Nicholas Henriksen, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, published an article in Inside Higher Ed. The article describes the Romance languages categorization of gender as being binary: either male or female with respect to nouns, adjectives, or pronouns. On the other hand, more young adults do not identify within this strict gender binary of either male or female, leaving these potential language learners feeling that they don't belong.
From there, Nick formed the Gender Diversity Committee to serve as a model for other institutions to create more inclusive language classrooms taking an inclusive approach, listening to the firsthand experiences of trans and nonbinary community and team members, being proactive by seeking out additional funding, teaching gender-diverse language in real life communicative contexts, and going public with the support and efforts generated.
Read the full article on Inside Higher Ed.
