Coming Out Day 2023 – Do you already share your pronouns?
October 11 is Coming Out Day, a day to support and celebrate LHBTQIA+ persons. A day dedicated to ‘being yourself’ and the importance of being able to freely do so in our campus community. This year, too, the Umbrella Association raised the Progress flag on behalf of the community.
Vice-Rector Magnificus Jantine Schuit: “I want to thank students Viara, Camilla and Caro of the Umbrella Association for raising the Progress flag today. It is a fine and visible action in raising awareness about ‘Coming Out’, which can still be a hard and scary or even unsafe decision to make. Today we also emphasize that Tilburg University wants to be a socially safe campus community, based on openness, integrity, trust, and transparency. To that end, we as a community need to continue the dialogue – and this day is certainly also an invitation to do so.”
Out or not
Viara and Caro on behalf of the Umbrella Association: “By raising the Progress flag, we show that this is a safe space for people to be themselves and to freely show the colors of their rainbow. The flag signals that we are normal and that queerness can be found everywhere. You do not need to be out in order to be queer, so the flag acknowledges any queer person, out or otherwise."
As an Umbrella Association, we are here to create a safe space for anyone who is part of the LGBTQIA+ community. One of our main goals is to support those who don’t have the safe space around them to express themselves freely and fully. By raising awareness about the possible issues such as Coming Out, we want to make our community here at Tilburg University more aware and supportive.”
Support LHBTQIA+ people by sharing your pronouns
You too can take action to support the LHBTQIA+ community and to increase the social safety at our university. For instance, share your pronouns. Personal pronouns are the words that you use to refer to a person. They used to be mainly he/him/his and she/her. There are also gender-neutral pronouns, for instance, they/them/their. Because you cannot assume what pronouns a person uses just by looking at them, it will help if you actively share yours. For instance, put them between brackets behind your name in your e-mail signature. Or state them in your LinkedIn profile.
How does sharing your pronouns help?
Sharing your personal pronouns can help the LHBTQIA+ community in different ways:
- You increase the visibility of people with diverse gender identities and acknowledge and normalize the existence of these identities.
- By showing solidarity, you contribute to a more inclusive society and you help others feel supported and represented.
- You reduce the psychological threshold for discussing gender identity, contributing to a more empathetic environment.
- There is less risk of misgendering persons who do not identify with the traditional male/female reference words. Misgendering can feel disrespectful and can even be harmful for that person.