The de/politicization of pronouns

Abstract

Accommodating non-binary transgender people, many of whom use gender-neutral pronouns, poses a unique challenge to schools and universities, even in contexts with legal protections for transgender rights. This article explores a recent Canadian controversy around gender-neutral pronouns, and assembles a theoretical framework to analyze the argument that legal protection for transgender peoples’ pronouns poses a threat to ‘free speech.’ The framework bridges queer theory, affect theory and Deleuzo-Guattarian assemblage theory to propose a threshold between ‘extra’ and ‘excessive’ effort to accommodate social difference in everyday life. Free speech objections produce some peoples’ pronouns as requiring ‘excessive’ effort. This extra/excessive framework was exemplified by a recent Canadian social media campaign that sought to produce transgender peoples’ pronouns as requiring merely ‘extra’ effort, which entails de-politicizing pronouns. Community responses to the campaign carry significant implications for gender-expansive educational policy and practice.