He. Him. She. Her. Them. They. A big deal is constantly being made over these little words. In this week’s SFGN, online now and on stands tomorrow, my colleague Denise Royal looks at the problems people have with pronouns, and an initiative to get ‘em right. The forum, “My Pronouns Are…” will be held January 20 at the Victory Black Box Theater at 1409 North West Sistrunk Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale.
Pronouns aren’t something most people will ever have to think about. But being mis-gendered is a gut punch day after day, multiple times a day. Some people do it viciously. Many people, including myself, do it accidentally, but we’re trying to learn.
The event is being put on by Ujima Men’s Collective Brothas Project. Ujima’s Executive Director Lorenzo Robertson told SFGN, “I feel the use of pronouns is so misunderstood because we have been taught a binary existence and experience. We now live in an environment where many people are understanding they do not have to ascribe to the binary paradigm of the past. We have the options and opportunities to discover and explore other ways to express who we are as a person regardless of their gender.”
