What's Your Pronoun? Dennis Baron with Diana Tourjée

How did we get from he and she to zie and hir—and singular they?

While it may seem like adding preferred pronouns to email signatures and nametags at conferences is part of the zeitgeist, pioneering linguist Dennis Baron provides historical points of reference that shed light on a long tradition of coining gender pronouns. Shakespeare invoked the use of singular they and women adopted the generic use of he to assert their right to vote. What’s Your Pronoun? examines the role pronouns have historically played in determining our rights and identities. From legislation to literature to the press, Baron shows the many areas of life where pronoun-expression matters and affects the way we treat different groups. Baron is joined by award-winning journalist for Vice, Diana Tourjée.

FIRST COME, FIRST SEATED
For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form one hour before the program.

PRESS 
Please send all press inquiries (photo, video, interviews, audio-recording, etc.) at least 24-hours before the day of the program to Sara Beth Joren at sarabethjoren@nypl.org.

For all other inquiries, please contact publicprograms@nypl.org.

ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION
This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs. Assistive listening devices and large-format programs are available on-site. ASL interpretation and real-time (CART) captioning available upon request. Please submit your request at least two weeks in advance by emailing accessibility@nypl.org.

For other accessibility information, please contact accessibility@nypl.org.