{"tag":"transgender","articles":{"blog\/society\/the-pronoun-police":{"key":"blog\/society\/the-pronoun-police","type":"article","published":true,"meta":{"createdAt":"2023-02-11T10:43:21+01:00","publishedAt":"2023-02-11T10:43:21+01:00","group":null,"category":"blog","subcategory":"society","slug":"the-pronoun-police"},"content":{"en":{"slug":"the-pronoun-police","title":"The Pronoun Police","intro":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\n \u003Cnoscript\u003E\n \u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lola-smith_small.png\u0022 alt=\u0022Screenshot of the mentioned tweet\u0022 class=\u0022border-bottom\u0022 width=\u0022480\u0022 height=\u0022408.03953871499\u0022\u003E \n \u003C\/noscript\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022hide-noscript\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022data:image\/png;base64,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\u0022 data-src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lola-smith_small.png\u0022 alt=\u0022Screenshot of the mentioned tweet\u0022 class=\u0022border-bottom\u0022 width=\u0022480\u0022 height=\u0022408.03953871499\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \n \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlejandra Caraballo posted\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/Esqueer_\/status\/1624147323373686801\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E a video of a powerful testimony by Lola Smith\u003C\/a\u003E,\na 12-year-old nonbinary person forced to beg for their rights in front of the Florida Medical Board.\nThis video is both terrifying and empowering. Indeed, everyone should see it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut transphobes transphobing and trans people being forced to defend their dignity is just a part of the struggle.\nAnother one is how our \u201callies\u201d are pretending to ally\u2026\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","content":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\n \u003Cnoscript\u003E\n \u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lola-smith_big.png\u0022 alt=\u0022Screenshot of the mentioned tweet\u0022 class=\u0022border\u0022 width=\u0022960\u0022 height=\u0022816.07907742998\u0022\u003E \n \u003C\/noscript\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022hide-noscript\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022data:image\/png;base64,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\u0022 data-src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lola-smith_big.png\u0022 alt=\u0022Screenshot of the mentioned tweet\u0022 class=\u0022border\u0022 width=\u0022960\u0022 height=\u0022816.07907742998\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cfigcaption\u003E\n \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/Esqueer_\/status\/1624147323373686801\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\n \u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E\n twitter.com\/Esqueer_\/status\/1624147323373686801\n \u003C\/a\u003E\n \u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlejandra Caraballo posted\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/Esqueer_\/status\/1624147323373686801\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E a video of a powerful testimony by Lola Smith\u003C\/a\u003E,\na 12-year-old nonbinary person forced to beg for their rights in front of the Florida Medical Board.\nThis video is both terrifying and empowering. Indeed, everyone should see it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut transphobes transphobing and trans people being forced to defend their dignity is just a part of the struggle.\nAnother one is how our \u201callies\u201d are pretending to ally\u2026\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou\u0027d think that if a nonbinary person says they\u0027re nonbinary within the first few seconds of a video,\nif they literally introduce themselves with name, age and gender,\nthen people watching the video and commenting on it would get the message that the person is nonbinary.\nAnd yet, there\u0027s comments underneath the tweet calling Lola\na \u201cbrave young lady\u201d, \u201cinspiring young woman\u201d, she\/her-ing them\u003Csup\u003E1\u003C\/sup\u003E\u2026\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJust because transphobic politicians are setting the bar for treating trans people with dignity\nas terrifyingly low as letting them exist in public spaces,\nit doesn\u0027t mean that\u0027s where your allyship should stop.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EReal allyship \u003Cem\u003Estarts\u003C\/em\u003E with \u003Cem\u003Eactually\u003C\/em\u003E respecting a person\u0027s identity.\nIf you look at a person who says they\u0027re nonbinary and you see a girl\u003Csup\u003E2\u003C\/sup\u003E,\nyou\u0027re missing the entire point.\nLola is very likely to see this tweet and see the comments where \u201callies\u201d purposefully misgender them.\nHow will they feel, after having to defend themselves in front of a panel full of transphobes,\nseeing that even self-proclaimed allies don\u0027t really respect them?