Ottawa’s Carleton University says refusing to use one’s preferred “they/them,” “ze/zir,” “xe/xir,” and “e/em” pronouns is a violation of its human rights policy, and has an online portal to report incidents of misgendering.
On its website, Carleton says “one of the easiest ways university staff, faculty, and student leaders can make the spaces they work in feel safer for their trans and nonbinary students and peers is by learning and using their correct pronouns.”
“People often assume they know what someone’s pronouns will be based on their name, the way they dress, or the way they look,” adds Carleton. “This assumption is harmful as it reinforces the idea that people of a certain gender have to look, dress, or act a specific way.”
Carleton says common pronouns include “She/her/hers” and “He/him/his,” as well as “They/them/theirs,” “Ze/zir/zirs,” “Ze/hir/hirs,” “Xe/xir/xirs” and “E/em/eirs.”
“Some people use multiple pronouns. In this case, you can choose any of the pronouns they’re comfortable with or switch back and forth.”
The university also recommends that people use “they/them” pronouns for everyone until they get to know people’s “correct pronouns.”
Not using one’s preferred pronouns is considered “misgendering” – which Carleton says is a violation of its human rights policy.
“If someone has told you their pronouns and you repeatedly refuse to use them, you are in violation of the university’s Human Rights Policy.”
Violating Carleton’s human rights policy can lead to disciplinary action.
“Subject to the provisions of applicable collective agreements and University Personnel Policy, sanctions that may be considered where a complaint is upheld include a letter of reprimand, modification of responsibilities, suspension with or without pay, expulsion or dismissal,” reads the Carleton’s Human Rights Policies and Procedures document. “The University may also order that one party cease to have any contact with the other party, restrict access to University facilities and/or schedule the respondent to participate in discrimination or harassment awareness training.”
Carleton says disciplinary action will depend on the following; the severity of the violation, whether the violation was intentional or unintentional, mitigating or aggravating circumstances affecting either party, whether there was an imbalance of power between the two parties, the respondent’s record at the university, and sanctions applied in similar cases.
Furthermore, a complainant can “request that appropriate remedial measures be taken to correct damage done to his or her career development, academic progress, physical or emotional health, reputation or finances.”
In addition to a strict pronoun policy, Carleton University has an online portal to report incidents of transphobia, including misgendering and “dead naming” (referring to a transgender person by their pre-transition name).
“Have you experienced transphobia at Carleton? Transphobia can take many forms, and can occur via person-to-person interactions or through administrative process containing incorrect or out-of-date information. It could look like picking up a marked assignment listing your legal name instead of your chosen name, a professor or supervisor refusing to use your pronouns, or being told you are using the wrong bathroom,” notes the university.
People can use the online portal to report transphobic incidents they’ve either experienced themselves or that they’ve witnessed.
Gender identity and gender expression were added to the Ontario Human Rights Code in 2012, giving protection to those who use genderless pronouns. Gender identity and gender expression were also added to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act in 2017 when the Trudeau Liberals introduced and passed Bill C-16.
Carleton is not the only Ontario post-secondary institution that requires students, faculty and staff to use one’s neopronouns.
McMaster University in Hamilton considers intentionally using the wrong pronouns as “harassment based on gender identity.”
Toronto’s Humber College’s Gender Diversity Policy notes that “all individuals within the College community are entitled to be referred to by the gender pronoun(s) of their choice,” and that “Intentionally addressing a trans or non-binary member of the College community by the incorrect name or pronoun is considered to be a form of anti-trans harassment and/or discrimination.”
The University of Toronto says its Policy on Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment has a definition of gender-based harassment that “includes but is not limited to engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct related to a person’s sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome.”
In 2016, University of Toronto psychology professor Dr. Jordan Peterson – who has since become a bestselling author and podcaster – garnered international attention after he said he would not be using preferred “genderless” pronouns.
In a National Post op-ed titled “The right to be politically incorrect”, Peterson said, “I will never use words I hate, like the trendy and artificially constructed words ‘zhe’ and ‘zher.’”
“These words are at the vanguard of a post-modern, radical leftist ideology that I detest, and which is, in my professional opinion, frighteningly similar to the Marxist doctrines that killed at least 100 million people in the 20th century.”
Carleton University did not return True North’s request for comment in time for publication.
