Now, I’m known for my naïveté. Nothing wrong with that of course, and it can be refreshing in this jaded world, but it can also be embarrassing.
I’m a teacher and I work with dyslexic students. They are very bright, creative souls who just have some trouble learning to read.
Anyway, one day my student, Josephine, gave me a coffee mug for teacher appreciation week. It was a cute, little mug that had some colorful Flair pens. Teachers love pens and Amazon cards, by the way. If you ever need a gift idea. We have plenty of coffee mugs, but that’s okay.
This mug was cream-colored and had pastel lettering:
ASK ME
ABOUT MY
PRONOUNS
“Oh, Josephine!” I gushed. “This is just perfect for me. I’m such a grammar nazi. You know, the other day, I was telling my daughter that she was taking ten years off my life by using incorrect grammar.”
She smiled. I smiled. I took a picture and put it on Facebook. Nothing really happens in life until you post it on social media, right?
Soon, I started getting feedback on my post. I usually don’t get much feedback at all, so this was unusual.
My post said “Look what my student got me! I just love grammar!” And my friend, Lonnie, jumped on and said, “Uh, Susan, I don’t think that’s what that means.”
Stunned silence
The wheels were turning. It means…? Oh my goodness! The gender thing! How could I miss that?
Then we started posting back and forth laughing about it all until my dear friend Anne posted: “Well, my daughter is nonbinary and I appreciate it when people are kind enough to use her pronouns.”
Ouch.
I assured her that we were laughing more at my cluelessness than about gender issues. Story of my life.
I was starting at a new school when this happened and I told my AP about this story and said, “This is all you need to know about me, right here.” So funny.
So, go ahead — ask me about my pronouns! No, really, ask me. They’re she/her/dingy girl.
What Susan Said 