Susan's Place Transgender Resources

So a few days ago someone asked me if I knew <femalename>.  She was referring to another trans guy that I know in person, and it took me a moment to realize who she was talking about.  When I did I asked, "Wait, do you mean <malename>?  Yeah, I lived with him for a while." (tried to put emphasis on him)  She told me that she had met him as <femalename> and commented on how "she's becoming a man."

I mean, maybe she just doesn't know better, but I was too exhausted to explain how disrespectful that is and it's been bugging me since.  I should have said something.

Does she know you're trans?
I don't know, it could just be more ignorance than disrespect. Some people don't realize which pronouns or names to use if this whole trans thing has never really been explained to them. I remember a gay friend having to explain to me that 'some guys who dress as women' prefer female pronouns. I was totally ignorant.

Quote from: Not-so Fat Admin on March 29, 2013, 09:27:32 PM
Some people don't realize which pronouns or names to use if this whole trans thing has never really been explained to them.

Put me in that category. Until I started hanging around with trans people last year, I had no clue about any of this. It didn't occur to me that a person with a vagina should ever be called "he". Looking back, my lack of empathy was sort of astounding, but it was really due solely to ignorance.

I think it is safe to assume that 99.5% of people haven't a clue. A little friendly educating can go a long way to shift perceptions from Jerry Springer to real life