Gender-Neutral Pronouns and Language

Using gender-neutral pronouns and language was a hot topic of discussion for this week. In honor of International Pronouns Day, an article highlighted the importance of respecting pronouns, specifically gender neutral ones. The article continued to list different types of gender-neutral pronouns outside of they/them, such as fae/faer/faers, Xe/xem/xyers, ze/hir/hirs, and ve/ver/vis.  One article highlighted a progressive advent resource with the online description stating, “This is a resource created for those who follow Jesus and who believe that Black Lives Matter and that Jesus was brown, who are queer or queer affirming, who value inclusive and gender neutral language, who expect sound theology, who value creative expressions of faith and faithful expressions of artistry, and who yearn to draw near to the holy.”

Council members in Middleboro, Massachusetts and Stephenson, Wisconsin have voted to change their city’ charters to contain gender-neutral language. Finance Committee Chair Paula Fay in Middleboro stated, “Changing the name of the Board of Selectmen to Select Board is a small and simple act. As society evolves, language evolves. Titles have evolved. This isn’t the boys club anymore. It’s not just male roles being occasionally filled in by women.”