{"id":93192,"date":"2019-09-18T06:52:45","date_gmt":"2019-09-18T04:52:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/underviser-vi-skal-laere-at-sige-de-i-ental-det-er-ikke-saa-svaert\/"},"modified":"2019-09-18T10:23:23","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T08:23:23","slug":"lecturer-we-need-to-learn-to-say-they-in-the-singular-this-is-not-that-hard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/lecturer-we-need-to-learn-to-say-they-in-the-singular-this-is-not-that-hard\/","title":{"rendered":"Lecturer: We need to learn to say ‘they’ in the singular \u2013 it is not that hard"},"content":{"rendered":"

The University of Copenhagen is again at the centre of a fierce debate on identity politics after the University Post and TV 2 made the public aware that management at the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies had sent an email to the department’s teaching staff with three recommendations on how to ensure inclusion of non-binary and trans people in the classroom.<\/p>\n

What happens is that, at least twice, I have to call to order after the break and say ‘ladies and … gentleman’<\/p>\n

External associate professor Mille Mortensen<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A number of major Danish media outlets, including TV 2<\/a>, Jyllands-Posten<\/a>, Berlingske<\/a>, Politiken<\/a> and Radio24syv<\/a>, covered the story that the university’s teaching staff are encouraged to use names instead of gendered pronouns when they address and refer to students.<\/p>\n

S\u00f8ren Espersen from the Danish People’s Party said that he was furious<\/a> about no longer being able \u00bbto say he\/she.\u00ab<\/p>\n

Read also<\/strong>: Inclusive speech: Teaching staff at the Faculty of Humanities are now being urged to use gender-neutral terms<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

In the email from Mette Sandbye one of the recommendations is to \u00bbavoid summoning\/calling out to groups of students with gendered terms like ladies\/girls or lads\/boys.\u00ab<\/p>\n

This particular recommendation would have been valuable to Mille Mortensen, an external associate professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences. She held the course Researching Social Change<\/em> at the University of Copenhagen with her colleague Hanne Bess Boelsbjerg.<\/p>\n

Mille Mortensen does research on\u00a0 bullying and offensive actions<\/secret> and teaches psychology and sociology.<\/p>\n

The ladies and the gentleman!<\/h2>\n

Mille Mortensen recounts how, on the second day of the course, she used the term “ladies and …\u00a0 the gentleman” to call the class to order, unaware that there were several non-binaries among the students. They had the day before asked her colleague to be addressed as ‘they’ rather than ‘he’ or ‘she’ in a presentation round.<\/p>\n

\u00bbWhat happens is that I, at least twice, call to order after the break and say \u2018ladies and … the gentleman\u2019, referring to the biological gender that I seem to observe,\u00ab she says.<\/p>\n

None of the students react the first time to Mille Mortensen\u2019s summons, but two days later there is tension when the class has a discussion in the teaching about the culture of disagreement. The concept means to be able to agree to disagree so you peacefully respect each other’s different positions.<\/p>\n

A student puts up their hand and says that it can be quite difficult as a non-binary to agree to disagree if a cisgender person<\/secret> does not understand and respect a non-binary gender identity.<\/p>\n

As a result of the discussion, Mille Mortensen asks a student for help in understanding why there was an unpleasant atmosphere in the room, and the context dawns on her.
\n
\n\u00bbThey<\/secret> tell me what it’s like to be a minority and feel excluded, not to be seen, and about the huge consequences that it has. In this case, the illness was to such an extent that there was a need for medication,\u00ab says Mille Mortensen.<\/p>\n

\u00bbDamn!\u00ab was her reaction, when she only after the end of the course realised that she had overlooked some people by addressing the class as she did.<\/p>\n

\u00bbFrom a binary point of view, the language is very gendered. We say he and she all the time. It must have been one of these situations where they have really felt offended, and I can understand this,\u00ab she says.<\/p>\n

Exclusion leads to illness<\/h2>\n

Mille Mortensen’s reaction to the email sent by the management of the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies was somewhat different from the aforementioned S\u00f8ren Espersen from the Danish People\u2019s Party. She does not consider the email as a prohibition on teaching staff, but as a guide for dealing with sensitive and important issues.<\/p>\n

\n

Mille\u2019s three recommendations<\/p>\n

Do a presentation round<\/strong> where people feel that you can be honest about how they want to be addressed<\/p>\n

Use name tags<\/strong><\/p>\n

Practice<\/strong> using ‘they’ as a singular pronoun<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00bbI feel that the head of department has been courageous and addressed something that is difficult, vulnerable and important. I understand this as a help to teachers, and my first thought was: Well done, I’ll use that,\u00ab says Mille Mortensen.<\/p>\n

\u00bbIf I were to be quite honest, I don’t understand why it can lead to such a furore. I do not really think that it is particularly complex or hard to comply with these people’s wishes, we just need to practise it.\u00ab<\/p>\n

