Gender oppression is not a joke, xe told zie

In an attempt to prevent oppression, a homosexual-rights group at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has developed a helpful chart with 12 acceptable pronouns.

Per, fae, ve, xe, ey may look like an eye chart at the optometrist’s office but it’s the pronoun chart listed on the website of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center at the university.

Approximately 20,000 students attend UWM, where students and faculty are being urged to respect each person’s “personal gender pronoun,” or PGP.

“Grammar is not constructed in order to make people feel good about their lives,” observes Laurie Higgins of the Illinois Family Institute. “The grammar is intended to make communication easier. This is an unworkable situation. It’s self- indulgent. It’s absurd.”

The pronoun chart was first reported by education watchdog Campus Reform, which noted the LGBTRC website claims it’s “oppressive” to fail to respect another person’s gender identity.

The oppression-fighting students at UMC may have been outdone by Weslyan University, however, which is accommodating 14 categories of students.

National Review Online noticed last year when the Connecticut university announced campus housing for self-identified “LGBTTQQFAGPBDSM” students.

If a student feels they don’t belong in one of those categories, there is also room for “people of sexually or gender dissident communities,” the NRO story explained.

Much like those “dissident communities” at WU, the Resource Center at UWM noted that it may be missing some gender pronouns, too. The 12 pronouns are not an “exhaustive list” so it’s a good idea to ask people, when you meet them, what pronoun they prefer to use.

It’s also “inappropriate” to apologize too much for using the wrong pronoun, which can further embarrass a misgendered person, the website explained.

It was unclear from the website if that causes oppression or just hurt feelings, or both.

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