Artigenda
International Pronouns Day
When: Annually, third Wednesday of October.
The third Wednesday of October of every year is International Pronouns Day. A day that has been around since 2018 when we reflect on personal pronouns and their importance.
Don’t come up with bland comments about pronouns that can’t be used or don’t address deliberately mis-chosen pronouns. Those are the things that are out of order. That’s not acceptance or respect. That is not dignity. Acceptance, respect and dignity are what this day is about, among other things. It is also about awareness. The need for the use and especially correct use of pronouns.
Ask!
When you don’t understand it all, this doesn’t matter. Only take actions based on what you don’t understand. Those actions can be seen as hate or discrimination. If you want to understand, read up. Better yet, talk to the people involved. Ask normal questions, not in a blaming tone. Start carefully and calmly. Also, know that some people may not want to explain because this has been done so many times before and it led to unpleasant situations. Situations where those people were brought down and insulted. That’s not what you want, is it? Especially not today.
2018
The day began in 2018 with the emphatic wish of its creator that it should not, above all, be a day for companies, organisations and institutions to show how well they are doing. So let this sit. On this day, those companies, organisations and institutions should take a very critical look at whether they are doing well on this day. What can be improved, instead of a nice post on socials?
Much to improve
Er is much to improve. One thing is language. How to deal with the reference to non-binary persons? In English, this is done with they/them in most cases. In other languages, there isn’t a clear standard for this. Some have suggested, it’s time to introduce new pronounces for non-binary persons instead.
Sweden
One of the countries that went for another approach than they/them was Sweden with the introduction han and hon, as you can read in the article published by The Guardian on March 24, 2015 entitled “Sweden adds gender-neutral pronoun to dictionary.” This was a choice, because the Swedish language didn’t include the words they/them.
Are you obligated as a person to share your pronouns? Actually, you are not obliged to anything! Nobody is forcing you to do anything. You may demand that others address you in the way you want them to, such as with your first name. What does help is sharing your pronoun(s) so that people can have an idea about your gender identity. If you would rather not do this, then don’t. The choice is yours. Others cannot decide this for you. Others should not determine this for you. The truth is just different. Society just demands it. In the process, mistakes are made.
Even in the case of persons whose pronouns are known, incorrect designations are used. Sometimes this is based on a misunderstanding and sometimes it is deliberate. In the latter case, one may speak of hatred. This day also calls attention to these cases so that this too can come to an end.
