“What’s in a name?” That’s what TikTok’s chief operating officer, Vanessa Pappas, pondered in an extended tweet thread on Monday discussing the role of gender identity and pronouns in their personal and professional lives.
Pappas announced on Twitter and LinkedIn that they go by V in their personal life and had recently started using they/them pronouns. In the string of tweets, which has garnered tens of thousands of views, Pappas also shared that they identify as “both a woman and non-binary” and pansexual.
They also said that they decided to talk publicly about their gender identity and pronouns after extended conversations with their spouse and children “about the importance of recognizing diversity across sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, gender, age, socio-economic status, personal abilities, political backgrounds etc.”
7/Since representation matters, I recognize the importance of language in identifying & affirming gender differences. As a parent I also want to set an example on how its ok to represent yourself in a way that you most identify with & to have pride & to celebrate such difference.
— V Pappas (@v_ness) February 6, 2023
The COO also hoped that openly discussing their pronouns on social media would bring visibility about gender-affirming language to the workplace and reflect TikTok’s inclusive values.
9/ So while most of you know me as being fairly private as it relates to my personal life I did feel it important to bring my whole self to work and to share my gender identity and preferred pronouns. And through my actions show that difference is accepted and welcomed at TikTok.
— V Pappas (@v_ness) February 6, 2023