Pronoun Usage

We in the Woods Hole community value diversity and want everyone to feel welcome and included.  This includes people who do not see themselves as either binary gender, and who may not feel comfortable being referred to as "he" or "she".  We would like to adopt more gender-neutral terminology, and in particular to give people a choice of the personal pronouns used for themselves.  

You can indicate your personal pronouns (he/him/his or she/her/hers or they/them/theirs or ze/hir/hirs) on name tags, or in your email signature.  If everyone does this (even those who feel their pronouns are obvious), it will send a powerful message of inclusivity and affirmation.  Please keep an eye out when introducing someone to try to use their proper pronouns.

If you'd like to learn more about how we can all be more considerate in our use of pronouns, checkout the following sites:

• https://www.colorado.edu/gsc/resources/pronouns-101
• https://www.mypronouns.org/
• http://titleix.mit.edu/pronouns
• https://www.them.us/story/gender-neutral-pronouns-101-they-them-xe-xem?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=them&utm_mailing=THEM_Weekly_052720&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=email&bxid=5bd67d5624c17c104802a91a&cndid=49158637&esrc=&utm_term=THEM_Daily

If the use of they-series pronouns is new to you and you're puzzled, here are some examples:

“I’d like you to meet Sam, she has a poster this afternoon”   becomes “I’d like you to meet Sam, they have a poster this afternoon”.

"Alex left his keys at my place last night." becomes "Alex left their keys at my place last night.".

It may feel odd to start with, but it becomes easier.

 

Also, when leading a meeting, please try to be cognizant of using gender neutral terminology, for example saying "welcome everyone" rather than "welcome ladies and gentlemen", or saying "the person at the back" rather than "the man at the back".