Kikis with Louie’s Quick & Easy Etiquette Guide To Pronouns: WATCH

Gaynrd spoke to Lincoln Mondy, Director of Kikis with Louie and Senior Manager of Strategic Projects at Advocates for Youth about their latest video hosted by Elias Bean. The video is a great primer on the all too contentious pronoun conversation that the right has intentionally appropriated and obfuscated to further adversarial divisiveness.

Gaynrd: What was the impetus of the video?

Lincoln Mondy: We’re focused on creating practical content that young people can learn from – so we knew a video guide on pronouns was critical. Normalizing the use of pronouns fosters a culture of respect and affirmation for all people, so it’s essential that we communicate how to do so in a low-pressure and supportive environment. 

With #KikisWithLouie, we’re focused on creating space to normalize conversations around HIV, consent, mental health, and more – topics we know LGBTQ youth are told to bury and left to navigate alone. In addition to the Kikis with youth activists and the celebrities, artists, and athletes they admire, we also wanted to provide short and to-the-point guides. 

Gaynrd: Do you think things have improved over time in terms of the general population recognizing appropriate pronouns?

In recent years, we have seen more of a concerted effort for people to include their pronouns in their email signatures, social media bios, and business cards – but for the most part, that has been led by trans and GNC folks. The onus shouldn’t be all on the shoulders of these communities, and everyone can work harder to make listing and asking for pronouns more routine. 

Gaynrd: What is Advocates for Youth’s overall mission?

Advocates for Youth works with youth leaders, adult allies, and youth-serving organizations to fight for new policies and champions programs that recognize young people’s right to information, services, and opportunities.

Gaynrd: How many people are behind Kikis with Louie, and how large is Advocates for Youth’s team?

The core team of Kikis with Louie is composed of Louie and me, and we form a very close-knit and collaborative duo, which makes this project so much fun! Throughout the season, we’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with so many creatives of color, like Motion Mami, and our brilliant coworkers at Advocates. 

Check out the video below.

Kikis with Louie is a collaboration between Advocates For Youth that aims to normalize stigmatized conversations about HIV, STIs, healthy relationships, and more. Episodes feature honest conversations with LGBTQ youth and the celebrities, athletes, artists, and activists they admire most. A new video will be released every-other Thursday until September 2019. 

For more information, contact the director of the series, Lincoln Mondy(lincoln@advocatesforyouth.org). 

Advocates’ Twitter handle is @AdvocatesTweets and Lincoln’s is @LincolnMondy.