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A US university has created gender pronoun badges for staff and students as part of a marketing campaign aimed at making the institution more welcoming.

The University of Kansas library system created three badges ¨C reading ¡°he, him, his¡±, ¡°she, her, hers¡± and ¡°they, them, theirs¡± ¨C for interested staff and students as part of an inclusivity campaign called ¡°You Belong Here¡±. Each badge includes the statement ¡°We Belong Here¡±.

According to local newspaper , a sign at the university¡¯s libraries states: ¡°Because gender is, itself, fluid and up to the individual, each person has the right to identify their own pronouns, and we encourage you to ask before assuming someone¡¯s gender. Pronouns matter! Misgendering someone can have lasting consequences, and using the incorrect pronoun can be hurtful, disrespectful, and invalidate someone¡¯s identity.¡±

Last year, the University of Toronto issued a warning about speech or acts that ¡°silence or demean individuals or groups¡± after one of its professors criticised a Canadian government bill proposing to outlaw harassment and discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression.

Jordan Peterson, professor of psychology at Toronto, who made two hour-long YouTube lectures objecting to the legislation and criticising the university¡¯s policy on ¡°political correctness¡±, said: ¡°I don¡¯t recognise another person¡¯s right to determine what pronouns I use to address them. I won¡¯t do it.¡±

ellie.bothwell@tesglobal.com