My work team has been doing pronoun introductions for months now and my colleague Sam recently started using they/them pronouns, but I keep messing it up and I can tell it's affecting our working relationship and team dynamic. Sam hasn't said anything directly but other teammates have noticed and now there's this awkward tension where everyone's hyper-aware of pronouns and I feel terrible but also don't know how to address it without making it worse.
More people experience this than they realize.
A group must navigate the gap between intention and impact when identity-related mistakes create ongoing tension and discomfort.
“Where Are You with Sexual orientation as identity?”
If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.