Ask Matt: Correcting a Past Pronoun

[Shana A]

Ask Matt: Correcting a Past Pronoun

October 13, 2011 by Matt Kailey

http://tranifesto.com/2011/10/13/ask-matt-correcting-a-past-pronoun/

A reader writes: "I'm reasonably clued about trans etiquette, but I've never really known what to do with this one. What pronoun do you use for a person when talking about them in their pre-transition past? What feels right to me is to use whatever gender they were presenting as at the time, but I'm not certain that's right.

"Obviously, it's important not to out someone or create social awkwardness, so I suspect that the answer is nuanced rather than black-and-white. I truly have no idea how to fill in this blank, though: 'I ran into a former coworker on the street today. The last time I saw him, (___) was named Jane.'