it’s #InternationalPronounsDay so here’s a thread with some basic information about pronouns :)

pronouns are part of your gender expression. the common ones in English are she, he, it & they, but there are many more such as xe or ey. those are what we call “neopronouns” which are recently invented pronouns mainly used by the nonbinary community (but everyone can use them).

it’s helpful to display your pronouns in your bio or on a badge even if you’re not trans or nonbinary, because that way we normalise asking/looking for pronouns before assuming. it keeps the trans & nonbinary community safe!

referring to someone with the wrong pronouns is known as “misgendering” and can cause gender dysphoria, so please don’t do that. it’s generally just a bad thing to do. practice people’s pronouns in your head if they don’t come to you naturally.

if you accidentally misgender someone, a quick sorry & correcting yourself is enough. please don’t ignore your mistake though, and don’t over-apologise because that will definitely make them uncomfortable.

if you don’t know someone’s pronouns, you can always ask! using “they” as long as you’re not sure is also good, but please remember that if you do know someone’s pronoun and it isn’t they, referring to them as they is still misgendering.

there are no pronouns inherent to certain gender identities, just ones that are more common for people with a specific gender. anyone can use whatever pronoun they feel comfortable with though, regardless of gender identity.

if you don’t understand why for example a woman would use he as his pronoun, think of it like you think of clothing—women can choose to dress in masculine ways, but that doesn’t make them men. the same is true for pronouns, you can use them in gender non-conforming ways.

some people think that “if you’re nonbinary, you HAVE TO use they pronouns” this is not true & it’s a good time to remind everyone that English isn’t the only language. lots of languages don’t have gendered or common gender neutral pronouns.

some people use several sets of pronouns or are indifferent to what pronouns you use for them. you can just switch it up if that’s the case! some people also have a pronoun they prefer, but are fine with other pronouns as well.

some people don’t use any pronouns & that’s okay too. in that case you can just use their name or avoid sentences that directly gender them. it can be a bit complicated at first, but you’ll get there with practice.

the general rule when it comes to pronouns is just: learn people’s pronouns, correct yourself when you make mistakes, just be respectful! Happy #PronounsDay