Modes of address

1. Don’t assume people’s gender identity, sexual orientation, or marital status

Sex/gender plays an important part in structuring our everyday interactions with each other, including how we address one another. However, contrary to popular belief, a person’s gender identity does not always correspond with their sex. Moreover, there are more than two sexes and genders. Please be mindful of sex and gender diversity when engaging with students, teachers, and staff at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar so as not to misgender individuals or erase non-binary, trans, or intersex people from the conversation. Please also be aware that it is not always possible to tell a person’s gender identity (or sexual orientation) by their name or by the way they talk, move, or dress.

An easy way to avoid misgendering people in your class, seminar, or workshop is to ask all participants at the beginning of the session to introduce themselves with their preferred name and pronouns. In larger classes, a good alternative is to pass around a name-list with a field for preferred pronouns. In smaller-sized group-sessions, you may want to have students create name/pronoun tags.

Romantic or sexual relationships may come up in various social situations. If you are unsure of someone’s gender identity, sexual orientation, or marital status, we recommend using neutral expressions like »partner(s)« or »significant other(s)« to address or discuss people’s relationship status. On event-invitations, for example, you could use formulations such as: »Guests are cordially invited to attend with their partners« (instead of: »Guests are cordially invited to attend with their wives/spouses«).

2. Courtesy titles

Courtesy titles such as »Miss« and »Mrs.« carry with them old-fashioned and at times outdated assumptions about age, gender identity, sexual orientation, or marital status. Traditionally, »Miss« and »Mrs.« have been used to distinguish between unmarried and married women respectively. Until recently, this distinction according to marital status not only defined women by their relationships with men, but also with men only. The title »Miss« was commonly used for younger women. A simple alternative when addressing or referring to women is the title »Ms.«.

Another alternative is to use the gender-neutral »Mx.«. This title, which was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2015, is used to avoid specifying gender. Some non-binary people prefer this title as a mode of address as well.

Yet another option is gender-neutral academic titles, such as »Prof.« or »Dr.« (where appropriate).

3. E-mail or written correspondence

3.1 Salutation for an unknown recipient or a form letter

In cases where the recipients’ names, gender identities, or preferred modes of address are unknown, we recommend using gender-neutral forms of address. Instead of gendered salutations like »Dear Sir/Madam«, »Ladies and Gentlemen«, or »Dear Boys and Girls«, you can use gender-neutral formulations like »Dear Representative of Organization XYZ«, »Dear Friends and Colleagues«, or »Dear Students«.  

3.2 Salutation for a specific recipient

In cases where you know a person’s name but not their gender identity, you can use the formula: »salutation + academic title (where appropriate) + the addressee’s full name (given name/s or initials + last name)«, as in »Dear Prof. Ali Mohammad Saleh«.

3.3 E-mail signature

You can indicate your preferred pronouns in your e-mail signature. Simply add them in parentheses after your Name.

Examples:

Best regards,
Prof. Sanchita Banerjee, PhD
(Pronouns: she, her, hers)                                     

Sincerely,
Dr. Michel*le Foucault
(they, them, theirs)

Indicating your preferred pronouns in e-mail communication not only helps others to avoid misgendering you; it can also communicate to others that you are aware of the fact that there are more than two sexes/genders. This information might make it easier for trans, intersex, and non-binary people to share their gender identities and preferred pronouns. Moreover, by adding your personal pronouns to your e-mail signature, you can help to normalize this practice and contribute to raising awareness for non-binary gender identities.

3.4 Mailing address                                                                         

Omit gendered courtesy titles (»Mr.«, »Mrs.«, »Miss«, »Ms.«) when adding an address to the letterhead or envelopes: Simply state the person’s full name, followed by their address.