Kia Ora,
Recently there's been a little controversy over a term I used
"Shape-Shifter" which some members took offence and saw it as somewhat derogatory [others just took it for what it was, part of a harmless question]....
So this thread is like a clarification of sorts[peace offering
]on how I came to use this term [which BTW was in no way meant to be derogatory]...So......
Many moons ago when I was still sitting in the
"transit lounge" waiting to depart [androgynous stage but still living as a male] I was visiting some friend's at the company they owned where I used to do some "friend or foe" identification work for them [They were involved in urban pest management ], anyway I was there talking to some of the staff who knew of my transition [they were pretty laid back about it and would quite often ask questions which I was more than happy to answer if I could]...
Well I had just finished telling them about the experiences I had where people's perceptions differ greatly when they saw me...At times some saw a
female other times
male and some just
didn't know what to think...They themselves [the staff] didn't actually consciously acknowledge the gradual metamorphosis that was taking place, because they had seen me almost every second day for a number of years...
Then this guy comes in who worked for the department of conservation, on one of the off shore islands, he had an ant species he wanted identified...He noticed me standing there with my entomological magnify glass in hand [looking all important and professional
] and after explaining what it was he wanted to one of the staff members he then said "Ah perhaps this
"lady" with the magnify glass could help me!"
Well as you can imagine this blew the staff members away,
they were witnessing first hand the
shape-shifting process that goes on within the workings of the mind...After the guy had gone, some started to say "Ah yes, now I see etc, etc!"
"Shape shifting" had stated to happen within their minds...
The other
shape shifting is just the run of the mill Si-Fi stuff...Not that I have anything against Si-Fi...whatever rocks ones boat or spaceship....
So just out of interest when you hear or read the term
"shape shifter" what comes to mind ?
And what other terms would you find offensive if applied to
"gender diverse" or
"gender non conforming" people...[Perhaps even those two terms are offensive to some...who knows] ?
WARNING !My grammar is wanting people, and so's my spelling... but what the heck, I'll give it a go anyway...Got nothing to lose except membership perhaps
...
Thank you [in advance] for your participation...
"No offence meant!" hopefully "No offence taken!" Fingers XX XX
Metta Zenda
