October 21, 2020

During Pride 2020, Alex Lewack was honored as Westchester Pride's Homecoming Queer. This year we offered Alex the opportunity to create a platform and they chose Pronoun Inclusion. It's an important message, one designed to create understanding and awareness through the use of pronouns. As part of their platform, a seasonal blog column, "Pronouns With Alex" was created that addresses issues around the usage of pronouns.  This column's inaugural publication also coincides with International Pronouns Day.   

Dear "Miss Obvious,"
You can't always tell what someone's pronouns are just by looking at them. Even if it's obvious, it's still important to share your pronouns because it makes those who may not have the ability to come out and share their pronouns feel seen. If you use someone's incorrect pronouns, it can be offensive and it could spiral out to become a bigger issue. When you use correct pronouns, it's a simple way of showing support to the people you are around. Pronouns are so important to use, even for cisgender people. If a cisgender person uses pronouns, it normalizes them. -Alex (they/them)

Dear "Concerned Friend,"

It's good that you saw your mistake and acknowledged it. Perhaps in the future, if it happens again, simply apologize once and work hard to remember the next time. Something that might be helpful and a sweet gesture is buying them a pronoun pin with their pronouns on it. This can help you in the future and anyone else who might encounter them. -Alex (they/them)

Do you have a question for Alex?  Send it to [email protected] with the subject line "Pronouns With Alex" and we'll be sure to address it in the next column.