Forced use of pronoun badge?

[RepelloMuggletum]

Need some advice before I reply to an email...

I am an undergrad on a health related university course - ordering uniform, we now have 'my name is' badges...which also has 'my pronouns are' written on too.

There was no other option but to select 'she/her he/him etc so I left it unselected.
I've just received an 'urgent' email stating that I DO have to select a pronoun to use and which one would I like, I'm pretty sure that this isn't enforceable by law, but also if I don't choose to display my pronouns will I be viewed as not being 'inclusive' or 'phobic' etc, which I don't want to labelled with as 1st year student

Any advice please?

TIA

I can't offer anything new than the advice already given here OP but I came to say I recommend you let Sex Not Gender Nurses and Midwives knows as well as this network

www.gcacademianetwork.org/

I would also consider telling Sex Matters and Free Speech Union and your MP if he or she is Conservative.

You could ask for your name to be kept anonymous.

"I consider forcing people to declare pronouns to be transphobic"

I think you should tell us which institution it is and we should all email them to tell them to stop harassing young women and making them feel under pressure just because the admin team have joined a woo woo gender cult.

Or just email someone like Emma Nicholson and she can send them a letter with her lovely swirly signature...

I dont think you should pretend you havent decided as that just feeds into this whole ridiculous scam. Just say you personally dont feel its necessary, thank you.

I 100% understand what you are saying here but to be honest I think if you say you don’t think it’s necessary then they’ll try to ‘educate’ you of why it is. Then you’d have to stick your head above the parapet and once you’re labelled a terf they just stop listening to you.

I think wide eyed innocence is the way to go with this.

I think showing how it’s not helping trans people is a really effective technique because you can get the cogs turning by showing inconsistencies in the dogma.

Then you can ask if they’ve done any assessment into unconscious bias when it comes to declaring you’re a woman.

Sex Matters have a good guide on this, and I love their suggested line, which is "It's not a practice I follow". I'd just go with that - "It's not a practice I follow, and I'd rather not be pressed on this any further" (last bit as per a PP's suggestion".
Please stand firm for the sake of your patients. I'd not be comfortable to see this on the badge of someone treating me (unless their sex and name actually were ambiguous and it therefore served a useful purpose, I guess?)

Don't mess about by telling them that you're undecided as others have suggested. You're not undecided. You need to be straight to the point with these people. Tell them your pronouns are obvious and will be wearing a badge that only states your name. That's the only way this bullshit will ever end.

Hmm, yeah that's certainly weird that they're saying it's urgent. However helpful displaying pronouns is, it should never be enforced or made mandatory :P
Also(not the exact focus of the post, but still brings up a point), only having she/her and he/him as options is ignoring a whooooole bunch of people. They/them, she/they, he/they, as well as people who use more than two pronouns or switch between pronouns, people who use any pronouns, and people who use lesser known pronouns like neopronouns.

Idk what advice there is that others haven't already said, sorry op
I think being honest is the way to go though. It could also mean then getting the support of others who feel the same way in order to further raise the issue

Personally I can’t wait to be told I have to state my pronouns. I’m going with He/Him and will enjoy the confusion about a middle aged lady with red lipppy and big hair declaring such. I will cry and threaten HR if I don’t get the respect due me as a man. Additionally I may change it weekly. Don’t be scared OP, play them at their own game. Stupid fuckers.

I honestly think this is one of those moments when you have to be brave and say that you don't want preferred pronouns on your badge.

This.

I understand it's daunting but the vast, vast majority either agree or don't care. Even most who sign up to it do so unthinkingly and don't actually harass people who don't comply. The proper nutter Genderists are a tiny minority.

From experience: you will be fine.

As this is a health related course and the badges are for your uniform I wonder if you could state that you are concerned this may be confusing for elderly patients and those who don't speak English as a first language and those with memory problems who can't possibly be expected to remember pronouns. So on balance you feel it is not appropriate in a health setting.
See what they come back with to that.

I just don't understand all this.

If someone wants to have their pronouns on a badge they can crack on - good for them.

Similarly if they don't want them on a badge I can't see why they should.

Although I'd be going with One/We as mine

The only options to select were:
She/her
He/him
They/them

No option to enter your own or a 'prefer not to say' option. So I left it unselected.

I've replied to the email - asking whether it is compulsory by law and that I'm not comfortable in the displaying of preffered pronouns.

