It's that time of the year; students are returning back to school, you may be interviewing and hiring new staff for your afterschool programs, all which makes it a perfect time to be sure we are creating safe spaces for everyone. This starts with how we introduce ourselves to students, co-workers and potential employees. This article explains beautifully why stating your pronouns, especially as a cisgender person (sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their birth sex) can help others to feel comfortable. from the article:
"When you do that, I feel more comfortable putting my pronouns — they/them. I feel more comfortable being visibly out as nonbinary. I feel more comfortable asking people to use the pronouns that feel most like me, that make me feel most seen and whole, instead of just resolving to be mis-gendered and mis-represented and whatever who cares anyway." Is it a regular practice at your organization to share pronouns? We've begun doing it in our interview process, and when introducing ourselves to new people. For a few people, they weren't familiar with the practice, but once we explained it to them, they really 'got it' and understood why it's an important practice.
