Introduction
In the past few years, there has been an exponential increase in the number of bills targeting transgender and nonbinary people. Among the legislative tactics are restrictions on the use of chosen names and pronouns, particularly in schools and government settings. At the state level, some legislatures have passed laws to limit the use of students’ chosen names and pronouns, while some have passed laws to protect individuals who refuse to use them. Some examples are below. In contrast, some states have passed laws to prevent forced outing of students or expanded their antidiscrimination laws to protect gender identity and expression, to include chosen names and pronouns.
At the national level, several bills referencing pronoun use have been introduced in Congress but none has been enacted yet. In the Executive Branch, the Trump administration has issued executive orders and memos, summarized below, to limit the use of pronouns in school and federal workplace settings.
This guidance seeks to give journalists some tools for covering these laws and policies.
State laws aiming to limit use of chosen names and pronouns
- Florida: “Subsection 3” — Signed into law in May 2023, partially blocked
Asserts that sex is immutable and that it is “false” to use a pronoun that is inconsistent with birth sex. Prohibits teachers and school employees from disclosing their pronouns if they do not match their birth sex; asserts that employees and students of public K-12 schools cannot be required to use a personal title or pronoun that does not correspond to a person’s birth sex. Provisions of the law are still being litigated.
- Iowa: S.F. 496 — Signed into law in May 2023, partially blocked
Requires teachers, counselors, school psychologists and other staff to report students to parents or guardians if a student requests a name or pronoun change to align with gender identity; bans books with LGBTQ+ or sexual content. Also forbids any instruction or programs related to sexual orientation or gender identity in grades K-6. Provisions of the law are still being litigated.
- Kansas: S.B. 125 — Enacted in April 2025
Requires the secretary of administration to certify that all state agencies have removed pronouns and gender ideology from state employees’ email signatures and other forms of communication.
State laws barring punishment for refusing to use a person’s chosen name or pronoun
- Montana: H.B. 400, “Free to Speak Act” — Signed into law in May 2025
Prohibits adverse employment actions against employees, disciplinary actions against students and state action penalizing individuals for 1) refusing to give their own pronouns or 2) refusing to use another person’s chosen name or pronouns if those differ from a legal name or derivative or is inconsistent with the person’s sex.
- West Virginia: S.B. 474 — Signed into law in April 2025
Asserts that county board and public charter school employees are not required to use a student’s pronoun if inconsistent with the individual’s sex; prohibits civil liability and adverse employment actions for employees who use a pronoun consistent with the student’s sex.
- Wyoming: S.F. 0077 — Enacted in February 2025
Prohibits the state and its subdivisions from compelling employees to refer to other employees by their “preferred pronouns”; creates a civil action for violations of this prohibition.
State laws aiming to protect individual’s use of a chosen name and pronoun
- California: “SAFETY Act” — Enacted in July 2024
Prohibits schools from enacting “forced outing” policies, requiring notification of parents when a student requests a name or pronoun change.
- New York: Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act — Enacted in 2019
Adds “gender identity or expression” to the state’s human rights law as a protected category in all covered settings, including education. Guidance states that refusing to use requested names or pronouns is unlawful discrimination.
Federal executive orders related to limits on pronoun use
- E.O. 14183: “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness“
Directs the Department of Defense to revise medical, personnel and training policies to exclude from military service any individual whose gender differs from the government’s determination of their sex; directs the secretary of defense to issue a directive to end “invented and identification-based pronoun use.” (The 2024 Defense Authorization Act amended the U.S. Code to prohibit DoD from requiring or prohibiting pronouns in official correspondence.)
- E.O. 14168: “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government“
Directs the federal government to recognize only two immutable sexes — male and female — determined at conception, and directs federal agencies to end funding to “promote gender ideology” — prompting grant terminations at agencies including the departments of Agriculture, Education, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development, among others.
- Corresponding Office of Personnel memo, “Initial Guidance Regarding President Trump’s Executive Order Defending Women”
Directs federal Executive Branch agencies to “end federal funding of gender ideology”; directs agencies to review agency email systems and turn off features that ask users for pronouns. In response, agencies such as the departments of Energy, Health and Human Services and Labor directed staff to remove pronouns from email signatures.
- E.O. 14190: “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling”
Prevents federal funds from being used by schools to support the social transition of minor students, which the order defines as including adopting a gender identity or marker that differs from one’s sex, modifying one’s name or pronouns and calling a child nonbinary. Directs the attorney general to investigate and prosecute educators for the sexual exploitation of minors, practicing medicine without a license or otherwise “unlawfully” supporting the social transition of minor students. Eliminates federal funding for illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination, to include “gender ideology,” in K-12 schools.
General guidance and recommendations
Consider consequences beyond the legislation and orders. What are the other effects of laws and policies that restrict name and pronoun use? For example, because of the potential risk of outing, critics have raised safety concerns about legislation that requires teachers or administrators to notify parents or guardians if a student requests to use a different name or pronoun.
