Pronouns in my email signature

[GinTonic]

I've been asked to state my personal pronouns in my work email signature. Grateful for any advice on how to deal with this? It's being presented as optional but I feel it's discriminatory as it's putting me under pressure to reveal my personal views on subjects which up to now I have not shared in the workplace. Thanks all.

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.

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

I’d go with ‘thou, thee and thine’

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

I’m gender free.

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

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.

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 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)

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.

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.

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 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 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, 👌︎⬧︎♍︎🕿︎♒︎□︎■︎⬧︎✆︎

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 think it comes more from a complete lack of understanding how language - and indeed reality - works

I agree.
This is certainly true of those who are implementing these policies in universities, workplaces etc
Ive been wondering when the English Language teachers & Linguistics academics will be speaking out.

Someone at work has their preferred pronouns in their signature. They sent an email round explaining why (they’re male with male pronouns but they’re an ally). And suggested we all might like to follow suit to show that we’re all allies. I ignored. Nothing has happened.

Male and wants to be called Mr? An ally of what and who, and what does this entail?

For the love of all that’s holy, who gives a flying fig?

Quite.

I've had a change of heart, I will put my preferred pronoun on my emails. I'm going to say my preferred pronoun is "cunt";that will go down well...

Shame your user name isn’t your real name. That would go rather well...

Why Lord do you assume that isn’t Minges real name? She/he/them/it may have changed it by deed poll (or indeed might have had batshit parents!)

I'd go for
"my pronouns are i/me/my"
Or
"as per my sex"

I'd prefer adult/human/female but I want to keep my job

I've just idly googled pronouns in my work inbox and yes it's happening, I just hadn't spotted it

I’d be so tempted to reply with some twaddle:
I am a post-gender individualist and therefore demand that pronouns are never used used to refer to me, as the use of pronoun DS is counter to my individualism.

E.g. Fairybatman attended board and Fairybatman reported that directors have asked Fairybatman to seek opinion on...

I will refuse..and face disciplinary over it if needs be!