LGBTeach

PGP stands for 'personal gender pronoun', not preferred gender pronoun. A person's pronouns are a part of who they are, and are not 'prefered' but necessary. Pronouns are how other people refer to us when they don't use our name.

It is important to know people's pronouns because you cannot always tell what their pronouns are by looking at them. Respecting students and their identities means calling them by the right pronouns. Refusing to use the right pronouns for a student and misgendering them is incredibly harmful to the student and their ability to learn.

Some examples of common pronouns are she, he, and them! However, there are any many more! Check out the list below the FAQ box for examples. See the terminology page to learn what pronoun substitues you should avoid.

The best way to ask for pronouns is to provide your own first. Introduce yourself with your pronouns when you meet new people. Put your pronouns in the tagline of your emails. Write them up on the white board next to your name on the first day of class. If you do an icebreaker, you can have students introduce themselves with their name and their pronouns or write their pronouns on get to know me sheets at the beginning of the year. If students want certain pronouns used between the two of you privately, but not in front of the class or parents, let students know you're accomodating to that and they can approach you privately.

However, before you introduce pronouns into your class, you should talk about what pronouns are and why they're important to use. Check out the lesson plan at the bottom of this page for help!

Making mistakes is universal. It happens to everyone. If you use the wrong pronouns the best thing to do is to apologize, correct yourself and move on. Making a big deal out of it or going on about how sorry you are might just make the student uncomfortable. Here's an example of a teacher correcting themselves and moving on.

"Alright class, it's Alex's turn for show and tell. She, excuse me, they brought in a scrapbook. I apologize, Alex. Why don't you tell us about your show and tell item?"

You might also want to ask students who else they are out to, and if they would like you to correct other students and staff if you hear them using the wrong pronouns.