In May 2021, the LSA Executive Committee approved the LSA Statement Against Linguistic Misgendering written by the Committee for LGBTQ+ Issues in Linguistics (COZIL). The Statement affirms the LSA’s commitment to creating a welcoming and supportive environment and asserts the role of language in respecting and affirming gender diversity in linguistics. The November 2021 webinar provided an overview of the Statement, the motivation for writing it, and its goals, followed by four short presentations from collaborators on the statement who discussed practical applications in professional settings, research practices, and classroom environments, and ultimately how we can move toward a more inclusive linguistic environment for transgender people. The webinar concluded with time for a Q&A. 

November 12, 2021 - 1:00PM EST

To watch the video recording of the Webinar, visit the LSA YouTube channel.

Schedule:

  1. Why COZIL wrote the statement and what it says (Lex Konnelly and Archie Crowley) – 10 minutes 
  2. Guidelines for avoiding misgendering in professional communications (Evan Bradley)  – 15 minutes 
  3. How to ask gender in a linguistics study (Kirby Conrod) – 15 minutes 
  4. Pronouns in the classroom setting (Lal Zimman) – 15 minutes 
  5. Moving forward (Archie Crowley and Lex Konnelly) – 5 minutes 
  6. Q&A – 30 minutes

Materials & Handouts:

The following materials were used during the webinar. 

  1. LSA-COZIL Slides (PDF)
  2. How to Gender Like a Professional
  3. How to Ask Gender in Linguistic Studies (PPT)

Speakers:

Evan D. Bradley (he/him/his) is Associate Professor of Psychology and Linguistics at Penn State Brandywine. He received his PhD in linguistics from the University of Delaware and BA in cognitive science from Northwestern University. Dr. Bradley’s linguistic research explores psychosocial factors involved in language use and change, especially how speakers’ individual attitudes and identities are negotiated and expressed through language. He also investigates cognitive and developmental aspects of speech and music perception. He has served on several committees of the LSA, including COZIL, the Linguistics in Higher Education Committee, the Committee on Student Issues and Concerns, and has chaired the Committee on Public Policy.


Kirby Conrod (they/them, pictured right) received their BA in Linguistics and Literature at UC Santa Cruz, and their MA and PhD in Linguistics at the University of Washington. Their dissertation, Pronouns Raising and Emerging, is a sociosyntactic analysis of a change in progress around the specific use of singular they. Their recent work focuses on nonbinary pronouns and other sociolinguistic approaches to morphosyntax. They are a visiting assistant professor at Swarthmore College, and are the inaugural honoree of the 2021 LSA Arnold Zwicky Award for contributions by LGBTQ+ scholars of linguistics.

 


Archie Crowley (they/them) is a PhD Candidate in Linguistics at the University of South Carolina. They received their BA in Applied Linguistics from the University of California, Los Angeles and their MA in Linguistics and Certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of South Carolina. Their dissertation, which has been supported by an NSF DDRI Grant, focuses on language practices, ideologies and linguistic activism within transgender communities, especially in the Southern United States. Archie is currently the chair for the Committee for LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Linguistics (COZIL) for the Linguistic Society of America.


​​Lex Konnelly (they/them, pictured right) is a Ph.D. Candidate in the departments of Linguistics and Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto. Their primary research interests are situated within the interrelated areas of variationist sociolinguistics, sociocultural linguistics, and linguistic anthropology, with a particular emphasis on linguistic innovation and advocacy in transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse communities of practice. Their doctoral research explores the role of language in gender-affirming healthcare access.

 


Lal Zimman (he/him or they/them) is an Assistant Professor of Linguistics and Affiliated Faculty in Feminist Studies at UC Santa Barbara. His work on language in transgender communities takes a mixture of sociophonetic, discourse analytic, and ethnographic methods. His work has been published in Language in Society, Gender & Language, Journal of Language and Sexuality, Journal of Language & Discrimination, and Linguistics, among others. His co-edited volume, Queer Excursions: Retheorizing Binaries in Language, Gender, and Sexuality (Oxford University Press, 2014) was awarded the Ruth Benedict Prize by the Association for Queer Anthropology.