AIBU to find pronoun introductions patronising?

[superlint]

I was in a meeting this morning and a woman introduced herself saying ‘Hi, my name is Maureen and my pronouns are she/her'

I genuinely haven’t heard anyone say this for years. As she was clearly a biological female and had a female name it sounded both patronising and virtue signalling. We all knew she was a woman within a second of seeing her.

I have never not immediately been able to tell someone’s sex and quite frankly in a meeting you use people's names not pronouns so it’s totally unnecessary.

AIBU to think pronoun announcements sound ridiculous.

You'd be tempted to continue in the meeting " I agree with Maureen when he noted that..." and claim to have misheard.

absolutely this.

but that's missing the point @superlint You might think she LOOKS like a woman, she might identify as a man, or be gender neutral, or a goat.

That's the point of pronouns.....so you can call someone by the gender they identify as.

Is it a load of bollocks? Yes, it is.

why be rude for no reason?

People on this thread are already accusing trans people of being liars etc. I think a thread with this much potential for transphobia should be on the sex and gender forum.

anyway - the OP will like it over there! Everyone on those threads will think they’re very clever for thinking pronouns are annoying!

So I work in a university with lots of international students. I find it extremely helpful if students (who I have not met) tell me their pronouns as it avoids confusion. I do the same in my email signature as even though my name is English and feminine it might not be obvious to those from abroad. I have also had nonbinary and trans students who find this helpful. I have never said this when introducing myself in person as I think it’s fairly obvious I am a woman. So here it is more about clarity than virtue signalling for those who may otherwise be unclear. This is very context specific and I find it odd when people do it when there is no need or likely to be no confusion.

I just roll my eyes and then don’t reciprocate

Virtue signalling shite

It's very controlling to start calling people transphobic for expressing legitimate views about people who don't prioritise their professional working self but introduce mindless word games aimed at controlling the language their colleagues use.

Your beliefs about your gender identity are personal to you. No need to pronounce them in the workplace, let alone demand that colleagues validate them for you.

Enough of the "bring you whole self to work". Time to grow up and bring your skilled working self into the workplace, leaving all the irrelevant stuff at home

It's weird you need to know what kind of genitals your students have before you meet them? Is that because you treat male students differently to female ones?

What's to stop anybody from coming up with the most outlandish 'pronouns' and insisting that everybody must use them at all times?

What if you're told that their pronouns are ifyoulikealotofchocolateonyourbiscuitjoinourclub/wheredidyoucomefromwheredidyougowheredidyoucomefromcottoneyejoe and that, if you don't show them the basic respect and dignity of using 'their pronouns' every single time you refer to them, you are a disgraceful bigot and you will be disciplined and/or socially cancelled?

It's taking the piss. It's very British to take the piss out of the ridiculous. Maureen is very clearly a woman.

Maureen might be a bit behind and hasn't picked up the vibe shift quite yet. Bless

It’s very weird me to even mention your pronouns. It like saying Hi my name is Maureen and I am straight and I like men.

like, how is that relevant to this meeting Maureen? How would knowing if you were a man, woman or just confused change the outcome of this sales meeting.

performative nonsense

It's certainly always been a fairly standard feminist position that whether a person is male or female is irrelevant in settings such as work meetings. Is that what you meant?

This!

People who do this are just trying to control your mind and behaviours. It is not about their pathetic feelings at all, but a power play and a warning to tow their line.

A proper response would be. "Hello Maureen I will only refer to you with the pronoun "you" when I am talking to you".

I just say
"I am so sorry to hear that, it must be very challenging." with a polite and sympathetic smile.

Hi, I'm Alex (I'm not but you get the idea), I'm 69, I eat meat, I have no spiritual beliefs, I'm heterosexual, I'm married, I haven't got children, I do have cats, I don't drive, I'm White British, drone, drone.
Oh, is the meeting over ?
Please, I'm too old for this. Pass me the black pill. (Am I still allowed say that?)

This.

LOL

And no, I wouldn’t give a shit if I “misgendered” someone. Their “distress” is theirs to manage

The ones who ‘bring their whole selves to work’ are always precisely the ones you wish would leave most of their self at the door.

Always dramatic, always excuses for why they can’t just sit down and do their work. Always pretty much avoided by everyone else.

That's a form of coercive control in the workplace. Keeping colleagues on their toes, forbidding the use of "ordinary language and seeking to punish those who dare call her she?

If you don't work closely with her, then she's just an eye rolling irritant. If you have to collaborate regularly then she could have a major negative impact on your confidence and ability to work together if you're constantly having to second guess your language rather than focus on the task in hand. Especially if she's got the ear of a manager / HR with the power to sanction you rather than her off task, disruptive behaviour.

These people can turn the workplace into a hostile environment for colleagues if they're allowed to escalate rather than being reined in.

Imagine if everyone demanded they soak up that level of mental energy from everyone else. Totally unworkable. These people are immensely self involved. An eye roll is very restrained in these circumstances.

I have previously met people I could not immediately tell if there are male or female. Also some names are gender neutral.

Your opinion, considering your username, is of no surprise. Why are Canadians so captured by this misogynistic ideology?! Even Margaret Atwood which was a huge blow 😩