Pronouns are one of the first ways that small children are taught to gender themselves and others. As a child grows within the womb, they are introduced to our language and how we communicate in our world, including how they are spoken about. At first glance this can seem simple and straightforward. But if we want to understand what we’re actually teaching our kids, we have to take a closer look at our language. Language is a cultural carrier. It evolves through multiple layers of our larger history, and ultimately speaks for those who control that history. Sometimes what language conveys cult ..read more

In PART 1 OF THIS SERIES, I explored how pronouns are one of the first ways children gender themselves and others. From an early age, many LGBTQI2S+ people understand the power of language and the impact it can have. This is why in my gender work, the Pronoun Circle is at the center of the Gender Wheel, and why addressing language acquisition is Level One of the Curriculum. In order to continue fully addressing gender in our current culture, we must establish more and more respectful and inclusive ways of speaking to one another. This means more than saying “the right thing.” It means becom ..read more

An example of why it’s so important to understand the power of language and how we use it, especially in books for children. For context, see the previous two posts, Part 1 and Part 2. Prior to this blog series on language acquisition and gender, I haven’t written a blog for a whole year. The last one was titled My Gender Work Was Stolen in the Children’s Book Industry. In it I primarily focused on the facts related to two books: one was a workbook that consciously lifted my gender work, and another was a children’s book that co-opted and distorted my Gender Wheel. Matthew and I recently saw ..read more