Argh I don't need this stress, I'll await a reply and go from there, I may email my PT too. I'm not very articulate on this topic, but my knowledge is growing thanks to this board.
Thanks everyone.

Is there another badge format you could request instead? I know a lot of healthcare staff are keen on the "Hello, my name is ..." badges / initiative.

Could you ask for one like that? And maybe point out that for patients with cognitive impairments or limited English skills that it might be confusing to see pronouns on a badge?

When they come back to you, just say you're not comfortable publicly stating your gender identity and that you're shocked that an organisation that prides itself as being inclusive is taking such a totalitarian approach to such a personal and private issue.

I'd keep all the exchanges as brief and as impersonal as I could, and I'd try to avoid stating any views of my own so as to give them as little ammunition as possible, e.g.
'Is it company policy to compel staff to reveal a gender identity?'
'What do you advise staff to do if they don't have a gender identity or don't wish to disclose it?'

I would ask me what the lawful basis of processing this personal data was, also as it is potentially health data what extra steps they were taking to protect that data and why they felt it necessary for me to be pressured into declaring my pronouns to do my job.I

@RepelloMuggletum

Need some advice before I reply to an email...

I am an undergrad on a health related university course - ordering uniform, we now have 'my name is' badges...which also has 'my pronouns are' written on too.

There was no other option but to select 'she/her he/him etc so I left it unselected.
I've just received an 'urgent' email stating that I DO have to select a pronoun to use and which one would I like, I'm pretty sure that this isn't enforceable by law, but also if I don't choose to display my pronouns will I be viewed as not being 'inclusive' or 'phobic' etc, which I don't want to labelled with as 1st year student

Any advice please?

TIA

You might need legal advice, but I don't think they have the right to do that. Pronoun usage like is associated with a belief that you have a right not to subscribe to regarding your own identity. You have the right not to believe.

Ignore the email, despite the 'urgent' label. If they approach you directly, say that they will need any disciplinary measure to be put to you in writing, in email. Other than than the above, do not get into conversation with them regarding the above. Everything needs to be in email. Don't be tempted to fill awkward silences and don't say anything more than you absolutely have to. Any 'informal chats' need to be witnessed by someone you trust because often 'informal chats' are anything but a thinly veiled threat.

A poster on here uses "he/she/furry" in every post where we might not know the sex of someone.

Could you take the piss and ask for that or similar?

@RepelloMuggletum

The only options to select were: She/her He/him They/them

No option to enter your own or a 'prefer not to say' option. So I left it unselected.

I've replied to the email - asking whether it is compulsory by law and that I'm not comfortable in the displaying of preffered pronouns.

Argh I don't need this stress, I'll await a reply and go from there, I may email my PT too. I'm not very articulate on this topic, but my knowledge is growing thanks to this board.
Thanks everyone.

Well they're showing their ignorance there aren't they? What about 'fey' and 'zim/zer'?

@ColleysMill

I just don't understand all this.

If someone wants to have their pronouns on a badge they can crack on - good for them.

Similarly if they don't want them on a badge I can't see why they should.

Although I'd be going with One/We as mine

@ColleysMill The request for pronouns in this manner is not someone asking someone else which sex they are. By going along with it you are stating to them that you subscribe to their beliefs about your own identity. I mean, if you do, that's up to you, but anyone who doesn't needs to think twice about it.

@MoonbeamSprinkles

Say you haven’t decided yet and you find there insistence that you decide triggering.

You could try this as well.

I dunno. You'd hope a university's first priority on a health related course was producing good quality clinicians of the future 🤷‍♀️

I've found that I could dodge it by saying I didn't want to put added pressure on service users to feel like they needed to be careful over which pronouns to use for me as it was not an issue I was at all bothered about personally although I was happy to respect others'.

@ColleysMill

I dunno. You'd hope a university's first priority on a health related course was producing good quality clinicians of the future 🤷‍♀️

Yup.

As for “urgent” I find it an exaggerated word in this context, especially given it’s a healthcare course.

And to the subject of stating personal pronouns, as much as some suggestions amuse, my answer is simply “No, I’m not doing that.”

No please. No thank you. No attempt to ease the situation should it be fraught.

Having spent years appeasing ridiculousness, incompetence, and bad behaviour it’s simpler to state the reality. I’m not going to do that.

However, I will almost always have a civilised discussion/debate, if asked. (Exceptions include physical threats from the other party. I won’t debate threats or aggression, generally.)

Basically, OP, just say No.