Your Instructor
Chris Angel (they/them) is the Founder of LGBTQ School and the resource site GenderSexuality.Info. They hold an MSW from the USC Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and previously attended California State University, Los Angeles for their BSW. Chris Angel started LGBTQ+ organizing as a youth in 2001 and has been professionally speaking and presenting about various topics ever since they graduated high school. In 2009, they had the privilege of being the Outstanding Youth Leadership Honoree for LA Pride. Since then, their professional and volunteer journey has had them working with and for great non-profits and causes like More Than Sex-Ed, The Trevor Project, TEEN LINE, Didi Hirsch, Models of Pride, APLA, The LA LGBT Center, The National MS Society, and many more. They are super passionate about connecting people to the resources they need, and training professionals on cultural competency for working with the LGBTQ+ community.
Interested in hiring them to train, speak, or consult? Visit ChrisAngelMurphy.com
What's this course about?
Pronouns are becoming more normalized in introductions, email signatures, LinkedIn profiles, Instagram bios, and more.
Does this look familiar?
Not everyone knows what pronouns are, how to use them, why it's important to share your's first, or how to ask for someone else's pronouns. Some people are left making intentional places for them on social media and elsewhere because there is no dedicated place to have this information. So, what's the deal? Should you participate in this, too?
The answer is: yes. This is a great time to practice allyship and normalize a process for all.
Maybe you:
- Saw pronouns in someone's email signature and didn't know what that's about
- Heard pronouns being shared during a meeting and didn't understand why
- Read that someone's pronouns just changed and need more information
- Want to practice allyship by normalizing sharing and asking of pronouns
- Feel compelled to help others understand and don't know where to start
By the end of this course, you'll:
- Have a better understanding of what pronouns are and how they're used in everyday scenarios
- Know how to share and ask for pronouns in various settings, both personal and professional
- Learn common places to display your pronouns, such as LinkedIn and email signatures
- Offer genuine apologies by knowing what to avoid and how to hold yourself accountable
- Be familiar with how you can gently correct others
This course features about an hour of content, plus bonus resources to deepen your learning. There are action items, chances to practice sharing your pronouns, sharable graphics, and more :)
Closed captioning is not available on this video due to technical limitations, but it is available throughout the course.
Nikki A. (she/her)
City Employee
I feel better equipped in supporting peers/friends/loved ones.
For example, I hadn’t considered first getting consent when it comes to correcting others who misgender or misname someone. That one lesson is huge! I will definitely be implementing the practice of checking in with others first.
Rhiannon S. (she/her)
Professor of Nursing
"I am a nursing faculty member, I have revised my presentation for students based on things I learned from the course.
I am so excited to share what I've learned with my new class of nursing students. I know it will have an impact on their practice while also having the potential benefit of letting a student know that their experience is valuable and they are respected members of our learning community."
Laura G. (she/her)
Small business owner
"You will gain something from this course no matter what. I was very familiar with pronouns when I took this course and I felt like I gained a much more thorough understanding of them after this course."
Example Curriculum
Jess K. (she/her)
Parent and Social Worker
"I used to fear making a mistake. While I consider myself rather up to speed on respecting pronouns, I have always been overly nervous about messing up. I am also so in love with the Platinum Rule, and I hadn't heard of it before this course. I will be teaching my 11-year-old everything I learned.
The concepts were easy to follow, entertaining, so heartfelt, and engaging. I cannot wait to share this with my son, well, and anyone else I can think of!! I wish everyone would take this course."
Tyler H. (she/her)
Tech start-up company employee
"I enjoyed the interactiveness in the course and it was fun to write comments and see how other people were applying the information and to share what we all learned together. I also really enjoyed being able to take this course at my own pace. I was able to go back and relisten to the lectures and they were all in small enough chunks that it was easily digestible and easy to use.
This is a great course whether you think you know everything about pronouns or not. There is great foundational information as well as tangible ways to apply this both personally and professionally. You will almost definitely learn something new in this course!"
Havilah M. (she/her)
Entertainer
"Chris Angel is such a comforting host for this course. If you are the type to get stressed around pronouns because you're worried about making a mistake, they will absolutely put you at ease and give you all of the tools you need to confidently navigate all pronoun conversations.
I am amazed at how succinct each course is, for how much information they provide! It's so nice to find a training video where I never have to wonder how long I'll wait until the next point. The additional resources provided at the end of the courses are phenomenal. I found answers to questions I didn't even know I had!"
This is offered in a pay-what-you-can model to help increase financial accessibility for those needing the information, as not to create barriers.
By purchasing, you are also affirming that LGBTQ+ people's lived and professional experiences are worthy of financial support and acknowledgment.
Ready to order? Scroll down!
FAQ
Do I need to know LGBTQ+ 101 to take this course?
While it is helpful to have a basic understanding of the LGBTQ+ community and various terminology, it is not required to take this course.
Will there be updates?
Yes, the course will be reviewed yearly for necessary updates based on cultural changes and more.
How is the information presented?
It's mostly ~5-minute videos with narrated slides. The slides are a mix of graphics and text to vary it up. There are times to pause to complete an action before moving on. Additional outside resources, shareable graphics for social media, and opportunities to apply and practice what you've learned are below each lecture. You'll also have a tracker to show how much of the course you've completed so far. Bonus sections will be added in the future! Although it's written to be taken from beginning to end, you can skip around and even speed up the audio if you need me to talk faster :)
I've never used this platform before. Will I be able to use it well?
Yes, I set you up with some common troubleshooting tips and show you how to navigate around the course so you can get the most from the experience. It'll be best on a computer, though you are able to take it from most devices with a browser.
If I know an LGBTQ+ person who says differently from your course, who do I listen to?
The LGBTQ+ community is full of rich diversity, including opinions and perspectives. It's possible that some of the items I introduce may clash with what you've learned previously - in fact, I can almost guarantee that! I hope that I present the information in a way that can help you think more critically about some of the ways we show up for each other so you can make the best decision for yourself and the people you interact with on a regular basis. Culture also changes over time. I only introduce items I believe are best practices with the knowledge I have and recognize what I share may not work for everyone or every situation. An example of this is members of the LGBTQ+ community talking about making sharing/displaying pronouns mandatory for people who are cisgender: I believe this practice may cause unintentional harm, counter to what it sets out to do, for both cisgender and transgender people alike. It's my belief that pronouns should be highly encouraged in spaces and that it requires training, listening, and holding cultural values such as "leaning in" to give it the best environment to thrive. The good news is, you don't have to go at it alone. Take what I share with you into your spaces and talk it out - decide what will work best for your communities. Practices such as implementing pronouns in a company takes time and strategy. If you want to talk it out more, I'm available to hire for consultation and training.
What about accessibility?
This course is able to be completed from most browser-connected devices, including computers, tablets, and smartphones. You can turn on English CC and speed up or slow down the pace of each video.
Anything else not answered?
Please reach out to Chris Angel (they/them) LGBTQSchool [at] gmail [dot] com