I guess when people think they see a female, their brain makes them hear a female name, even if you say a very male name.  I know some people though Elijah said his name was "Eliza."

Quote from: LucienOctopus on August 26, 2010, 11:31:29 AM
I guess when people think they see a female, their brain makes them hear a female name, even if you say a very male name.  I know some people though Elijah said his name was "Eliza."

That makes sense, I didn't think about it that way. I better make sure I clearly say my name before someone thinks I said Jane or something

in response to a post earlier about transfolk (i am not male-identified at all) at women's colleges:

a lot of the appeal for staying at my school right now is based on the queer community therein. gender-nonconforming people as a whole often seem to end up there because of the supportive queer community and the fact that as a women's college, it's already taking gender into account. we just take it several steps further. it's also a lot easier there to go by my preferred pronouns (they, them, theirs) because it's a familiar and usually supportive environment.

as far as the faculty and the folks outside the queer community, it gets a little mixed up and shifts around a little. faculty always call me by my preferred name, but the pronoun/other identity politics stuff gets kind of murky. i usually don't broach the subject.

I actually just made a post about this subject a few days ago without realizing this one already existed. I emailed my professors the other day and I got good responses from all of them. I was very nervous because this is the first time I'm really "out" in public this much. Yes I was out to friends and therapists, but never professors. I'm glad it was met well

Last semester I had kinda a crap time at uni. It's my third year there and I only started transitioning this year so everyone knew me by my female name and had seen me in girl mode.  I got pretty depressed and thought no one would adjust and I had this crap tutor.  I tried to talk to her about name/pronoun but she consistently had trouble and called me "Ellie" which SUCKED!  I did quite bad that semester as a result.  So during the break, I decided to get on to it and sent out an email to the staff saying I wanted to be called Eli (with pronunciation guide) and male pronouns and gave some useful links.  It's been so much better! I've just been telling other students and letting it get around through the grapevine.  I had critiques last week and everyone consistently called me he.  As a result, I am making much better art! It's so important to make sure everyone gets it right.  School feels so much more welcoming than it did earlier in the year. 

I haven't started this semester's classes yet, but I have moved into the dorms. one of my roommates had a friend over and she introduced me as *male name*. her friend had to do a double take that went something like "*male name*?" my roommate gave an affirmative and than he (the friend) said "just making sure I heard that right." after that it was no big deal. Although i have since learned that the friend is a member of the queer community (gay), it felt good that people are accepting and my roommates will use my male name.

As for classes.... I haven't been able to afford a binder and classes start in less than 36 hours, so I'll just avoid confrontation, as usual. unfortunately most of my classes this semester aren't in big lecture halls, which means i'll have to interact with other students and/or professors. but as long as i introduce myself i'll be fine. although i haven't come up with the courage to ask for male pronouns. as i said, i avoid confrontation.