Pronouns in my email signature

There's always a response that it sounds like company are being sexist?

This is verging on sexism, and I don't want to be gender stereotyped?

I wonder if some of this movement to change parts of other people's speech comes from a misunderstanding/misrepresentation of why some pronouns are described as 'personal'?

I think it comes more from a complete lack of understanding how language - and indeed reality - works. So you may as well respond in kind and suggest pronouns in another alphabet - maybe wingdings. If they have a problem with that, the Daily Mail is always listening ...

Of course they might simply respond that you aren't taking it very seriously. I'm sure there's a music hall routine in that.

☞︎◆︎ SerendipityJane, 👌︎⬧︎♍︎🕿︎♒︎□︎■︎⬧︎✆︎

I mentioned this on the other thread. It was a point made by others on previous similar threads. Has an equalities impact assessment been carried out to ensure that this change won't disadvantage any of the groups with protected characteristics in the Equality Act, e.g. people with autism, women.

I might say something like "It's interesting how I have spent most of my career insisting that my sex doesn't matter to my ability to do my job despite facing sexism and sexual harassment, but now things have turned around completely and we're expected to highlight it" and then completely ignore it.

Thank God I'm self employed though!

I wonder if some of this movement to change parts of other people's speech comes from a misunderstanding/misrepresentation of why some pronouns are described as 'personal'? They aren't described that way to mean that they belong to/ are under the control of the individual being referred to.

NHS employee here. A few months ago an email went out inviting us to put our pronouns on our emails. Very few people have and the ones that have tend to be management. Most of my colleagues just did a massive eyeroll and ignored it.

We all use a lot of pronouns:

Types of pronouns
Personal pronouns (e.g., he, they)
Demonstrative pronouns (e.g., this, these)
Interrogative pronouns (e.g., which, who)
Indefinite pronouns (e.g., none, several)
Possessive pronouns (e.g., his, your)
Reciprocal pronouns (e.g., each other, one another)
Relative pronouns (e.g., which, where)

current thread discussing the implications when work colleagues compell others use non sex-based pronouns:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3816887-line-manager-just-come-out-as-non-binary

We've not been asked to do this but I can see it happening at some point. I actually saw my first email with pronouns from an american customer the other day.

We got given rainbow lanyards at work but weren't allowed to use them after the end of pride month got told to put them away for next year.

I’m gender free.

So it’d be a choice between “no pronouns”, or all of them- “him/he/her/she/them/they/it”

I'd want to do I/Me/Mine but I don't know if I'd have the courage.

I like the idea of refusing because your gender identity is private to you.

I’d go with ‘thou, thee and thine’

If it's optional, don't add them. I love 'sex based like my oppression', but if you don't want to out your views then that's not going to work for you. The suggestions above to say you find it triggering or upsetting to talk about (if you get pushed to say) would be a good way of turning their own manipulative language against them.

HR are over-reaching their remit prying into deeply personal parts of employees lives this way.

An email, stating everyone will be referred to by their sex-based pronoun in the absence of requests to do otherwise.

Any other request is an inappropriate intrusion and questionable. It comes across as a demand and coercive. Compelling speech.

I would ask whats the matter with assuming sex-based, are you telling me I'm doing something wrong? How the hell is everyone supposed to remember all these? Or are we talking just one person in a whole company. I thought it was a tiny minority? This sounds like the numbers are huge. I literally never see anyone trans unless theres a special event specifically for transpeople.

Cat's/Mother is fine.

The best pronouns I've seen - on Twitter and must be inspired by MN -are Od/Fod

Think I'm the only person near me not rocking a rainbow lanyard now. There's very much the element of "oooh pwetty new lanyard" behind the most of if but my "oh I've not gone down to that building" forgetfulness is as much of a protest as I dare make.

I am happy to see the sunflower lanyards now where rainbow ones once were.

Someone with a hidden/disability may really need more actual assistance and patience from a store assistant than a LGB person.

I got offered a rainbow lanyard at work the other day. I refused it. The look on the face of the person offering it was complete shock. He asked why? I said that I already had a lanyard that stated I was inclusive and it said staff on it. And I said that I hadn't seen any lanyards in support of other minority groups such as BAME or around domestic violence and until I did I was quite happy with my staff one.
A couple of members of our team have started with the pronouns in emails. I honestly think they think it is a 'trendy' thing to do because I know both of them have not given it any real thought. It's like jumping on a bandwagon.

Spellcheck tried to change your name to Gintonic. I thought you'd like that
I LOVE THAT! Serendipitously I am currently packing five varieties of gin into an overnight bag to go and stay with my best friend for a long overdue catch up

People would have a little giggle but wouldn’t take it as being outright gender critical

@Cwenthryth , thank you for the prompt. I will do that from now on. Little things , as you say.

Somebody a while ago suggested -

Pronouns: Fuck / Off

@Cwenthryth
1 - I also use Madam/Sir :) I don't know if anyone has ever noticed.
2 - Spellcheck tried to change your name to Gintonic. I thought you'd like that

I recommend ‘Your Majesty’ as a personal pronoun.

That's a good response, Floisme.