Do not worry dear Arthur editor, no reader will confuse this piece as an editorial meant to educate those on etiquette of addressing trans and gender issues. For one, you discuss trans/gender variant identity throughout the article with no proper use of language. You go through the entire article without even using any form of the word transgender/transsexual/gender variant. Instead you refer to transgender girls being excluded from Girl Guides in Colorado as “children who are born male but identify as female”, which negates their experiences and leaves the reader questioning if you even believe these girls are female. These girls were not born boys but assigned a male gender before their eyes were even open.
Thank you for advocating for acceptance of trans people’s wild pronoun requests, and suggesting our identities are outrageous and anything but “plain”. If you were even remotely self educated on trans issues you would have constructed a more comprehensive piece on a commonly misrepresented issue. Or maybe you should have enlisted the help of one of these people whose pronouns you found “hard to get used to”.
After viewing two transphobic pieces of media you are shocked? No, you should not have been prepared. No one should be prepared for transphobia. I am subjected to transphobia on a regular basis and the previous experience never prepares me for the next. It is endearing that this type of discrimination against gender variant folks appals you but this is representative of cissexist mainstream media, and is in no way isolated to these two events.
Starting the article with a request to excuse the faults of your article (or gaps in knowledge) and your encouragement that learning new pronouns is hard but something you can learn to get used to, is not a free pass to write offensive material. If you feel you need to start an article like this you should probably end it right there. My apologies if my change in pronoun for personal comfort and sanity is challenging for you to get accustomed to.
Ever consider some of us trans folks might consider ourselves to be plain ol’ men and women? I would argue that most of us do not want to be fetishized on the first page of the Arthur and if this is going to be an example of Arthur’s attempts at covering trans issues I suggest you stop right there.
Anonymous
