LONDON: Students at the Oxford University are being encouraged to use the gender-neutral pronoun ‘ze’ instead of ‘he’ or ‘she’ in a bid to stop transgender undergraduates from being offended.
The students’ union wrote in a leaflet that the move was intended to reduce the risk of gender complex among transgender studying at the varsity.
According to Oxford University’s behaviour code, using the wrong pronoun to define a transgender person is an offence.
The Sunday Times reported that students hope that the use of ‘ze’ will now be used in university lectures and seminars.
Peter Tatchell, an LGBT rights campaigner, told the MailOnline: ‘It is a positive thing to not always emphasise gender divisions and barriers.
‘It is good to have gender-neutral pronouns for those who want them but it shouldn’t be compulsory.
‘This issue isn’t about being politically correct or censoring anyone. It’s about acknowledging the fact of changing gender identities and respecting people’s right to not define themselves as male or female.
‘Giving people the ‘ze’ option is a thoughtful, considerate move.’
Franky Sissons, a transgender student at King’s College at Cambridge said: ‘Gender neutral pronouns are good…It should happen in lectures too.’