Why is it so important to comply with the wishes of minorities?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00bbBecause for human beings, being stigmatised and excluded, can actually lead to illness. If you are not seen as that person that you experience yourself, it can lead to illness. This often triggers a huge sense of loneliness. We know this from the research,\u00ab says Mille Mortensen.<\/p>\n

Read also:<\/strong> Overview: How the University of Copenhagen ended up at the centre of a debate over giving offence<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Why is it so difficult? Why can’t we just get used to calling each other by our names?<\/p>\n

Mille Mortensen<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Mille Mortensen’s research shows that bullying and offensive actions arise where we have not done enough to ensure that a community has space for everyone.<\/p>\n

That is why diversity and inclusiveness are the keywords, according to Mille Mortensen:<\/p>\n

\u00bbI would like to ask the question the other way around: Why is it so difficult? Why can’t we just get used to calling each other by our names? Why can we not practice saying ‘they’ instead of ‘he’ and ‘she’?\u00ab<\/p>\n

\u00bbI would like some patience, as it is actually not very difficult. We just use name tags,\u00ab says Mille Mortensen.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00bbLadies and gentleman,\u00ab Mille Mortensen said in the classroom with several non-binary students. And put her foot in it. 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in offensive behaviour Mille Mortensen says that being excluded as a minority can lead to illness. This is why we just need to start practicing addressing people the way they prefer themselves.Teaching - Researcher in offensive behaviour Mille Mortensen says that being excluded as a minority can lead to illness. This is why we just need to start practicing addressing people the way they prefer themselves.\u00a0"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Standfirst","subject":"Forms of address","text":"\u00bbDe damer og den herre,\u00ab kaldte Mille Mortensen ud i et undervisningslokale med flere non-bin\u00e6re studerende. Qua sin forskning som viser, at det kan v\u00e6re sygdomsfremkaldende at blive udgr\u00e6nset som minoritetsperson, ser hun institutleder Mette Sandbyes r\u00e5d til at sikre inklusion af non-bin\u00e6re som en hj\u00e6lp, hun selv kunne have brugt.","use_post_excerpt":true},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":true,"contributors":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>The University of Copenhagen is again at the centre of a fierce debate on identity politics after the University Post and TV 2 made the public aware that management at the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies had sent an email to the department’s teaching staff with three recommendations on how to ensure inclusion of non-binary and trans people in the classroom.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>What happens is that, at least twice, I have to call to order after the break and say ‘ladies and … gentleman’<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">External associate professor Mille Mortensen<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>A number of major Danish media outlets, including <a href=\"https:\/\/nyheder.tv2.dk\/samfund\/2019-09-04-mail-til-universitets-ansatte-undgaa-at-bruge-koennede-betegnelser-om-studerende\">TV 2<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/nyheder.tv2.dk\/samfund\/2019-09-04-mail-til-universitets-ansatte-undgaa-at-bruge-koennede-betegnelser-om-studerende\">Jyllands-Posten<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.berlingske.dk\/samfund\/nye-tider-paa-ku-undgaa-koennede-betegnelser-saasom-damerpiger-eller\">Berlingske<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/politiken.dk\/kultur\/art7369952\/KU-r%C3%A5der-ansatte-til-at-tiltale-eleverne-k%C3%B8nsneutralt-i-intern-mail\">Politiken<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.24syv.dk\/programmer\/24syv-morgen\/55549411\/video-viser-dramatisk-forlis-af?start=3303&fbclid=IwAR0q7Qgr2GHdFpwqlm8_oS9o3sXLl-n-QMAVTF04XO6w-XsF0HXYhdZF1uQ\">Radio24syv<\/a>, covered the story that the university’s teaching staff are encouraged to use names instead of gendered pronouns when they address and refer to students.<\/p>\n<p>S\u00f8ren Espersen from the Danish People’s Party said that he <a href=\"https:\/\/jyllands-posten.dk\/politik\/ECE11602097\/soeren-espersen-i-damehat-er-edderspaendt-rasende\/\">was furious<\/a> about no longer being able \u00bbto say he\/she.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Read also<\/strong>:<a href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/inclusive-speech-teaching-staff-at-humanities-now-being-urged-to-use-gender-neutral-terms\/\"> Inclusive speech: Teaching staff at the Faculty of Humanities are now being urged to use gender-neutral terms<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>In the email from Mette Sandbye one of the recommendations is to \u00bbavoid summoning\/calling out to groups of students with gendered terms like ladies\/girls or lads\/boys.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>This particular recommendation would have been valuable to Mille Mortensen, an external associate professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences. She held the course <em>Researching Social Change<\/em> at the University of Copenhagen with her colleague Hanne Bess Boelsbjerg.<\/p>\n<p>Mille Mortensen does research on\u00a0 <secret text=\"Her primary research area is the psychosocial working environment and management with main focus on negative social relations in the workplace, including bullying, conflicts and (sexual) actions.\">bullying and offensive actions<\/secret> and teaches psychology and sociology.<\/p>\n<h2>The ladies and the gentleman!<\/h2>\n<p>Mille Mortensen recounts how, on the second day of the course, she used the term “ladies and …\u00a0 the gentleman” to call the class to order, unaware that there were several non-binaries among the students. They had the day before asked her colleague to be addressed as ‘they’ rather than ‘he’ or ‘she’ in a presentation round.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWhat happens is that I, at least twice, call to order after the break and say \u2018ladies and … the gentleman\u2019, referring to the biological gender that I seem to observe,\u00ab she says.