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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Labour council tells staff to announce pronouns before meetings

31 replies

IwantToRetire · 15/01/2026 20:03

Wandsworth says adding the <a class="break-all" href="https://archive.is/o/HIdDV/www.telegraph.co.uk/family/life/ze-guide-modern-gender-pronouns/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">pronouns such as ze/zir/zem to email signatures and announcing them at the start of meetings is a “simple step” towards this.

The memo says: “Up until recently, the only pronouns most people had heard of he/him/his and she/her/hers.

“However, as the non-binary community has become more visible, more people are becoming aware of non-gendered pronouns such as they/them/theirs and ze/zir/zem.

“Adding our pronouns to our email signatures, MS365 profiles, social media profiles and saying them at the start of meetings is a simple step cisgender people can take to enable those from the non-binary and transgender communities to feel more seen and recognised.”

“Ze/zir/zem” are all gender pronouns and are used by some transgender, non-binary or gender-non-conforming people.

From article at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/15/labour-council-tells-staff-pronouns-before-meetings/

Can be read in full at https://archive.is/HIdDV

Labour council tells staff to announce pronouns before meetings

Wandsworth council bosses encourage employees to add ‘ze/zir/zem’ to email signatures and social media profiles

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/15/labour-council-tells-staff-pronouns-before-meetings/

OP posts:
LizzieSiddal · 16/01/2026 09:23

Pronoun signatures are so 2024.

AllThisFuss · 16/01/2026 09:21

I thought this type of nonsense was on the way out? 🙄

Rightsraptor · 16/01/2026 09:20

Let's stop saying 'neo pronouns'. Neo means new, they are merely newly-invented rubbish words that don't actually exist in the English language. 'Made up' pronouns is much more accurate. Should other people be allowed to force you to use made up words?

If someone told me they called Mondays 'Floggib', Tuesdays 'Bwagpee' (etc) I wouldn't play that game, I'd stick to Monday & Tuesday etc, thank you. I agree that personal pronouns are just that - personal, while days of the week are not, but personal descriptions are also clearly personal. If I'm dark haired and short but if I insist on being described as blonde and tall, should colleagues be obliged to say 'Rightsraptor is that tall blonde over by the photocopier'?

Beware of people who try to dictate speech.

PruthePrune · 16/01/2026 08:56

Isn't it considered "outing" to someone who may be questioning their gender to ask them to announce their pronouns?

ProfessorBinturong · 16/01/2026 01:39

Have they fallen down a time hole?

smallchange · 15/01/2026 20:15

Meh. My employer tried to get us to do this a couple of years ago. The ones that wanted it were already doing it, the vast majority of us ignored it with absolutely no consequences.

I've never seen a neo pronoun in any of the sigs, it's almost always she/her with the occasional he/him and once a they/them.

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