In 2021, Instagram joined Facebook in adding an optional space for pronouns on user profiles.
This inclusive feature makes it easier for users to share their pronouns in a public space, which helps eliminate assumptions based on appearance — and normalizes pronouns — making the social media platform safer for people who are nonbinary, genderfluid, intersex, transitioning, or gender questioning.
You can learn more about gender pronouns in these guides: she/her | he/him | they/them | he/they | she/they
Everybody has pronouns — and displaying them on your Instagram profile brings clarity and allyship to the social network. Here is a guide on how you can add your pronouns to your Instagram account in a few simple steps!
How to add your pronouns to your Instagram profile:
1. Open the Instagram app and tap the profile icon, located on the far right of the bar on the bottom of the screen.
2. On your profile page, tap “Edit Profile.”
3. Tap the “Pronouns” field.
4. In the “Add your pronouns” field, begin typing in your pronouns. Options will appear below as your type. You can add up to four to your Instagram profile.
5. After you’ve selected your pronouns, you can toggle the option to “Show to Followers Only” or allow your pronouns to be visible to anyone who visits your profile.
6. Tap the “Done” button. Your pronouns should now appear in your Instagram bio beside your name.
List of Instagram’s pronoun options:
Here is a comprehensive list of the English pronoun options currently available on the social media platform:
- Co
- Cos
- E
- Ey
- Em
- Eir
- Fae
- Faer
- Faers
- He
- Him
- His
- Her
- Hers
- It
- Its
- Mer
- Mers
- Ne
- Nir
- Nirs
- Nee
- Ner
- Per
- Pers
- She
- They
- Them
- Theirs
- Thon
- Thons
- Ve
- Vers
- Vis
- Vi
- Vir
- Xe
- Xem
- Xyr
- Ze
- Zir
- Zie
Additional pronoun options are available in non-English languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Indonesian, Turkish, Arabic, Farsi, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish, Dutch, and Swedish.
If you would like to request additional pronouns that are not currently available, you can visit this Instagram Help page to submit an inquiry.
It’s become common practice for Instagram users to display their pronouns.
Jonathan Van Ness (one of our 2023 Helpers of the Year!) has “they/he/she” pronouns in their Instagram bio. The “Queer Eye” star and “Getting Curious” podcast host identifies as nonbinary and has spoken publicly about their pronoun journey.
“Some days I feel like a man, but then other days I feel like a woman,” Van Ness told OUT Magazine. “I think my energies are really all over the place. Any opportunity I have to break down stereotypes of the binary, I am down for it, I'm here for it.”
Emma Watson displays “she/her” pronouns on her Instagram profile. The “Harry Potter” alum has long been vocal about gender equality and inclusivity. In 2017, Watson spoke about the significance of winning “Best Actor” for “Beauty and the Beast” at the first-ever gender-neutral MTV Movie Awards.
“MTV’s move to create a genderless award for acting will mean something different for everyone, but to me it indicates that acting is about the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and that doesn’t need to be separated into two different categories,” Watson said in her acceptance speech. “Empathy and the ability to use your imagination should have no limits.”
Alok Vaid-Menon — also known as ALOK — is a transgender artist who uses “they/them” pronouns in their Instagram profile. Through poetry, film, and performance art, Vaid-Menon uses their platform to advocate for transgender rights and visibility. In January 2024, Vaid-Menon attended Sundance to promote their short documentary film “ALOK.”
“Something I really appreciated about the final cut is that much of representation of my community dwells on our tragedy and violence,” Vaid-Menon said in an interview with Deadline about the film. “But what you really see in this film is a kind of vibrancy and aliveness that actually redefines transness not as something tragic or sad, but actually something really beautiful and ebullient for the entire world.”
