Language Matters

Here at CAP, we believe that language matters.

It’s important to do the work to make sure the words we use are affirming of the plethora of genders there are in our communities.

Maybe you’re here out of curiosity, or maybe you followed the link from a card you were given when you made a mistake. Either way, we’ve put together a list of resources to help you on your linguistic journey (below). Being misgendered and mispronouned is exhausting, and it happens all the time, so the best way you can show up for the people you interact with that let you know you did something wrong is to learn more and make the changes necessary.

Tip: Make it a company policy to use gender neutral language and have a staff meeting to go over what substitute language could be.

If you get mispronouned, and you feel safe to interrupt it, we invite you to use the cards we’ve created. Or you can download the template and create the card that most accurately reflects how it feels to have your identity dismissed, so that you can assert your pronouns and minimize your emotional energy exertion. If you’re in the PDX area you can also pick up some pre-printed ones at our office or with community partners.