Monterey County Rainbow Connections Gender Diversity Provider Training

What’s Your Pronoun? Neopronouns & Pronoun Best Practices in Action

March 5, 2025

CE’s Available
The Gender Health Training Institute is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Gender Health Training Institute maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

What’s Your Pronoun? Neopronouns & Pronoun Best Practices in Action

One-in-five Americans know someone personally who goes by a pronoun other than “he” or “she,” and this number increases to 32% among 18- to 29-year-olds. 1 in 4 LGBTQ youth use pronouns or pronoun combinations that fall outside of the male/female gender binary. These youth may use they/them, a combination of he/him, she/her, or they/them, or neopronouns such as ze/zir or fae/faer. What if you’ve never used these pronouns before? What if you make a mistake? Is it okay to ask someone about their pronouns? In this training, we will discuss best practices for asking someone about their correct pronoun, how to introduce yourself using gender pronouns, and what to do if you misgender someone. Participants will also learn more about the history of gender pronouns in English- and non-English-speaking contexts.

What we will cover?

  • Participants can use a 5-step process to ask clients and colleagues about their pronouns in a respectful, appropriate way.
  • Participants will leave with three recommendations for how to respond to people who do not know what gender pronouns are & the importance of sharing them.

Learning objectives:

  • Distinguish between neopronouns, nonbinary pronouns, and gender-neutral pronouns.
  • Identify five individual and social impacts of misgendering a young person, & identify three impacts of using someone’s correct pronouns.
  • Review three laws establishing youth rights to be called by their correct gender pronoun & name.
  • Practice a 5-step process to ask clients and colleagues about their pronouns.
  • Roleplay best practice responses to three confused reactions to asking someone’s gender pronoun (i.e. “I don’t use pronouns.”)

Presenter

Luke Pacha is the owner of Infinite Diversity LLC. He holds a Master of Religion and Psychology, Master of Divinity, and Certificate of Sexuality and Religion from Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Psychological Services from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.

Luke straddles the worlds of academia/theory and practice, serving as the Board President of Trans Bodies, Trans Selves, a national non-profit organization that publishes a 705-page resource guide of the same name, by and for the trans, gender expansive, and nonbinary communities. Through this work, he connects with leading transgender and gender expansive scholars in medicine, law, mental health, social sciences, politics, and culture to collaborate on editions of Trans Bodies. He recently authored the Religion and Spirituality chapter of the second edition of the book, released April 15, 2022, and served as Survey Editor, managing a nationwide qualitative survey of over 2,000 respondents quoted in the book, and editing several chapters. Luke co-authored an academic review of methodologies used to survey transgender & nonbinary people based on the Trans Bodies Second Edition Survey, “Surveying trans and nonbinary communities: Research methodologies, accountability, and ethics with the Trans Bodies, Trans Selves Survey (2nd edition),” published in Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity in 2022.

Luke also co-authored the Religion and Spirituality chapter in the surgical textbook Gender Confirmation Surgery: Principles and Techniques for an Emerging Fieldedited by Loren Schecter, released 2020. He has been featured as a subject matter expert on gender pronouns in Rolling Stone, Grammarly’s Guide to Personal Pronouns,  and NPR Cap Radio about best pronoun practices in the workplace. He has also been interviewed on NPR’s The Takeaway and been published in LGBTQ Nation. More information can be found about Luke at infinitediversityllc.com.

What’s Your Pronoun? Neopronouns & Pronoun Best Practices in Action

March 5, 2025
1:30 – 4:30 pm PT

In this training, we will discuss best practices for asking someone about their correct pronoun, how to introduce yourself using gender pronouns, and what to do if you misgender someone.

Upcoming Events

JANUARY

Supporting Gender Transition for Youth

January 23, 2025 / 1:30 – 4:30 pm PT

FEBRUARY

Debunking Myths About Trans Youth

February 12, 2025 / 1:30 – 4:30 pm PT

Fertility and Reproductive Health

February 20, 2025 / 1:30 – 4:30 pm PT

How to Fill Out a Gender Support Plan for Child Welfare & Educational Providers

February 26, 2025 / 1:30 – 4:30 pm PT

MARCH

What’s Your Pronoun?

March 5, 2025 / 1:30 – 4:30 pm PT

Using Non-Violent Communication to Support Family Acceptance of LGBTQ+ Youth

March 12, 2025 / 1:30 – 4:30 pm PT

Supporting Families through the Gender Journey

March 19, 2025 / 1:30 – 4:30 pm PT

APRIL

Religious & Spiritual LGBTQ+ Affirming Resources

April 2, 2025 / 1:30 – 4:30 pm PT

Gender Affirming Surgeries

April 17, 2025 / 1:30 – 4:30 pm PT

Understanding the SAFETY Act: Protecting LGBTQ+ Student Privacy

April 30, 2025 / 1:30 – 4:30 pm PT

MAY

WPATH Standards of Care: Part 1

May 1, 2025 / 1:30 – 4:30 pm PT

Supporting Neurodivergent LGBTQ+ Youth

May 7, 2025 / 1:30 – 4:30 pm PT

Beyond He and She

May 20, 2025 / 1:30 – 4:30 pm PT

WPATH Standards of Care: Part 2

May 28, 2025 / 1:30 – 4:30 pm PT

JUNE

Coming out

June 4, 2025 / 1:30 – 4:30 pm PT

Supporting Gender Euphoria

June 12, 2025 / 1:30 – 4:30 pm PT

Session is 180 min including time for Q&A.

3 CE Credits Available

The Gender Health Training Institute is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Gender Health Training Institute maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

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