College Embraces Customized Gender
The University of Vermont now officially recognizes "neutral" as a "third gender" option for its students who'll also be allowed to be referred to with "gender neutral" pronouns, The New York Times reports.
The university, a public institution of some 12,700 students, allows students to select their own identity, which includes a new first name even if they have not legally changed it, as well as a chosen pronoun, the Times reports.
The school records such details concerning students' preferences in its information system to enable professors to use the "right" terminology.
Just as the transgender community has increasingly been using the pronoun "They" instead of "he" or "she," the school wants to use the same.
School officials say the university is the first school in the United States to allow students to choose their own pronouns.