Students’ pronoun police

Freshers can show what they’d like to be called with He, She or They badges

NEW students are being given badges that inform others of whether they like to be known as ‘ he’, ‘she’ or ‘they’.

The pronoun badges will help avoid what is called ‘misgendering’ of youngsters who identify as non-binary and transgender, say officials.

Kai O’Doherty, vice-president for welfare at Edinburgh students’ union, said the badges would be available throughout ‘welcome week’ before the start of term.

The union also published a guide that hammers home the importance of referring to others by the correct pronoun.

The document states: ‘Many people assume that the pronouns they should use for an individual are obvious: people who look like men should be referred to using he/him, and people who look like women should be referred to as she/her.’

It argues these assumptions ‘can be frustrating and harmful’ for transgender and non-binary students, who may have the appearance of one gender but identify with another or none. ‘If we choose to make assumptions about which pronouns are correct, we risk misgendering people and/or singling out trans people who want to clarify their pronouns,’ it says.

Saying you ‘don’t care’ which pronoun is used is offensive, the guide maintains, because it sug- gests transgender students are ‘silly for requesting that their pronouns be respected’.

The guide provides examples of ways to share pronouns, including adding them to email signatures. It says this can be done by adding a line under your name which reads: ‘My pronouns are...’ It goes on to suggest that meetings should start by allowing everyone to ‘state their pronouns’. And introductions such as ‘Welcome ladies and gentlemen’ are, apparently, ‘gendered’ and should be avoided.

The Campaign for Real Education described the policy as ‘remarkably silly’.