“Morning circle” occurs every morning as the group prepares to depart camp. It is an opportunity for each student to share the mindset and feelings they are carrying into the day. In the all gender group, taking a moment to share one’s preferred pronouns as part of morning circle is simple and profoundly affirming.
Quick vocabulary recap: Gender identity is a person’s internal sense of gender and gender expression is an individual’s external presentation (ie. clothes, hair cut, tone of voice, etc.). You cannot see a person’s gender, what you see is their gender expression. And gender expression and gender identity may or may not align. Pronouns are a way to communicate one’s internal gender identity to the external world. Verbally stating pronouns during morning circle is a powerful way of connecting and feeling understood.
Let’s break this down one step further. Students in the all gender group are on their gender journey, where they are developing their gender identity. Some students have chosen pronouns that are fixed (ie. only use one set of pronouns), others use multiple sets of pronouns, and still others are just beginning to question their pronouns. Some have been living with their chosen name and pronoun for years and others have not shared their gender identity with anyone face-to-face before. Stating one’s pronouns normalizes exploration, and allows the individual to try on different gender pronouns. It allows the individual to determine what feels good and affirming versus incongruent. For all of these reasons, students in the all gender group have incorporated pronouns into morning circle, creating a structure to hold everyone’s individual gender journey.
