In her article “I am the parent of a non-binary child,” Susan Knoppow describes how her child Miriam decided in high school that she was non-binary (qua gender). In other words, “she” was no longer conforming to the male/female he/she gender binary. At this point, Miriam requested that when people refer to Miriam with third-person pronouns, they […]
gender politics
We especially welcome applications from women and visible minorities
When I was looking for a teaching position in the early 2000s I repeatedly encountered a variant of this statement in countless job descriptions: We especially welcome applications from women and visible minorities. That was a bit discouraging, as you can imagine. To be sure, I understood the reasoning: society in general, and academic institutions […]
Gender-neutral Pronouns in Grade 5
A grade 5 teacher in Florida has requested that her students use gender neutral pronouns in the classroom. Sorry, I should have said their students. As she (sorry, I meant they) writes: “my pronouns are ‘they, them, their’ instead of ‘he, his, she, hers.’ I know it takes some practice for it to feel natural but students catch on […]
