28 Jan The Joy of Proper Pronouns
Indulge in the Joy of Proper Using Your Proper Pronouns
Wasn’t it an amazingly uplifting moment when Elliott Page said, “I can’t describe how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self.”? Elliot Page then publically identified as a transgender man who uses the pronouns he/they.
Their post accomplished some very important communication. First, when Page identified as a trans man, they tied that reveal to the joy and euphoria of experiencing self-love through living authentically. Many of us are, no matter who we are, have experienced the pain the surrounding culture causes when trying to mandate arbitrary standards that don’t fit our authentic selves. The farther outside our identity falls from arbitrary cultural standards, the more pain and anxiety we may feel at expressing our authenticity in everyday life. But Elliot Page reminded us that the transformative experience of pursuing authenticity contains great joy.
Elliot Page also tied sharing their authentic self with their preferred pronouns, he/they. This is also a reminder that using your preferred pronouns is another opportunity to touch joy. Sharing your pronouns gives others the opportunity to recognize the true you. One of the euphoric touchpoints for the transgender, nonbinary, gender queer gender variant, and gender nonconforming communities is when their gender is correctly recognized in public by others. Joey Soloway also wrote eloquently about the joy of authentic pronouns and names following Elliot Page’s announcement in an article for The Hollywood Reporter titled “Joey Soloway on Pronouns, Deadnaming and the Joy of Elliot Page: We’re Going to Be Here“
Pronouns can and should be a source of visibility and joy. Correct use of pronouns is a beautiful opportunity for visibility, self-affirmation, affirmation of others and a chance to start and build community. Pronouns, can, however, be a source of anxiety as people wonder how they should inquire about pronouns and whether they will use pronouns correctly. The fear of embarrassment often makes pronoun sharing an awkward interaction that can detract from the joy of authenticity and community building.
That’s why at B.UR.SLF, we love the idea of proactively sharing your pronouns. Whether you are trans, cis, nonbinary, gender variant or gender nonconforming, proactively sharing your pronouns creates visibility and space for gender diversity. Proactively sharing your pronouns invites community and signals a desire to create a space where all authentic selves can expect to thrive.
Do you have additional questions about gender identity and pronouns? NPR in collaboration with GLAAD created “A Guide to Understanding Gender Identity Terms” including information on properly inquiring about and using pronouns. This guide suggests proactively offering your own pronouns during introductions, in emails, on name tags, desk signs, etc., as simple, low-key ways to invite others to offer their pronouns. This guide site other sources for information about gender identity and pronouns including. Other good resources for information on gender identity and pronouns are The National Center for Transgender Equality
To ring in a joyful new year, we launched our Pro-Noun line with stickers and patches that share pronouns using transgender flag colors. No matter who you are, you can use our Pro-Noun stickers and patches to proactively self-identify your preferred pronouns. We look to grow this line in the future by adding other flag colors and additional pronoun choices over time.
Our Pro-Noun line builds on our other products that support visibility for the transgender community and their allies. We make the B.UR.SLF breathable chest binder for transgender men in two skin tones, tan and dark brown, and two patterns, SKULLS! and MOTHS! Additionally, we have the famALLY T-shirt which can be used to self-identify as an ally who is also a born or chosen family member. This T-shirt can also be given as a recognition to that born or chosen family member who’s always been their to support you. To recognize our pansexual customers, we also have a fun smash up of a Deadpool icon with pansexual flag colors, the Panpool T-shirt.
Indulge yourself in the joy of using your proper pronouns with our Pro-Nouns line and check out all our other products at B.UR.SLF
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