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One of the simplest ways to be inclusive to your peers is to use pronouns.
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One of the simplest ways to be inclusive
to your peers is to use pronouns
0:00
intentionally.
0:04
Pronouns are how we refer to other people
or talk about someone in the third person.
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You're probably already familiar with some
pronouns as most often we use he or she.
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However, there are more
pronouns than you realize.
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You don't want to assume
someone's pronouns either.
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Although we're used to using he or
him when referring to a male and she or
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her when referring to a female, these
associations are not always accurate.
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Before we profuse some common
pronouns you might come across,
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you might also see pronouns
referred to as preferred pronouns.
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I encourage you to stray
away from using that term.
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By saying preferred,
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it comes off as an option to use
the pronouns that someone requests.
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When someone shares or
corrects you about their pronouns,
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those are the ones you use.
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This chart refers to four common
pronouns someone might use.
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We have she, her, hers, and he, him,
his, which you're likely familiar with.
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Then we have they, them, theirs.
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This is a bit tricky for
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some folks to adjust to using
plural pronouns for singular nouns.
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I promise it's okay.
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The last ones are ze, zir,
zirself or ze, hir, hirself.
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Someone might use these last two
pronouns when they feel like the more
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gendered pronouns don't
capture how they identify.
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These tend to be considered more
gender non conforming pronouns.
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You can see we have
example sentences such as,
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they are speaking and the bag is theirs.
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I encourage you to pause and
try these out aloud.
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Something to know about pronouns
is that someone can identify with
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more than one set.
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If they share more than one,
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that means that you can use any of
those pronouns when referring to them.
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There are way more than the four
pronouns we covered that exist.
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If someone shares pronouns that
they use that aren't these four,
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you should use them.
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You don't need to feel pressured
to memorize all the pronouns,
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but I encourage you to explore more.
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Also, you should always ask
someone their pronouns or
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use they them pronouns until
you know their pronouns.
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Since they them pronouns
are gender neutral,
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it doesn't assume how someone identifies.
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It's always best to ask though.
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If you wanna know someone's pronouns
to avoid using the wrong one,
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just simply say something like, hey,
I'm Alex, my pronouns are they them.
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If you feel comfortable,
please share yours.
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Or, I'm sorry, I forgot your pronouns,
would you mind reminding me?
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I use they them theirs pronouns.
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I typically say, hey, I'm Michelle,
my pronouns are she her.
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If you feel comfortable,
please share yours.
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Or maybe you know someone's pronouns, but
a friend or colleague is misusing them.
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You can say, don't forget Maria uses ze,
zir, zirs pronouns.
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It's a great way to hold
one another accountable.
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Mistakes will happen,
you're going to slip up on a pronoun.
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I've used the wrong pronouns before.
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When it does happen,
I correct myself and move on.
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You don't need to dwell on it.
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What's important is fixing
the mistake you made.
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To use pronouns, you need to get
in the habit of using them and
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finding ways to implement them.
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For example,
putting them in your email signature, or
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next to your name on a Zoom call.
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Maybe when you meet someone new,
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you make sure to include your
pronouns in that introduction.
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If your team or company hasn't implemented
ways to know one another's pronouns,
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team up with human
resources to figure it out.
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By implementing pronouns and making it
a norm, you're able to advocate for
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yourself and how you'd like to be
represented, as well as your peers so
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they know you understand not
everyone identifies the same.
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That will help them feel comfortable
to show up authentically.
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