Three US Presidential hopefuls add pronouns to their bios
Senator Elizabeth Warren (Joe Raedle/Getty)
Elizabeth Warren, the 70-year-old Massachusetts senator, has become the latest Presidential hopeful to add her gender pronouns to her social-media bios.
Two other candidates – Julián Castro, the mayor of San Antonio, Texas, and New York mayor Bill de Blasio – also have their pronouns in their Twitter bios.
“U.S. Senator, Massachusetts. She/her/hers. Official Senate account,” one of Warren’s Twitter bios says.
The other one – her official Presidential campaign Twitter account – says, “U.S. Senator, former teacher, and candidate for president. Wife, mom (Amelia, Alex, Bailey, @CFPB), grandmother, and Okie. She/her. Official campaign account.”
In a statement to NBC News, Warren’s campaign spokesperson Alexis Krieg said of the profile change: “Elizabeth is committed to running an inclusive campaign, and wants every person to know that they are welcome in this movement.”
Stating your pronouns sends a ‘strong signal of support’
Including pronouns on public social-media profiles is a simple way of showing solidarity with the transgender community, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) said.
Lucas Acosta, a spokesperson for the HRC, a national LGBT+ advocacy group in the US, said that adding pronouns “is a best practice for all campaigns at every level.”
“Stating your pronouns publicly as a cisgender ally sends a strong signal of support to the LGBTQ community but particularly transgender and non-binary people that they are seen, accepted and supported.”
Mathew Lasky, director of communications at GLAAD, said, “Politicians identifying and expressing their pronouns is a great representation of how to establish inclusive spaces for dialogue with potential voters.”
“As more people identify beyond the binary of male and female, identifying your pronouns in conversation is not only a great way to educate mainstream audiences about gender identity, but also to show conscious support for the LGBTQ community.”
All three presidential candidates with their pronouns in their bios are Democrats.
On June 24, Warren reintroduced a bill to give tax refunds to same-sex couples who were married before 2013 and so paid higher taxes (the US legalised same-sex marriage at a federal level in 2013.)
If passed, Warren’s bill could see same-sex couples in the United States receiving $57 million worth of refunds in tax.
