Does the new Sexual Misconduct Policy (SC17) require me to use people's neopronouns?

Right off the bat, let me say that I fully support this spirit and intent of this policy and the protections it affords the entire UBC community, especially the historically marginalized and maligned. With that said, I have a question about an example given in the new Canvas training on the policy. It's a delicate one so I am posting it here to get some ideas before deciding if/how to ask the relevant UBC people.

UBC’s Sexual Misconduct Policy (SC17)  explains that

2.1 “Sexual Misconduct” includes sexualized violence and refers to any sexual act or act targeting an individual’s sex, sexuality, gender identity, or gender expression, whether the act is physical or psychological in nature, that is committed, threatened, or attempted against an individual without that individual’s Consent

There then follows a non-exhaustive list of examples, one of which explains

2.1.2 sexual harassment, which is unwelcome conduct, including comments or gestures, related to an individual’s sex, sexuality, gender identity, or gender expression, that detrimentally affects the working, learning, or living environment, or leads to adverse consequences for the individual directly subjected to the harassment

The list clearly states that it is non-exhaustive. I get that, but in the new online training there is a page that gives some additional examples. It states:

The Sexual Misconduct Policy also prohibits unwanted acts targeting an individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Some examples include:

·         Repeated or deliberate misgendering

·         Refusing to use a person’s name or pronouns

·         Use of slurs or stereotypes related to sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.

Pronoun options
There are many pronoun options listed on UBC platforms.
In Workday, for example, the dropdown choices are: 

  • He/They

  • She/They

  • Ae/Aer

  • E or Ey/Em

  • Fae/Fear

  • He/Him

  • It/It

  • She/Her

  • She/Her; He/Him

  • They/Them

  • They/Them; He/Him

  • They/Them; She/Her

  • Ve/Ver

  • Xe/Xem

  • Ze/Hir

  • Ze/Zir

  • No pronouns

  • Any / all pronouns

There is also a note in Workday regarding pronouns stating:

To promote the inclusiveness of the diverse UBC community, the university has adopted the following list of pronouns. If you feel that we have missed a pronoun that best represents you, please submit a request to UBC Equity & Inclusion Office and we will review it in a timely manner.

My concern is this:

  • I’m down with her/her/they/them, but I would not, for example, feel comfortable referring to someone, a person, as “it”. Sure, it might be their preference that I do so but, under SC17, does this mean that I must?
  • I am happy to use that person’s name instead, but it is unclear if SC17 compels me to also use their pronouns.
  • For different reasons, I would like to be able to decline (if this is a request) or refuse (if this is a demand) to use some of the other ones: Fae/Fear and E or Ey/Em, for example.  
  • A person’s preferred noun/name is what they get to be called. No question; that’s their choice. Pronouns take the place of a noun and in this I think I must have some choice too. If I don’t want to use someone’s neopronoun, I do not think I should be compelled to do so. I believe I should be able to choose to use their name instead.
  • I know this is the very issue that brought Jordan Peterson to public attention. He jumped the shark a long time ago, but I believe he was right, at the time, to bring concerns about compelled speech into public discourse.

My question is this:
In the example “Refusing to use a person’s name or pronouns”, are we to understand that we are free to use either or that we must use both?

Perhaps there is an answer out there somewhere someone can point me to or, if not, how can I get some clarification from UBC about this without exposing myself to backlash?