In the boldest endorsement of a growing national trend, the University of Tennessee is urging incoming students and teachers to junk references to "he," "she," and "them," in favor of gender-neutral "ze" and "xe."

"With the new semester beginning and an influx of new students on campus, it is important to participate in making our campus welcoming and inclusive for all. One way to do that is to use a student's chosen name and their correct pronouns," blogged Donna Braquet, director of the school's Pride Center.

"We should not assume someone's gender by their appearance, nor by what is listed on a roster or in student information systems. Transgender people and people who do not identify within the gender binary may use a different name than their legal name and pronouns of their gender identity, rather than the pronouns of the sex they were assigned at birth," ze wrote.



On the school's Office of Diversity and Inclusion webpage, ze offered these translations students and educators should use for subjects and pronouns:

• He/ze/zirs.

• She/ze/hirs.

• Them/xe/xyr.

"These may sound a little funny at first, but only because they are new. The she and he pronouns would sound strange too if we had been taught ze when growing up," wrote Braquet.

The shift to gender-neutral words began a few years ago and took root on some northern college campuses, but it has sped up in the wake of Olympian Bruce Jenner's shift to the transgendered Caitlyn Jenner and the media explosion that followed.

The University of Tennessee's effort appears to be the fullest example of the movement.

In the posting, Braquet made the case that the school must be welcoming to transgendered people through the use of language.

"In the first weeks of classes, instead of calling roll, ask everyone to provide their name and pronouns. This ensures you are not singling out transgender or non-binary students. The name a student uses may not be the one on the official roster, and the roster name may not be the same gender as the one the student now uses," ze wrote.

And students were encouraged to continue the practice off campus. "This practice works outside of the classroom as well. You can start meetings with requesting introductions that include names and pronouns, introduce yourself with your name and chosen pronouns, or when providing name tags, ask attendees to write in their name and pronouns," wrote Braquet.

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com.