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  • Writer's picturesydney khoo
    • Nov 4, 2022
    • 1 min read

Printable Pamphlet: An Introduction to They/Them Pronouns

On the heels of this year's International Pronoun Day, I've put together a free printable resource, that I'm hoping some will find helpful. It's specifically designed to be a pamphlet, printed out and tri-folded.


Whether you're an ally hoping to get better at using they/them pronouns, or you're someone who uses they/them pronouns and are tired of having to explain how it all works, you're welcome to share this.


Three panel brochure. Right to left: Panel 1) Three speech bubbles that read SHE HE THEY. Title: How to use they/them: an introduction to using they/them pronouns. Panel 2) How to be a helpful ally. It can be scary for those of us who use they/them pronouns to assert our pronouns, as we're not sure how we will be received. Here are some things you can do to help us feel more comfortable: Introduce yourself with your pronouns. Wear a pronoun badge or sticker on your clothes. Add your pronouns to your online name, bio, and email signature. An illustration of a person with a speech bubble: "NICE TO MEET YOU. I'M LESLIE. MY PRONOUNS ARE SHE/HER." Once you're confident using they/them pronouns, go forth and teach a friend or two, so that we don't need to. A sticker that says "HELLO my pronouns are: they/them". @SYDNEYKHOO. Panel 3) PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. The best way to get good at using they/them pronouns is through practice. Read stories with people who use they/them pronouns, or use an online resource such as practicewithpronouns.com. Then begin practicing by writing out sentences referring to people who use they/them pronouns. Two speech bubbles that read: "HAVE YOU MET TAYLOR? THEY RUN A YOUTH GROUP." and "SAM IS GOING TO THE SUPERMARKET LATER. CAN YOU ASK THEM PICK UP SOME MILK?". When you're ready to practice aloud, converse with a friend and use they/them for strangers whose pronouns you don't know. "THE BARISTA WAS SO NICE. THEY MADE MY COFFEE JUST HOW I LIKE IT." Making a mistake is inevitable. If you accidentally use the wrong pronouns for someone, correct yourself by repeating the sentence with the correct pronoun.

Three panel brochure. Left to right: 1) WHAT ARE GENDERED PRONOUNS? Gendered pronouns are pronouns that are typically used by people who identify as female or male. Women tend to use the pronouns she and her, and men tend to use the pronouns he and his. WHAT ARE GENDER-NEUTRAL PRONOUNS? Gender-neutral pronouns are pronouns that don't imply gender. They and them are common gender- neutral pronouns, though others do exist. Panel 2) they/them PLURAL VS. SINGULAR While "they" and "them" can be used to refer to a group of people, it can also be used to refer to a single person. Two characters with speech bubbles reading: "SOMEONE'S LEFT THEIR WALLET BEHIND." "I'M SURE THEY'LL COME BACK FOR IT." "They" has been used as a singular plural in a multitude of literature, dating all the way back to the 14th Century. Notable authors in history such as Emily Dickinson and William Shakespeare have used the singular pronoun "they". Panel 3) HOW TO USE THEY/THEM You can use "they" in place of "she" or "he", and similarly, "them" in place of "her" or "him". The only difference is, when using they/them in the singular, use verbs just as you would if you were using it in the plural. ALEX IS GOING SHOPPING. HE IS GOING BY HIMSELF TO FIND A NEW BLENDER. SHANNON IS GOING SHOPPING. THEY ARE GOING BY THEMSELF* TO FIND A NEW BLENDER. *"themselves" would also be grammatically correct. WHEN TO USE THEY/THEM There are two situations where you may use they/them pronouns for a person: 1 When you don't know someone's pronouns. 2 When someone's pronouns are they/them. While many nonbinary people use they/them pronouns, not all of them do. Just like how you can't know someone's name by looking at them, you can't know someone's gender identity or pronouns by looking at them. You'll need to ask to find out what someone's pronouns are.

Here's the pamphlet as a high-quality pdf:

they them pamphlet
.pdf
Download PDF • 64KB

If you do end up using this, feel free to tag me @sydneykhoo on Twitter and/or Instagram! I'd love to be credited, but it's not mandatory; all I ask is you don't edit or remove my watermark from the original pamphlet.


Flatlay photo of the above images printed as a pamphlet and folded into thirds.

 

Edit 05/11/2022 9:30AM: Text in pdf and images edited for typos/punctuation errors.

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