tweakabelle
Posts: 7522
Joined: 10/16/2007 From: Sydney Australia Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: LadyPact I (almost) find this kind of funny. This might be different than the pronoun gig but I'll put it out there, anyway. I've heard several posters get on their high horse about how they will not condescend themselves to use a person's pronoun of preference, even when they know what that pronoun happens to be. Won't use the person's 'new' name that corresponds to their gender preference, and all of that bunk. Yet... These are the same people who, even though they know my first given/Christian name, will be courteous enough to call me Lady Pact, LP. just Pact, or even just 'that gal who writes in purple'. Even *if* they only consider it a nick name, scene name, screen name, or whatever. Yeah, it's not my "real" name, but people call me by my preference, anyway. Funny, isn't it? Yes. That's the case for you and me. But for transgenders there's a lot more at stake than mere pronouns. When someone repeatedly and gratuitously refers to a TG by an inappropriate pronoun, they are deliberately negating the TG's identity, they are attacking the very core of a TG's person's identity. For many TGs, obtaining acceptance in their chosen gender is a struggle a long difficult and often very painful struggle. When a person deliberately uses inappropriate pronouns they are telling the TG and the world, that in their view, the TG's identity is invalid and arrogantly imposing another unwanted, often hated identity on the TG. If someone were to repeatedly and deliberately call a straight man gay, it's easy to imagine the reaction of many of the more belligerently straight gay hating types. The deliberate challenge to their identity would taken as a provocative attack on their very core. Many would resort to violence to restore their 'honour'. The very same dynamic applies to interactions with TGs. It's difficult to understand why some people are so belligerent about their supposed right to deny, invalidate and attack a complete stranger's identity without resorting to bigotry and hatred as the most likely explanation.
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