NIH guide warns against describing pronouns as ‘chosen,’ pushes slew of 40 different options

An office within the National Institutes of Health published a guideline that outlines how professionals should use gendered pronouns to "affirm gender identity" for themselves and colleagues, warning that intentionally using the wrong pronouns is "equivalent to harassment."

Fox News Digital reviewed the NIH Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office’s "Gender Pronouns & Their Use in Workplace Communications" guide, which provides more than 40 different pronoun examples, while also providing examples on how to avoid making pronoun "mistakes" in the workplace. 

For professionals to "facilitate inclusive, affirming and welcoming" workplaces, the gender pronouns guide hashes out a series of different mistakes to avoid while using pronouns, including not describing pronouns as "preferred" or "chosen" as that allegedly implies "that gender identity is a preference or a choice, when it is neither."

"Performative allyship," when people only superficially show they are devoted to a cause, is also frowned upon, with the guide pointing to a hypothetical situation where an employer mandates all employees publicly share their pronouns.

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Some employees, however, might not want to disclose their pronouns as they are not "ready to ‘come out’ and disclose their gender identity," according to the guide, which was crafted in part by the NIH's Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. 

"Mandating all employees to use pronouns may come off as performative allyship, especially if employees are uncertain or unable to articulate why correct pronoun usage is important," the guide states. 

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The Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office was established under former President Barack Obama’s administration in 2015 and describes itself as coordinating "sexual and gender minority (SGM)–related research and activities by working directly with the NIH Institutes, Centers and Offices."

The NIH told Fox News Digital that the guide was developed "in part, towards integrating Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) principles across the agency and the broader biomedical and health science research enterprise." 

"It is our hope that this resource can be used to foster inclusive and respectful workplaces for sexual and gender minority employees."

"Gender pronouns are a way for individuals to identify themselves outside of using their names. Pronouns are important not only because they are used for everyday communication, but also because they are used to convey and affirm gender identity, especially for [sexual and gender minority] communities," the guide states. 

The document encourages professionals to disclose their own pronouns in the workplace by adding them to email signatures or opening conversations with personal pronouns in a bid to make colleagues "more comfortable to disclose their own and prevent misgendering in the workplace." 

The guide includes examples of email signatures, which show the professional’s name, along with a job title and medical degrees, as well as a line detailing pronouns, such as, "Pronouns: They, Elle, Iel."

The document also outlines how Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees from workplace harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex and national origin and that the Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that Title VII also protects employees against "discrimination based on an employee’s gender identity or sexual orientation." 

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"Being misgendered (i.e., being referred to with incorrect pronouns) can be an extremely hurtful and invalidating experience. Intentional refusal to use someone’s correct pronouns is equivalent to harassment and a violation of one’s civil rights," the guide states.  

Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, the board director of Do No Harm, a group of medical professionals that work to "protect health care from a radical, divisive and discriminatory ideology," examined the NIH guide and lamented how the esteemed research institute is now focusing on gender ideology as a "primary concern."

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"The NIH has been one of the premier research institutions in the world. Now, it seems that it is adopting gender ideology as a new primary concern," Goldfarb, also a retired professor and the former associate dean for curriculum at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, told Fox News Digital. 

"Is it appropriate for a research institution to immerse itself in providing advice to the American people regarding workplace etiquette? What particular expertise justifies this new role for this agency?"

The guide states it was last updated in March 2023, with another draft document reviewed by Fox News Digital that was dated January 2022. 

The National Institutes of Health told Fox News Digital when approached for comment on the document that the agency is "committed to enhancing the diversity of the biomedical and behavioral research workforce" both internally and in institutions it funds "to be inclusive and accessible for individuals of all races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, ages, languages, abilities, socioeconomic statuses, and geographic regions."

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"We recognize the many strengths that come from creating an equitable, inclusive, and accessible culture for all to bring their talents to bear," the statement said. 

The NIH added that research shows "sexual and gender diverse communities encounter significant rates of harassment, discrimination, and other barriers in their daily lives, including in the workplace."