Why Twitter and Instagram are inviting people to share their pronouns

Are you a he or a she? A they or a ze? If you’re on Instagram, you can now choose from a list of more than 10 pronoun options to express your gender identity. High-profile transgender and non-binary stars including Hollywood star Elliot Page and singers Sam Smith and Demi Lovato are helping to drive growing awareness of gender minorities – and big businesses are embracing the social shift. Twitter says it will roll out pronoun options for its users soon, following the lead of other major social media sites such as Instagram and LinkedIn, as well as a host of big companies. Similarly, video streaming service Twitch has said it will add tags allowing users to show they are transgender. But what is the aim – and why are corporations so keen to jump on the bandwagon? Here are the key details. From trans to genderfluid, androgyne and demigirl, there are dozens of gender identities beyond the binary male and female, with pronouns options ranging from they to ze, fae, and it.