L.K. Langley (left) and Gabby Rigby (right) co-facilitate the LGBTQ+ Western’s lunch and learn event for International Pronouns Day.
Words and Pictures by Ella Banken
The first ever International Pronouns Day was celebrated on Wednesday, Oct. 17. LGBTQ+ Western hosted a lunch workshop to discuss the importance of sharing and respecting pronouns.
LGBTQ+ Western is a newly founded office directed by L.K. Langley, the LGBTQ+ Director who was hired last July.
The goal of the workshop was to help faculty, staff and students build an understanding of the meaning that pronouns hold. Langley hopes that events like this will help in creating a more welcoming community for transgender folks.
Gabby Rigby, a Consultation and Sexual Assault Services (CASAS) peer health educator, co-facilitated the workshop. Rigby and Langley led the group in activities that focused on sharing pronouns with others and how to correct people when they use incorrect pronouns.
At the workshop, attendees were invited to wear stickers that showed what pronouns they use.
“I look forward to offering more opportunities for people to learn about the importance of taking deliberate action to create welcoming environments for LGBTQ+ people, including additional workshops about pronouns,” Langley said in an email,
According to the International Pronouns Day website, the campaign strives to make pronoun-sharing a commonplace practice. They encouraged people to participate by hosting events or activities on a local level that addressed the topic.
