Oxford University’s Union denies encouraging students to use gender-neutral pronoun

Earlier this week we reported that Oxford University’s student union was encouraging students to use gender-neutral pronouns.

According to several reports, a leaflet by the union was being circulated that encouraged students to use ‘ze’ instead of ‘she’ or ‘he’.

However, it seems there’s been a mixup as the union released a statement on their website claiming they never encouraged students to use the pronouns.

According to the Guardian, the statement read, “As far as we’re aware, the information which has been published is incorrect.”

“We have not produced a leaflet implying that all students must use ‘ze’ pronouns to refer to others, or indeed themselves.”

“We would also like to clearly state that we would never tell anyone to use ‘ze’ pronouns instead of ‘he’ or ‘she’ if ‘he’ or ‘she’ is the pronoun someone wishes to use.”

The statement adds, “That would be misgendering and would likely have the biggest impact on individuals who may already be struggling to get people to use ‘he’ or ‘she’ for them. It would be totally counterproductive.”

The union added that their policy has been to encourage students to declare their chosen pronoun when they speak at meetings.

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