<\/p>\n<p>None of the students react the first time to Mille Mortensen\u2019s summons, but two days later there is tension when the class has a discussion in the teaching about the culture of disagreement. The concept means to be able to agree to disagree so you peacefully respect each other’s different positions.<\/p>\n<p>A student puts up their hand and says that it can be quite difficult as a non-binary to agree to disagree if a <secret text=\"Person, whose self-experienced gender and gender expression correspond to the gender the person was assigned at birth.\">cisgender person<\/secret> does not understand and respect a non-binary gender identity.<\/p>\n<p>As a result of the discussion, Mille Mortensen asks a student for help in understanding why there was an unpleasant atmosphere in the room, and the context dawns on her.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Quote","quote":"I understand this as a help to teachers, and my first thought was: Well done, I'll use that. ","quotee":"Mille Mortensen on the IKK management's email to the teaching staff","style":"extended"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>\u00bb<secret text=\"The pronoun that this student prefers.\">They<\/secret> tell me what it’s like to be a minority and feel excluded, not to be seen, and about the huge consequences that it has. In this case, the illness was to such an extent that there was a need for medication,\u00ab says Mille Mortensen.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbDamn!\u00ab was her reaction, when she only after the end of the course realised that she had overlooked some people by addressing the class as she did.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbFrom a binary point of view, the language is very gendered. We say he and she all the time. It must have been one of these situations where they have really felt offended, and I can understand this,\u00ab she says.<\/p>\n<h2>Exclusion leads to illness<\/h2>\n<p>Mille Mortensen’s reaction to the email sent by the management of the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies was somewhat different from the aforementioned S\u00f8ren Espersen from the Danish People\u2019s Party. She does not consider the email as a prohibition on teaching staff, but as a guide for dealing with sensitive and important issues.<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\">\n<p class=\"factbox-header feature-color\">Mille\u2019s three recommendations<\/p>\n<p>Do a <strong>presentation round<\/strong> where people feel that you can be honest about how they want to be addressed<\/p>\n<p>Use <strong>name tags<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Practice<\/strong> using ‘they’ as a singular pronoun<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u00bbI feel that the head of department has been courageous and addressed something that is difficult, vulnerable and important. I understand this as a help to teachers, and my first thought was: Well done, I’ll use that,\u00ab says Mille Mortensen.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIf I were to be quite honest, I don’t understand why it can lead to such a furore. I do not really think that it is particularly complex or hard to comply with these people’s wishes, we just need to practise it.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p><em>Why is it so important to comply with the wishes of minorities?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbBecause for human beings, being stigmatised and excluded, can actually lead to illness. If you are not seen as that person that you experience yourself, it can lead to illness. This often triggers a huge sense of loneliness. We know this from the research,\u00ab says Mille Mortensen.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Read also:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/how-the-university-of-copenhagen-became-a-centre-of-the-offensive-behaviour-debate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Overview: How the University of Copenhagen ended up at the centre of a debate over giving offence<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Why is it so difficult? Why can’t we just get used to calling each other by our names?<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Mille Mortensen<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Mille Mortensen’s research shows that bullying and offensive actions arise where we have not done enough to ensure that a community has space for everyone.<\/p>\n<p>That is why diversity and inclusiveness are the keywords, according to Mille Mortensen:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI would like to ask the question the other way around: Why is it so difficult? Why can’t we just get used to calling each other by our names? Why can we not practice saying ‘they’ instead of ‘he’ and ‘she’?\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI would like some patience, as it is actually not very difficult. We just use name tags,\u00ab says Mille Mortensen.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Newsletter","lang_select":"Dansk","identifier":"Newsletter","headline":"Receive a weekly newsletter in your inbox","button_text":"Tilmeld nu","class":""}]},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":44,"name":"Campus","slug":"campus","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":44,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":1547,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":46,"name":"Science","slug":"science","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":46,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":832,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[{"term_id":487,"name":"IKK","slug":"ikk-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":487,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":1604,"name":"Offence","slug":"offence","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1604,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":18,"name":"Feature Article","slug":"feature_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":18,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":1200,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/teksam2018201810010581-1280x853.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/70"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93192"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93204,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93192\/revisions\/93204"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}