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Pronouns

Pronouns are the words that we use to refer to a person in place of their name. Pronouns are helpful linguistic tools, but they also are meaningful tools to communicate identities and experiences.

Examples of usage:

There is no exhaustive list of pronouns, but most of us are likely already familiar with a few commonly used ones. Many people use one or a combination of the following pronouns: he, she, they, xe, ze, and more. Some people do not use any pronouns and are called by their names. Everyone has a way to be referred to – learning someone’s pronouns is essential to communicating respectfully with one another.

Pronouns are especially relevant to transgender and non-binary students, staff, and faculty, who may experience misgendering, that is, the intentional or unintentional incorrect use of pronouns to refer to them – often in their daily lives.

In order to create a campus environment where all community members can thrive, including LGBTQIA community members, we must be intentional and proactive about our pronoun usage.

UPDATE YOUR PRONOUNS ACROSS NU SYSTEMS

Other helpful tools:

Community Notice:
The inability to respect a community members pronouns at Northwestern maybe considered discrimination. If you are someone you know are experiencing persistent misgendering or other forms of gender discrimination please consider submitting a Discrimination or Harassment Report and/or a Bias Incident Report.