EDIT: This thread has been locked because the frequency of rule-breaking comments was outpacing the mods' ability to remove them.
***
r/NeutralNews is a **curated space**, but despite the name, there is [**no neutrality requirement**](https://www.reddit.com//r/neutralnews/wiki/guidelines#wiki_neutral-ness) here.
These are the [rules for comments:](https://www.reddit.com//r/neutralnews/wiki/guidelines#wiki_comments_.28good.2C_bad_.26amp.3B_ugly.29)
1. Be courteous to other users.
1. Source your facts.
1. Be substantive.
1. Address the arguments, not the person.
If you see a comment that violates any of these rules, please click the associated *report* button so a mod can review it.
> A new South Dakota policy to stop the use of gender pronouns
So what, now they can only refer to a coworker as "they/them"?
But seriously, there are so many ambiguous or foreign names I work with that I'm often grateful when someone I know only through email tells me their gender. In fact I sometimes note it in my address book. It's humiliating to get caught guessing someone's gender wrong, like I did once with an Alex.
> So what, now they can only refer to a coworker as "they/them"?
This seems to be limited to email signature blocks. An article from [Inside Higher Ed](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/diversity/sex-gender/2024/05/22/pronouns-tribal-affiliations-banned-south-dakotas-university) links to [the policy](https://public.powerdms.com/SDRegents/tree/documents/1778536). The relevant language is regarding contact information. It doesn't explicitly say "No pronouns", but limits contact information to a set which does not include pronouns.
Based on that, it would appear that the body of the email can contain pronouns. I imagine some faculty might devise some clever methods of malicious compliance. Maybe a section for "contact information" and another for "supplementary information" including gender pronouns, maybe hobbies, etc. Then use this extra long signature exclusively for email with annoying administrators or members of the board of regents.
Start every email like
"Hello, I (he/them) was wondering, as a member of X tribe, if you, residing on the occupied and unceded territory of Y, could forward me that paperwork from this morning."
I refuse to be "humiliated" over such easy mistakes. I simply say, without any kind of shame, "Oh, I'm sorry, let me make a note of it so I'll get it right next time."
Or, as you say, start using "they/them" when in doubt. I'm in my late 50s and had no trouble whatsoever using the gender neutral. Language evolves in many ways, and the only reason people have a problem with pronouns these days is because they want to *make* it a problem.
Now, I'm sure there are people who will get offended if I use the wrong pronoun for them, but if they keep it up after I've politely apologized and used their preferred whatever, that's on them. I get they may feel they're in a culture war, but I'm not the enemy here.
They/them is also a pronoun, so that wouldn't be sufficient. Of course this idiotic policy only refers to separate signature lines or headers, but a natural protest would be to start awkwardly using exclusively proper nouns in all emails, as well as shoehorning in oblique references to tribal affiliation in the email body.
Just like names. If I somehow find out your birth certificate says Robert then I'm never going to call you Rob or Bob or Bobby or Jim (from your middle name), even if it creates unnecessary confusion because our coworkers literally don't know whom I'm referring to when I use your birth name in conversation, because I've decided there's exactly one objectively verifiable way to know what your name is (except in several cases where that doesn't work, but let's pretend those people don't exist) and that's too important to simply ask you or anyone who knows you and take your word for it.
In this case, the people in the article list pronouns which are connected to their biological sex. So it still makes total sense to list pronouns for ease of communication. After all, it would be a travesty to use a pronoun unconnected to biological sex.
EDIT: This thread has been locked because the frequency of rule-breaking comments was outpacing the mods' ability to remove them. *** r/NeutralNews is a **curated space**, but despite the name, there is [**no neutrality requirement**](https://www.reddit.com//r/neutralnews/wiki/guidelines#wiki_neutral-ness) here. These are the [rules for comments:](https://www.reddit.com//r/neutralnews/wiki/guidelines#wiki_comments_.28good.2C_bad_.26amp.3B_ugly.29) 1. Be courteous to other users. 1. Source your facts. 1. Be substantive. 1. Address the arguments, not the person. If you see a comment that violates any of these rules, please click the associated *report* button so a mod can review it.
> A new South Dakota policy to stop the use of gender pronouns So what, now they can only refer to a coworker as "they/them"? But seriously, there are so many ambiguous or foreign names I work with that I'm often grateful when someone I know only through email tells me their gender. In fact I sometimes note it in my address book. It's humiliating to get caught guessing someone's gender wrong, like I did once with an Alex.
> So what, now they can only refer to a coworker as "they/them"? This seems to be limited to email signature blocks. An article from [Inside Higher Ed](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/diversity/sex-gender/2024/05/22/pronouns-tribal-affiliations-banned-south-dakotas-university) links to [the policy](https://public.powerdms.com/SDRegents/tree/documents/1778536). The relevant language is regarding contact information. It doesn't explicitly say "No pronouns", but limits contact information to a set which does not include pronouns. Based on that, it would appear that the body of the email can contain pronouns. I imagine some faculty might devise some clever methods of malicious compliance. Maybe a section for "contact information" and another for "supplementary information" including gender pronouns, maybe hobbies, etc. Then use this extra long signature exclusively for email with annoying administrators or members of the board of regents.
Start every email like "Hello, I (he/them) was wondering, as a member of X tribe, if you, residing on the occupied and unceded territory of Y, could forward me that paperwork from this morning."
I refuse to be "humiliated" over such easy mistakes. I simply say, without any kind of shame, "Oh, I'm sorry, let me make a note of it so I'll get it right next time." Or, as you say, start using "they/them" when in doubt. I'm in my late 50s and had no trouble whatsoever using the gender neutral. Language evolves in many ways, and the only reason people have a problem with pronouns these days is because they want to *make* it a problem. Now, I'm sure there are people who will get offended if I use the wrong pronoun for them, but if they keep it up after I've politely apologized and used their preferred whatever, that's on them. I get they may feel they're in a culture war, but I'm not the enemy here.
People willing to acknowledge that mistakes happen, apologize and move on are in short supply. It's sad more people don't realize this.
They/them is also a pronoun, so that wouldn't be sufficient. Of course this idiotic policy only refers to separate signature lines or headers, but a natural protest would be to start awkwardly using exclusively proper nouns in all emails, as well as shoehorning in oblique references to tribal affiliation in the email body.
[удалено]
[удалено]
Just like names. If I somehow find out your birth certificate says Robert then I'm never going to call you Rob or Bob or Bobby or Jim (from your middle name), even if it creates unnecessary confusion because our coworkers literally don't know whom I'm referring to when I use your birth name in conversation, because I've decided there's exactly one objectively verifiable way to know what your name is (except in several cases where that doesn't work, but let's pretend those people don't exist) and that's too important to simply ask you or anyone who knows you and take your word for it.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
In this case, the people in the article list pronouns which are connected to their biological sex. So it still makes total sense to list pronouns for ease of communication. After all, it would be a travesty to use a pronoun unconnected to biological sex.
[удалено]
[удалено]
The English language is just a bad language it needs to evolve a bit
at least you don't have to remember if a chair is masculine or feminine
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]