Gender Identity & Preferred Pronouns | University of Portland

Gender Identity & Preferred Pronouns

Why We Ask

University of Portland welcomes all students into a vibrant campus community that respects and celebrates the human dignity of all. We collect gender identity and preferred pronoun information so that we can best honor a student’s identity. Gender identity and preferred pronoun responses are not included in the application evaluation process and are not used for a discriminatory purpose.

University of Portland Statement of Inclusion

At the University of Portland, a Catholic University guided by the Congregation of Holy Cross, all dimensions of our communal life — teaching and learning, faith and formation, and service and leadership — are informed and transformed by prayer, scripture, and the Christian tradition. Our belief in the inherent dignity of each person is founded upon the social teaching of the Catholic Church. At the center of that teaching is the fundamental mandate that every person, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social or economic class, age, or disability shall be treated with respect and dignity.

Moreover, we seek to create and sustain an inclusive environment where all people are welcomed as children of God and valued as full members of our community. We condemn harassment of every kind, and assert that no one in our community should be subject to physical or verbal harassment or abuse. Further, no one shall be denied access to programs, services, and activities for any unlawful reason. We provide all who live, learn, and work at the University the opportunity to actively participate in a vibrant, diverse, intellectual community that offers a broad range of ideas and perspectives, so that we may all learn from one another.

This statement was adopted by the Board of Regents on May 13, 2011.

Glossary of Gender Terms

Agender2
A person who is internally ungendered or does not have a felt sense of gender identity; androgynous; a person appearing and/or identifying as neither man nor woman, presenting a gender either mixed or neutral.

Gender non-conforming2
A term for individuals whose gender expression is different from societal expectations related to
gender.

Genderfluid2 
A person whose gender identification and presentation shifts, whether within or outside of societal, gender-based expectations

Genderqueer4
People that typically reject the binary categories of gender, embracing a fluidity of gender identity. People who identify as "genderqueer" may see themselves as being both male and female, neither male or female or as falling completely outside of these categories. 

Man1
An adult male human

Non binary4
An umbrella term for people who transcend commonly held concepts of gender through their own expression and identities. Other terms for this might include gender expansive, gender creative, or genderqueer. Some non-binary people also identify as transgender. 

Trans man2
A term for an individual assigned female at birth who identifies as a man; men who are transgender. 

Trans woman2
A term for an individual assigned male at birth who identifies as a woman; women who are transgender. 

Woman1
An adult female person

Sources

  1. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/
  2. https://campusclimate.berkeley.edu/students/ejce/geneq/resources/lgbtq-resources/definition-terms
  3. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sex-sexuality-and-romance/201807/guide-genderqueer-non-binary-and-genderfluid-identity
  4. http://www.welcomingschools.org/resources/definitions/definitions-for-adults/