Be aware of how name and pronoun restrictions are combined with other laws and barriers. Some of the laws targeting names and pronouns also prohibit bathroom use, sports participation and discussion of LGBTQ topics. Some attempt to ban books. In addition, some individuals might face barriers updating legal documents such as a birth certificate or driver’s license, which could intersect with laws restricting chosen name and pronoun use.
Consider if the restrictions impact a minority group disproportionately, and how. Does the legislation single out a minority group or groups — transgender and nonbinary individuals — for discriminatory treatment, for example, only prohibiting those who are trans or nonbinary from disclosing their pronouns? Or does a law treat everyone the same, e.g., no one can disclose their pronouns?
Consider whose rights are being prioritized. Orders targeting chosen names and pronouns generally seek to impose the beliefs and values of a political faction on a particular minority group. Does the larger group get to dictate what name or pronoun a person uses? Why? Does freedom of speech override personal identity? Does the legislation appear to legalize bullying or harassment? How does one characterize protecting adults and students who refuse to respect a student’s identity and safety?
Prioritize relevant voices. Seek out voices of the people who are most directly targeted, including trans and nonbinary students and their parents, trans and nonbinary employees, gender-nonconforming individuals and teachers and administrators. Pay attention to, but don’t limit yourself to, people who testify at public hearings.
Keep in mind the legal, legislative and political landscape. Several state laws and local policies have been challenged in court, so be mindful of how any relevant cases and investigations might proceed. Also bear in mind that some sources might have negative reactions to a journalist asking about pronouns or providing their own.
Recognize that these laws and orders do not prevent journalists from asking sources for pronouns and using a person’s correct pronouns. If a source discloses on the record that they are transgender, nonbinary or gender-nonconforming, ask which pronouns they use and incorporate them into your report as needed. They/them/their are acceptable as singular, gender-neutral pronouns if the subject uses them. Alternative gender-neutral pronouns, such as zie/zim/zis and sometimes called neopronouns, are acceptable if requested but may require extra explanation in a story or broadcast.
Use of they as a singular pronoun has become common enough that it should not require explanation in a story. Journalists should use their judgment and consult with their sources, when possible, on whether a passage containing a gender-neutral pronoun needs to be recast for clarity, whether it makes sense to explain the pronoun in the story, and whether it would dishonor the story subject to avoid using pronouns.
For example, the meaning of the sentence Robert Sanchez, a member of the group of environmentalists, said they disagree with points of the organization’s mission hinges on whether they refers to Sanchez or environmentalists. The options for recasting would depend on the context available to the journalist and on the story’s audience.
Some people use multiple pronouns, such as she/they or he/she/they. Especially in longer pieces, look for ways to incorporate both or all a person’s pronouns without confusing the reader; avoid defaulting to one unless the person agrees to it.
Avoid references to preferred pronouns because doing so implies that calling people other than what they want to be called is a viable alternative. Avoid references to chosen pronouns because they are not always chosen. Instead, when relevant: Sanchez, who uses the pronoun they or Sanchez, whose pronouns are they/them/their.
Resources
If you or someone in your newsroom has questions about language use, NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists is available to provide peer-to-peer guidance. The resources below may also help:
- ACLU: LGBTQ Rights Project — national civil rights advocacy organization, offers a guide on how executive orders work and an anti-LGBTQ bill tracker
- American Bar Association — legal membership organization, offers insight and commentary on how federal law affects human rights
- Lambda Legal — legal organization that specializes in LGBTQ+ civil rights litigation, education and policy work
- Movement Advancement Project — nonprofit think tank, tracks state and federal laws and policies that affect LGBTQ+ people
- National LGBTQ+ Bar — legal membership organization, tracks anti-LGBTQ+ executive order litigation
- National Center for LGBTQ Rights — national legal organization that provides legal assistance to LGBTQ people and advocates for LGBTQ rights
- National Women’s Law Center — legal organization focused on gender justice
- Southern Poverty Law Center — legal and advocacy organization focused on racial justice
- Trans Journalists Association — membership organization with guidance on anti-trans laws and policies and executive orders that affect trans Americans
- Trans Legislation Tracker — tracks legislation that impacts transgender and gender-diverse individuals
- USCourts.gov — website for the U.S. Courts, offers a guide to the federal courts
- Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law — research center that publishes empirical studies and legal analyses of policies affecting LGBTQ people
About NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists
NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists is a journalist-led association working within the news media to advance fair and accurate coverage of LGBTQ+ communities and issues.
Our Stylebook on LGBTQ+ Terminology, in addition to this supplement, is intended to complement the long-form style books of individual publications, as well as The Associated Press Stylebook, which also has extensive guidance on language around gender, sex and sexual orientation.