I was checking Canvas and I saw that there are only three pronoun options. She/her, he/him, and they/them. While it is great Canvas added they/them, lots of nonbinary people may use other pronouns, also called neopronouns. These are pronouns that are not anything that is she, he, or they.
These pronouns are very real and legit. They are used by neurodivergent people and or gender non conforming folks. I myself use it/its pronouns simply because they fit me best. As a student I find it frustrating that every time I talk to my peers or teachers I have to remind them about my pronouns. These set of pronouns can be hard to understand or remember, so having it displayed on my name would be much easier. If he, she, and they are allowed, why can't I put my own pronouns?
I think this would best work as an 'other' option that allows you to type your own pronouns. Plus, people may use one then more pronoun set. For example someone may use she/her and they/them. So they would be able to type both instead of having to pick on Canvas.
Please add multiples and write-ins. I've gotten requests for She/They He/They and She/He/They, all of which are (in my experience) incredibly common in inclusive Gen Z social media spaces. Adding every single combination is long (He/They, They/He, She/He/They, They/She/He etc.) as an institution we don't want to seem like we're "endorsing" certain pronouns over others when we're not.
I know local Canvas admins can customize the list of available pronouns, but there are limitations to the current implementation.
When the list doesn't have the pronouns that a user wanted, they have to contact the admin and justify why their preferred pronouns should be added to the list. This could be a very involved interaction for someone who is uncomfortable with explaining their preference. Admins will also have to be knowledgeable in this subject matter to grant/deny requests properly.
Some people prefer multiple or alternating pronouns, but in Canvas they can only choose one. To accommodate this, admins will have to add all possible combinations of he, she, and they. This gets even more overwhelming when neopronouns are added into the mix.
Adding an option to allow users to self-specify their own pronouns in a free-form text field will remove these limitations. Examples: Zoom and Slack.
Alternatively, enabling users to select one or more predefined choices will remove the 2nd limitation. Example: Instagram.
So many people use multiple pronoun sets -- making an option for people to write in their own pronoun sets would be far more effective. It is very common at this point for people to use he/they, she/they, they/he, and they/she pronoun sets, and they feel comfortable with both, not one or the other. Even at the very least adding an "other: ____" option to the end of the existing list would be more than sufficient.
My name is Hannah Rhodes, and I am a freshman in college. I use she/they pronouns. I am very grateful to see that Canvas has added a pronouns section within the profile settings, however I am unable to add my pronouns due to the limited selection of options. Some pronoun sets that should be included are she/they, they/she, he/they, they/he, she/they/he(in every order), ze/zir, it/its, xie/hir, and ve/vis. In addition to these sets of pronouns, there should be an "other" option that allows students to type in their own pronouns, as the list I provided does not cover every way that pronouns may be listed or used by an individual, and it is important for everyone to have the proper self-expression tools within their studies.
UPDATE: I have seen the posts about it being up to local Canvas admin discretion -- however, I believe it is in everyone's best interests to make this available with all options. At worst, people won't enter their pronouns in their profiles, but making the option available to everyone (especially if it lets you just set your own) can only help.
I want to upvote this. Pronouns should definitely be a write-in option. I'm a first-time Canvas student, and just encountered the drop-down field. I was surprised Canvas hadn't sorted this out yet. It has good intentions, yet still assumes a binary+other reality that's not aligned with many users. Of course we could leave the field blank, but that excludes us from participating equitably and puts folks in a position where they'll have to correct people in conversation or stay silent. Please update this.
This needs to be an option, I've been using she/her until recently and wanted to update my canvas profile so I don't have to tell everyone I email or contact through Canvas that I changed that. This is not just convenient, it is necessary for multiple-pronoun users. Please change this immediately!
This is of institutional importance to us. We really want the student to be able to write-in their own pronoun choices, As the admin I can't possibly offer every option that students and faculty might want.
I was thinking that instead of having "he/him", "she/her", and "they/them" we could also have "he/they/it" pronouns. Like "she/they" and "he/they" and so on.
+1 The current model is unworkable for us, as it would require creating a very long list of all possible combinations. We would be open to making pronouns a free-text field, but for other institutions that aren't comfortable with that, I think allowing users to select multiple pronouns is a happy medium.
I'm transmasc, and I use he/they pronouns. Since canvas only allows me to select one set of pronouns, I just settle for using he/him pronouns, but it feels very weird to me. I don't like that I can't select both he/him and they/them, or write in he/they. It feels as though I have to choose between representing either the male or the nonbinary aspect of my identity and erase the other. It's uncomfortable.
@EliasChedester You may want to reach out to your school about this. They can add whatever options they want (still not selecting two). I had students reach out to me about this exact same thing so I added he/they and she/they per their request.
It would also be helpful for Canvas to include an extra space or blank for a preferred name, as they have done for the pro-nouns, to further support our LGBTIA+ students. Would anyone know if this exists or is in the works for future versions of Canvas?
