Heidi Waterhouse
SF3 Communications Committee
Hihi! I want to take a minute to talk to you about an exciting option we’re offering at Registration this year: pronoun stickers!
We offered them last year and got a lot of reaction, so here’s the explanation:
Pronoun stickers are totally optional to wear. You don’t have to declare anything to anyone. You don’t have to wear the same sticker all weekend. These exist to make it easier for all of us to treat each other respectfully.
If someone IS wearing a pronoun sticker, we expect you will use that pronoun for them. Part of our social contract is kind and respectful treatment of each other, and there are few things that feel as terrible as being misgendered ON PURPOSE. If you make a mistake, just correct yourself and move on.
If someone is NOT wearing a pronoun sticker, the default polite behavior is to ask them what pronoun they prefer and then use that. If you don’t know and can’t ask, use the singular “they”.
We also have stickers that say “The singular they is grammatical.” Because we’re nerds like that.
No one is the pronoun police, and you’re not going to get shunned for an honest mistake, but if you persistently and deliberately misgender someone, it’s not pleasant and is sometimes a conduct violation.
If your pronoun is not represented in our pre-printed stickers, we’ll be happy to print a sticker for you custom. You can email registration now at registration@wiscon.net and we’ll try to have it for you when you check in, or it may take up to a day if you ask as you check in. We’ll do our best!
We’re all looking forward to seeing you in less than a week. We hope these stickers make it easier for you to feel safe and respected. As always, if you do not feel safe and respected, please feel free to ask Safety for their help and advice.
Options. God bless WisCon. #WisCon
