When I first stepped foot on Jefferson’s campus during orientation, I wasn’t familiar with they/them pronouns. However, I quickly had several answers to my questions after a panel where I learned about the term non-binary.
A non-binary person is someone who doesn’t identify as either male or female. Instead of gender labeling them with he/him/his or she/her/hers pronouns, they go by the pronouns they/them/theirs. There can be many questions that arise with gender and sexuality. If you look up a picture of the gender unicorn, it will concisely explain the different between the two.
I have two lovely people in my life that go by they/them pronouns. I’m not going to lie, when they first came into my life I would sometimes mess up and use incorrect pronouns. It took consciousness and people brave enough to correct me in order for me to learn and make a normal part of my vocabulary.
At the end of the day, it’s not about how you or I feel about the use of they/them pronouns. It’s about respecting that person’s right to express who they are and accepting them for that. It may be hard at first, but it’s okay if you mess up…correct yourself and if you hear someone else use incorrect pronouns for someone, politely correct them and move forward!