A custom intended to affirm gender minorities, sharing pronouns is only partially embedded in Western culture, exacerbated by an edict on January 31, 2025 that forced federal employees in the United States to remove it from signature blocks, among numerous anti-LGBTQ bills proposed in the country. Conversations may begin with "Hello! My name is X, and I go by subject pronoun/object pronoun!" Along with signaling inclusiveness to gender minorities, it intends to mitigate misgendering.
Effects
Within politeness theory, misgendering "loses face"—pronoun rounds help both parties "save face." The respondent saves face by not embarrassing themselves over misusing pronouns. Also, the speaker saves face because their pronouns are cared for. Cisgender people who share pronouns may normalize the practice for transgender and genderqueer individuals to do the same. It could decenter transphobia from a cisnormative society, which is where two genders are considered the "norm." The practice is tied to respect and its various manifestations; a portion of Western people consider it normative.
LGBTQ people still discovering themselves might not have defined pronouns. Sharing those may coax them to confront that part of themselves. Some may also fear being outed through pronoun sharing, which may be the only way to avoid the brunt of misgendering. Others may find pronoun rounds meddling, awkward, or otherwise intrusive at the start of a conversation.
The practice can sometimes be surface-level instead of genuine allyship, virtue signaling among hypocrites trying to save face for themselves. Transgender employees have simpler perceived intentions when sharing pronouns. Cisgender employees who share pronouns under an established norm will be seen as less of an ally, yet vice versa if they are the only ones to do so. Workplace managers will generally be seen as more of an ally if they practice it. The most effective pronoun sharing in the workplace is effortless for participants—this is why lists with "prefer not to say" options are preferred over simple rounds. Rejecters of the practice see it as an affront to their own face, disliking the effort it brings and deriding it as "woke" or "too political."
