Uni swaps ‘he’ and ‘hers’ for more gender neutral ‘ze’ and ‘hirs’

They’re too ‘controversial’


A top university has banned “controversial” words like “he” and “hers” forcing people to use gender neutral pronouns – like ZE and HIRS.

Staff and students have been told to shun potentially offensive gender-specific pronouns like “he,” “she,” “him” and “her.”

Instead, they have been ordered to use gender-neutral words like “ze”, “hir”, “zir”, “xe” and “xem.”

Donna Braquet, Director of the Pride Centre at the uni, reckons the new system will not exclude any students who may be of a different gender than their appearances would show.

She said: “We should not assume someone’s gender by their appearance, nor by what is listed on a roster or in student information systems.

“Transgender people and people who do not identify within the gender binary may use a different name than their legal name and pronouns of their gender identity, rather than the pronouns of the sex they were assigned at birth.

“The name a student uses may not be the one on the official roster, and the roster name may not be the same gender as the one the student now uses.”

Zheir uni in Tennessee

Top US school the University of Tennessee also advised staff to ask students for their name and preferred pronouns, instead of calling register at the beginning of class.

For teachers unsure on how to address students, she added a helpful tips for confused professors.

She added: “If you cannot use the methods mentioned above, you can always politely ask.

“‘Oh, nice to meet you, [insert name]. What pronouns should I use?’ is a perfectly fine question to ask.”