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When communicating with the Benach Collopy team, you may notice that we include our pronouns next to our names in any correspondence, e.g., Ava Benach (she/her). As a way of celebrating Pride this year, and remembering its significance and continued relevance, we wanted to explain why we include this.

Pronouns are nothing new, they are used daily and refer to people, places, and things. One of the major reasons that we introduce our pronouns is so that you best know how to refer to us! That way there is no confusion regarding how a person wishes to be referred to in communication. We also hope that seeing our pronouns in email signatures makes you feel more confident and empowered to share your pronouns. This way, we can refer to you in the way that makes you feel the most confident and affirmed. Further, the incorporation of pronouns is meant to send a message to our clients that Benach Collopy is an accepting environment, tolerant of people of all gender expressions, and a place that welcomes and celebrates the LGBTQ+ community every day. In sending this message, we hope to impart to our LGBTQ+ clients that Benach Collopy will treat them with empathy and understanding and advocate for them from this sense of understanding. A final reason has to do with normalization. The utilization of pronouns next to a person’s name began with transgender individuals using them in order to be correctly gendered and identified in online spaces. By making it that not only the transgender individuals within our staff use pronouns in their email signatures, we seek to contribute to a sense of normalization regarding the use of pronouns for everyone, as well as a sense of protection for transgender individuals.

There has been rising hate towards the transgender community and broader LGBTQ+ community in America demonstrated through attacks on gender affirming care and drag artistry. Benach Collopy fights against that and the inclusion of our pronouns next to our names is a small, yet exceedingly meaningful, step in that fight. It is our hope that this helps you understand why we choose to include pronouns in our online correspondence, and to inspire you to do the same if possible. This Pride Month, and every month, Benach Collopy is a safe space built on love and celebration of one’s identity and honors any person’s pronouns, gender expression, and sexual orientation, no matter what.

** Alex Benach (he/she/their) is a 2024 graduate of School Without Walls High School who will be interning with Benach Collopy this summer.  Alex will attend Pomona College in the Fall.

Pronouns