In a controversial step toward inclusiveness, the library at the University of Kansas has decided to allow employees and students to don a pin that shows their preferred gender association. Square pins with pronouns of either “him,” “her” or “them” with their pronoun counterparts is part of a First Amendment-oriented plan to ensure an environment of acceptance and validation for typically marginalized people. These pins are voluntarily given upon request and has become so popular that the buttons have already been reordered once.
While the initiative’s primarily attempting to protect student’s right to freedom of expression, there of course has been debate:
@Anxiousounce @NFlirtGamer There is no such thing as “assigned gender.” Gender is determined by DNA, like eye color is.
— Kelly J (@kellyjsox) December 30, 2016
@Gregory__Adams @powercatjeffy71 @searsmomstittys @APCentralRegion Because science has proven gender fluidity is real?
— Liger (@LigerRed) December 30, 2016
@LigerRed yes snowflake. mentally u can be whatever you want but ur physical body & dna code decides ur gender.
— AlBundy (@searsmomstittys) December 30, 2016
@APCentralRegion @AP millennial pronouns are: me, me, me
— john john (@johnsneckroad) December 29, 2016
The move is not the first of its kind, as many other universities have done similar things. At the University of Michigan, teachers allow the use of preferred pronouns on class rosters and the University of Vermont allows teachers to wear nametags and hand out business cards with their preference. Many have made progress in recent years with gender-inclusive housing programs, bathrooms, and more.
Colleges across the states, such as Vanderbilt University, Harvard, and California universities have moved toward the protection of gender non-conformity, a USA Today article from fall 2015 suggests, since students who don’t identify as strictly male or female “are more likely to fall victim to hate crime and suicide because of their identities.”