Pronoun announcing: I genuinely do not "get" it.

[Tabitha1960]

Genuine question.

In all the arguments about announcing pronouns, I have never once seen it explained, step by step, how precisely it helps the (less than 1%) who have gender ID issues.

If someone is making an attempt to pass as someone of the opposite sex, with a change of name and wearing the right clothing, etc, why do they need to announce their pronouns? And why do people who aren't trans have to announce theirs? I know I am an old and out of touch person but honestly, I do not "get" it.

Seems to me that the issue has done nothing but cause ill feeling and get people's backs up. The attempt to compel speech has probably led to resentment against trans-identified people where there was none previously.

People assume I'm a man a lot on the phone because I have a voice in a typical male pitch and also quite a brusque use of language. I guess if I said 'she/her', assuming they had any idea what I was talking about, they'd assume i am trans I guess. I don't care for myself but I do care about people with language difficulties having another layer of difficulty added to interaction so that a few public sector professionals can feel good about their progressive credentials.

I think the purported purpose is to normalise it so that when a trans person wants to announce theirs, everyone is used to pronouns and no-one thinks its odd or unexpected.

That's what I've been told by the nice but dim bearded he him in senior management

It's to make people play along with the fantasy.

If one person it witnessed doing it (complying) then others will be pressured into doing so.

Mark my words, no one actually believes the person has changed sex, it's all pretend. Even for so-called allies.

I get the sense that they want to create a reality where it is deemed normal to 'pick' your gender. So they have to get everybody acting like that's what they are 'doing'. Rather than most of us who are just 'being' in the body we are born in without much thought. Announcing pronouns supports the narrative that it's an active choice rather than a biological inevitability

The bit that gets me is that if I, a fairly average middle aged woman, stated my pronouns were they/their, or he/him, I’d either be laughed at or accused of taking the piss. It is expected that I stay firmly in my box, while watching everyone else set fire to theirs.

I came here to say that 👍

fairplayforwomen.com/pronouns/

The theory is that by announcing your pronouns even when it's obvious that you are either male or female you are making it more socially normal therefore more comfortable for a trans person to state theirs. Which is frequently needed if they don't pass.

More commonly these days it's used to signal "I'm woke, I'm a safe space for you".

I believe that trans identifying people usually aren't actually very keen on the whole announcing of pronouns thing, because it draws attention to something they're not comfortable with anyway and reminds them that it's not necessarily obvious what their acquired gender identity actually is.

I absolutely refuse to announce my pronouns.
I'm female.
Unless I specifically tell you otherwise I would assume and expect people to refer to me in the accurate biologically correct way as she/her

It's so strange to think that I would need to explain that.

If it was purely about announcing what you are, then the old convention of including your title would be fine. Eg Ms Sam Jones, or Sam Jones (Ms).

The insistence on pronouns is about control. Not "This is who I am", but "This is how you will refer to me".

I'm also curious about how this became embedded in the ideology. Was it a deliberate plan by somebody, or a natural evolution from males behaving in stereotypical masculine fashion?

I think sharing pronouns is a bit 2022 now. People are starting to drop all that nonsense. We've never needed it before and we don't need it now.

I agree that it is purportedly about normalising it so that trans people don't stand out. In my view it is yet another approach co-opted from the disabled people's movement and twisted to a different end.

It's very simple.

Man:he/him
Woman:she/her
Man in skirt:he/him
Woman insisting you call her Chesney:she/her

But a big beardy bloke announcing they identify as she is always going to stand out, no matter who else is announcing their perfectly obvious ones.
Trying to hide a fox in a room full of chickens is never going to work.
Besides, I don't agree with any of this shite so I deeply resent being forced to join in so the oddballs feel more comfortable.

Completely agree Johnny. I think this is the reason lots of otherwise sane people unthinking agree to do this, not because they want to have compelled speech or mind control imposed on them.
However the people who cooked this up can clearly see the advantages of forcing people to override what their eyes are telling them and repeat the mantras

Very controversial but a very interesting read. I agree

My pronouns? Use whatever seems appropriate for my sex. Your pronouns? I will use the ones that are appropriate for your sex. YOU have no say in the matter

Yes, this!

I've decided if forced (which I can't see happening) then I'd probably have to choose something other than she/her. Although I am a biological woman with two children and a few remaining eggs in my peri menopausal ovaries, I've taken various quizzes and none of them tell me I'm a woman.

I'm a mathematician, I like karate. I even have a man's name thanks to my parents. I rarely have painted nails and don't mind if I'm misgendered at work (I use my Dr title partially to obscure my sex). So there are no indicators that I identify as a woman, I just am one biologically.

I do wonder what the reaction from my team of 26 year old would be if I said the only pronouns I could offer would be them/they or he/him or maybe something more esoteric - pi/python perhaps might suit me? But I also love cats so maybe something from that family of xeno pronouns would suit me better?

The only time I've ever encountered a pronoun announcement has been by a woman declaring she/her. I find it strange.

It’s seemingly to signal which team you’re on - stating pronouns aligns you with TWAW.

Why the hell should I care what pronouns people use about me when I’m not there? Like everyone except the reigning monarch, my pronouns are I/me/my.

(The monarch can have we/us/our)

I have long wondered why the self obsessed transactivists can’t just be honest and have “me/me/me”!

Don't encourage them!