“ has pronouns on the sign with their name that sits on their desk, that is tremendously significant to me, as I have to offer information about myself to that person in order to receive health care.” According to a study by Trans PULSE Canada, 45 percent of trans people reported having one or more unmet healthcare needs in 2019, and 12 percent had avoided going to the emergency room, despite needing care, because of their identity. It also shows gender-marginalized people that you are an ally, says Airton. Robinson is a Two-Spirit person from Eski’kewaq, and a member of Lennox Island First Nation, whose pronouns are she/her. “It can be a relatively risk-free way for cisgender people to show they’re aware of the importance of pronouns, to remind their cis peers that they should be thinking about how people choose to be referred to,” says Margaret Robinson, an assistant professor at Dalhousie University.
Why should cisgender people specify their pronouns? “The thing that has changed in about the past 10 years is shifting from using ‘they are’ to refer to one person who you don’t know… to using it for someone you do know because their gender is not man or woman,” says Airton.
In the English language, we’ve used they/them as singular pronouns to refer to someone whose gender is unknown for hundreds of years. Airton is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. They/them are the most commonly used gender-neutral pronouns, says Lee Airton, an assistant professor at Queen’s University and author of the book Gender: Your Guide. In 2019, the Merriam-Webster dictionary announced its word of the year to be the non-binary pronoun “they,” for people who do not identify exclusively as a man or a woman.
Here’s why many people are choosing to do so publicly. If you are cisgender (someone who identifies with your gender assigned at birth), one of the ways to be an ally to LGBTQ+ people is by stating your pronouns. This has sparked a larger conversation around respecting trans identities, specifically when people use multiple pronouns.
Recently we saw Canadian actor Elliot Page come out as trans, and specify that his pronouns are both he and they. Still, gender marginalized people often have to specify their pronouns-whether it’s he, she, they, etc.- to avoid being misgendered. In 2017, the federal government passed Bill C-16, adding gender identity and gender expression to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination. In recent years we’ve seen growing acceptance for people outside the gender binary.
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