Told I was 'phobic' for not using pronouns!

[NewStartIn50s]

Asked for my preferred pronouns and I said ' I don't use them', pushed on what I use to refer to myself and I said I don't use on emails or when I introduce myself or at all. Apparently, if I use them I am showing inclusivity to others and being accepting. I'm not quite a dinosaur yet but why are these things forced on us. I don't have a beard (yet) and I think you can tell what I am/but does it really matter if you can't.

So AIBU

YANBU - don't have to use pronouns if you don't want to

YABU - you should state what your preferred pronouns are

Very very hard. It’s like asking an atheist to say a Hail Mary at the beginning of a meeting, or bow down to Allah or whatever religious people do. I do not believe in God and I do not believe in gender identity wang, and pronouns are part of the gender wang religion. How hard is that to understand?

About as hard as wearing a badge supporting something you aren’t interested in, or don’t feel is necessary. Not hard at all, but not something people should have foisted onto them.

I tend to just prefer to be referred to as my name rather than she, you know it's rude to refer to someone as "she" hence the saying "who's she the cat's mother". So yeah just my name will do in every instance, no need to tie ourselves in knots or waste our time writing nonsense on emails. Pretty obvious I'm a woman if you met me anyway, looks like a duck, quacks like a duck sort of situ 😆.

we have short memories. In 10 years it will be forgotten.

I wouldn't want to put that either. It should be a choice

These fecking pronoun police are bullies

I do hope we don't have to put up with this pronoun and gender shit for 10 years.

I must write this down and practise until I'm asked. 99% of my colleagues have added theirs to their email signature, so I'm sure I'll eventually be asked.

Great response!

Free speech, not really

please let it be less than 10 years I'm fed up with it already . I haven't spoken to one person who isn't totally pissed off with the whole subject !

My pronouns are could/would 😇

Oh no, I am choosing not to use pronouns, it's clearly the end of the world. 🙄

🤣 I get such giggles when people say respond to this with I don't use/believe in pronouns. The thought of genuinely not believing in a grammatical structure and never using pronouns is so funny. I appreciate I'm being overly literal in my interpretation but I'm simple and it anuses me.

Exactly this.

It would be like being asked to join in with Grace before a meal, where as I'm happy for others to say it while I sit quietly waiting, but I don't want to join in or add an "Amen." I don't believe there is a god and therefore thanking one seems like nonsense.

I similarly don't want to appear to be on board with Gender woo. Because I am so not.

I actually have an almost visceral reaction to seeing pronouns on an email footer. It's so disappointing to realise how many people lack critical thinking.

I’m dreading this coming up in work. I watch what I say in work to avoid conflict. Work is everything to me.
I don’t like this pronoun guff, but I can understand why people just go along with it because they don’t want to be dragged into a conversation that could leave them being labelled as ‘bigot’, ‘TERF’, ‘phobic’ etc. Those type of labels stick.

Also...I secretly think that people who put them on their signatures are a bit dim

I know someone who doesn’t want others to use 3rd person pronouns when discussing them so we’ve to use ‘name’ for everything. She (for she’s female and let’s face it I’m sure she’d rather that than outing her on MN) is very much a trans activist and she doesn’t get accused of discrimination or pronouns for demanding others don’t use any with her.

I'm being overly literal in my interpretation but I'm simple and it anuses me.

I'm overly literal too and I wonder what it looks like when something anuses you.

The real joke of the whole thing is that what I say about someone else when not in their presence is absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with them.
You don't get to demand how people speak about you in your absence. You're not a god-king.

😂

This

Pick any of the number of ridiculous ones going around at the moment, or a mix and match.

Maybe the higher ups will stop asking if 52 year old Betty has put in her email sig that she is to be referred to as he/fae/zerflaffledorf the Third.

Because 90% of the office will be pissing themselves every time they get an email or have to refer to her in conversation.

And the other dimwitted/activist 10% can struggle to guess which one Betty is being known as at that particular moment, as it changes randomly. And there fuck all Betty can be called out on because it's no more insane then any of the other gender woowoo (that's gender wang!).

And Betty can have lots of fun complaining loudly at any bosses/collegues she can't stand that she heard they referred to her as fae on Tuesday at 8pm, but she had actually been known as zerflaffledorf the Third after 7.15pm that day and they were BIGOTS and she's going to HR.

We should all do a Betty.

Eurgh I hate MN.
We all have pronouns and you all obviously know that. Talking about an 'agenda' is so embarrassing.

'There's no agenda'...and yet...

www.spiked-online.com/2021/07/05/stonewall-should-call-off-the-pronoun-police/

For all they/them who 'hate MN', but are here for some reason.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/flouncers_corner