Staff members at the University of Bristol have been given guidance on gender identity and neopronouns, including 'catgender'.
The institution says in its 'using pronouns at work' document that staff should declare their own pronouns when meeting students and new people for the first time, encouraging staff to put their own preferred pronouns in their email signatures to support trans and non-binary students and normalise the practice for all.
Its guidance also links to a web page that says that some people may identify as felines and others could use 'emojiself pronouns', which some people ridiculed online.
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The university's guide explains the concept of pronouns for individuals, stressing that someone's gender cannot necessarily be assumed just based on their name, appearance, voice, or the manner in which they express themselves.
It says that for people who are trans and non-binary, the use of the correct pronouns is particularly important as they will have had a very difficult journey to being recognised as their correct gender.
The guidance links to a webpage from the LGBTA Wiki that explains the concept of 'neopronouns', which are "any set of singular third-person pronouns that are not officially recognised in the language they are used in, typically created with the intent of being gender-neutral pronoun set".
It states that people use 'neopronouns' to avoid the singular 'they' (typically used as a gender-neutral pronoun) being confused with the plural 'they'.
In the list of examples is 'Emojiself' pronouns, which is described to staff as "a subcategory of nounself pronouns, which are pronouns that, instead of using letters, utilize emojis".
"These pronouns are not intended to be pronounced out loud and are only intended for online communication," the webpage says. "In spoken conversation one may or may not use pronouns that are based on the emoji".
The list also discusses how noun-self pronouns are used by individuals who are 'xenic' - whose gender is not aligned to "the Western human binary of gender alignments". The web page states as an example: "Someone who is catgender may use nya/nyan pronouns" (meaning 'meow' in Japanese).
'Catgender' is described on the web page as "[feeling] an extremely strong connection to cats or other felines, either strongly identifying with them or simply wanting to incorporate them into their gender to better understand their identity".
Bristol University's guide encourages staff to not get "defensive" if they make a mistake when referring to someone, and provides an example of how to correct oneself by apologising and then using the correct pronoun and carrying on without making a "big deal".
It also urges staff to be proactive by "introducing pronoun introductions to regular conversations and meetings" in order to avoid misidentifying people.
Some people have criticised the guidance online, with many questioning how someone could identify as 'catgender' and how an emoji could be considered a gender.
Speaking to The Telegraph Debbie Hayton, a transgender campaigner, said: "It brings the whole concept of being a transsexual and transitioning in society into disrepute, we didn’t ask for this. Pronouns are there to describe what we see and what we know."
She added sarcastically on Twitter after the publication of the article that she would use the "face with rolling eyes" and "angry red face" as her own emojis.
The Free Speech Union - a controversial group that claims to counter the "digital outrage mob" - wrote on Twitter: "Needless to say we will support any member of ours at Bristol University who refuses to obey this guidance to use “cat pronouns” to refer to their “catgender” students."
Several others described extent of the guidance as "barking mad", "beyond satire" and "embarrassing".
However, Dr Jane Hamlin, the president of the Beaumont Society, Britain’s oldest transgender support group, told The Telegraph: "I have not come across ‘emoji self pronouns’ previously, but if anyone I encounter identifies with one or more of these, I would hope that I would respect their wishes."
It comes as PhD student Raquel Rosario Sanchez begins a court battle against the university, claiming that she was subject to an alleged two-year campaign of bullying by transgender activists at the university amounting to sex discrimination.
In a separate incident last year, Ms Rosario Sanchez was banned by Bristol Students' Union from a leadership role in a feminist society after allegedly excluding several trans women from talks about women's sexual assault.
University's statement
In a statement, a University of Bristol spokesperson said: “The University of Bristol is committed to gender inclusion. The correct use of pronouns is important to some members of our University community. The information on our website is designed to help people understand the different variations and nuances that this covers.
"There is no expectation that staff must commit every possible pronoun to memory. Using pronouns on email signatures or as part of meeting introductions is not a mandatory requirement.
“Ms Rosario Sanchez has chosen to take legal action against the University. Given this, we will not comment further. All concerns about harassment or bullying are taken seriously and action taken in accordance with our University policies. If staff or students have concerns or complaints, we encourage them to raise them directly with us.”
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