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Marcus Pavilonis
10/4/2018
A person’s pronouns are a choice — they choose what pronouns to use and how to use them, delfin bautista said.
bautista, the director of the LGBT Center, said pronouns like ze, hu, they or per are starting to be used more widely as an alternative for people who do not exclusively identify as either, or both, he or she.
“Ultimately, we know that names have power,” bautista, who uses they/them pronouns and the lowercase spelling of their name, said. “We also know that pronouns have power, and it’s being able to refer to someone that reflects how they identify. It’s the nice thing to do on a basic level, but it also sends an affirmation to that person that who they are is valid.”
Like society, bautista said language also evolves. They said both can evolve together, but right now, language has not caught up with society yet, specifically with the use of pronouns.
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“Sometimes society evolves faster than language, sometimes language evolves faster than society and so I think that’s what we’re living right now,” bautista said. “We are starting to understand that gender and sexuality are very complicated identities that people hold.”
Joseph Metcalf, a junior studying math education, teaches some of the SafeZone programs on campus and said he will automatically use they/them pronouns until he knows someone’s pronouns for sure.
“I know from my friends who are part of the transgender community and part of the nonbinary community that there is an understanding that not everyone is going to get it right the first time,” Metcalf said. “Maybe not even the 50th time, but as long as they are trying or remembering then at least most people will understand.”
They/them used as singular pronouns have become a more typical use in society. Other pronouns that can be used are per, which is short for person; hu, which is short for human; hir, ze and many more.
“Some pronouns were created for specific communities,” bautista said. “Hir and ze, often get associated with the genderqueer community. But with the use of they/them becoming much more common, some of the other pronouns are falling out of common use.”
Mackenzie Yeauger said she believes pronouns are important because they provide a validity to the person by having their correct pronouns.
“It’s so important to an individual because that’s who we are,” Yeauger, a junior studying medicine, said. “I think the way that we are taught pronouns now days has been misguided due to the fact that it’s been deeply rooted in society for so long.”
bautista said people choose their pronouns based on what they feel is right. They said it is like a click inside of someone, but they also know that someone can change their pronouns over time.
“I think we’re living in this linguistic revolution that is confusing for all of us, both those who are advocates for this conversation, as well as folks who are new to the conversation,” bautista said.
Destiniee Jaram said she believes pronouns relate to a person’s identity.
“I think as a cis person, I don’t have to think about pronouns a lot, and I don’t have to think about how it affects me,” Jaram, a sophomore studying journalism, said. “They don’t get the privilege to be called what they should be called all the time.”
In new spaces, Jaram said she sometimes will introduce herself and her pronouns to show she is a safe space and an ally.
“I don’t think the conversation should be ‘preferred pronouns,’ I think it should just be ‘pronouns’ because putting ‘preferred’ in it takes away the validity of it,” Jaram said. “It’s not a preference.”
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