Spectrum supports zir’s spectrum
WBHS Spectrum represents all genders in publication
Today, on the day West Bloomfield High School (WBHS) honors the National Day of Silence, we, the Spectrum staff, share a new policy designed to ensure that all of our community feels heard, rather than silenced when they are referenced in our publication. In an effort to not make assumptions, and better serve our LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) interviewees, Spectrum reporters will now ask all interviewees what gender pronouns they want used in referencing them. Interviewees may choose traditional male pronouns (he, him), traditional female pronouns (she, her) or gender neutral pronouns (ze, zir).
We, at Spectrum, recognize that gender identity does not always match our assumptions based on visuals cues, that gender is fluid (and thus we will ask each time we interview someone in case their preferred gender pronoun has changed) and that not everyone exists within the binary paradigm of identifying as simply “male” or “female.” As the staff at the Daily Lobo of the University of New Mexico wrote in their editorial of April 09, 2015 introducing a similar policy, “Gender is a difficult topic to tackle in journalism. It is not something people always wear on the outside; it’s about how they feel on the inside.” Like the Daily Lobo, we, too, reference nlgja.org – a resource for LGBT journalists and for writing about LGBT persons—as a guide regarding terminology to best represent individuals of all genders and orientations.
While using they/them as gender neutral singular pronouns is an option, that becomes very confusing in a news story while referencing many different individuals and groups. Therefore, we have decided to use the non-gender-specific pronoun “ze,” and the possessive, “zir” for anyone who chooses this representation. If we are unable to ask an individual regarding their preferred personal pronouns, we will use the gender-neutral options.
Why are gender preferred pronouns and offering gender neutral pronouns as an option important? We refer you to Carleton College’s explanation of this found at https://apps.carleton.edu/student/orgs/saga/pronouns/ Carleton uses the pronouns “ze” and “hir” while we choose “ze” and “zir,” however the information is still applicable. Please check out this page to understand why offering non gender specific pronouns is important, read the answers to frequently asked questions and even find a table (copied below) giving examples of how to use gendered and gender neutral pronouns.
Spectrum chooses today, the day we honor the National Day of Silence, in partnership with WBHS GSA (Gay Straight Alliance, sometimes also referred to as the Gender and Sexuality Alliance), to announce this change in policy in an effort to continue striving for inclusiveness and accuracy in our reporting. Stephen Toy, English teacher and co-advisor of the GSA said, “We are fully supportive of this new policy of Spectrum. Many students in GSA will be excited by this news.”
Brilliant…. Thank you. I look forward to more information on gender neutral awareness.
This is fabulous! Well done Spectrum at West Bloomfield High! Your advocacy and inclusiness will save lives!
We think this is a great policy and it makes west bloomfield high school a safer environment. We love the idea and we support it. We hope other school newspapers start to do this also.
I am proud to be part of a district that values inclusivity and recognizes the importance of creating public spaces where everyone can think and learn from each other! Well done WBHS Spectrum Staff!!
Kudos to the Spectrum staff for your leadership in inclusion! It is an important policy change, and I am very glad your staff has taken this critical step forward. I hope other local and district media sources will follow your excellent example.
Huge step toward understanding and acceptance…way to go West Bloomfield!
Thank you for sharing this important information! Congratulations on a great job!
This may seem small to some people, but in reality this change is a giant leap towards acceptance of everyone in West Bloomfield. Keep on doing what you do Spectrum!
I think that this is a great idea to promote equality in our community. I’m glad that West Bloomfield is taking steps to a better and more accepting life for those who may not feel secure in their own skin.
very proud to be apart of a school that supports all gender identities
This article was very well written and easy to understand and interpret, something that is especially important with this specific topic. I think that the extra source for better understanding is very useful for those who would like to further extend their knowledge on the subject. It really shows how accepting that WB is!
This article makes me proud to attend WBHS because it shows that we are taking steps to become a more accepting and thoughtful environment for our students. I really appreciated this article being published because it put a smile on my face to see the acknowledgment of people who feel like outsiders to the norms of society.
I think that was well written and gets the story across. Being apart of the Beginning to Writing for Publications class, this is an thing for me to understand. Hope WBHS continues to become more accepting.
This article was very interesting, giving people the information necessary so people won’t be offended for any reasons and helps people to understand that everyone must be accepted like they are, doesn’t matter who they like.