” though. It’s too personal and I don’t want to have to explain myself. I wonder if people would be kind or make jokes at my expense.

I know it's a huge stretch to compare my introverted nature to pronoun usage and I don’t want to trivialize the challenges and pain around gender pronouns at all. I just wonder how some people really feel about announcing their pronouns.

Isn’t the real issue here that we should normalize using any pronoun? That people should feel confident in sharing who they are without judgment? I know there are lots of folks who enjoy wearing their pronouns. It can be a fun and unique accessory, and even a path to start some dialogue about gender pronouns and why honoring someone’s pronouns is important. Maybe that’s it. Maybe, if those of us who feel comfortable doing so would wear our pronouns, it would pave the way for normalizing all pronouns. What do you think?

Would you wear your pronouns? I would love to know!

Have a great week- and thanks for being here.

Ellin (she/her)

May 05, 2022 — Rebecca Porterfield

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