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYes, \u003Cstrong\u003Epurposefully\u003C\/strong\u003E misgender.\nIf you make a mistake, if something slips your mind \u2013 it\u0027s perfectly fine, we all do that;\nbut you need to take effort to correct that mistake!\nAs an analogy, say you reposted an information about a celebrity dying,\nbut it turns out it was all a hoax, they\u0027re very much alive, and you were made aware of that.\nYou would edit or remove your post, so that the fake news doesn\u0027t circulate anymore, right?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet here the \u201callies\u201d in question, after getting politely corrected (and interacting with the replies),\nstill as of time of writing this post (13h after) have neither apologised nor removed their tweets.\nSo how on Earth is it not a purposeful misgendering of a child?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd apparently, according to some other user in the replies,\npolitely correcting a factual error that actively harms a trans kid\nis what makes us \u201cinsufferable\u201d, \u201csmall-minded\u201d, \u201cpedantic\u201d, \u201ccounter-productive\u201d,\nand a self-designated \u201cpronoun police\u201d \ud83e\udd26\ud83e\udd26\ud83e\udd26\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHoly fuck, that\u0027s absurd\u2026 The video we\u2019re commenting under is about Lola demanding respect for their identity,\nand the \u201cally\u201d in question not only didn\u2019t do that but keeps refusing to do that by not removing the tweet\n(well, it got 38 likes, you could see how big of a sacrifice it would be to lose those imaginary internet points!).\nHow is it \u201ccounter-productive\u201d to correct someone\u2019s mistake, especially in this context?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut most importantly\u2026 \u201cPronoun police\u201d? Seriously?!\nPolice are a tool of power, authority, and often oppression.\nCalling a minoritised group\u2019s effort to protect each other from mistreatment\nby simply pointing out that someone is hurting us\na \u201cpronoun police\u201d is misguided at best, malicious at worst\u2026\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou\u0027re trying to flip the reality. You\u0027re literally calling the oppresed oppressors,\nyou\u0027re comparing care for a kid\u0027s identity to state-sanctioned violence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHow \u003Cem\u003Einsufferable\u003C\/em\u003E of you.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Chr \/\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Csmall\u003E\u003Csup\u003E1\u003C\/sup\u003E Lola doesn\u0027t mention their pronouns in this short video,\nit could also be some neopronouns or even indeed \u201cshe\/her\u201d \u2013\nbut outright assuming it\u0027s \u201cshe\/her\u201d just because of their AGAB is a bad assumption to make;\nEnglish has a normative pronoun used to describe people whose gender and\/or pronouns we don\u0027t know\n(eg. \u201csomeone left \u003Cem\u003Etheir\u003C\/em\u003E umbrella in the hallway\u201d), so that\u0027s what I\u0027ll be using here.\u003C\/small\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Csmall\u003E\u003Csup\u003E2\u003C\/sup\u003E Calling them a \u201cwoman\u201d, even if preceded with \u201cyoung\u201d, is also kinda cringe\u2026\nThey\u0027re a kid. A 12-year-old who should be enjoying their childhood\nand not be put in the situation where they have to advocate for their rights\nin front of adults filled with hatered\u2026\u003C\/small\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","tags":["nonbinary","trans","transgender","allyship","allies","acab","cops","police","pronouns"],"hasMore":true,"image":"https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lola-smith_small.png","introLite":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lola-smith_big.png\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lola-smith_mini.png\u0022 alt=\u0022Screenshot of the mentioned tweet\u0022 width=\u0022240\u0022 height=\u0022204.0197693575\u0022 loading=\u0022lazy\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlejandra Caraballo posted\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/Esqueer_\/status\/1624147323373686801\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E a video of a powerful testimony by Lola Smith\u003C\/a\u003E,\na 12-year-old nonbinary person forced to beg for their rights in front of the Florida Medical Board.\nThis video is both terrifying and empowering. Indeed, everyone should see it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut transphobes transphobing and trans people being forced to defend their dignity is just a part of the struggle.\nAnother one is how our \u201callies\u201d are pretending to ally\u2026\u003C\/p\u003E","contentLite":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lola-smith_big.png\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lola-smith_mini.png\u0022 alt=\u0022Screenshot of the mentioned tweet\u0022 width=\u0022240\u0022 height=\u0022204.0197693575\u0022 loading=\u0022lazy\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cfigcaption\u003E\n \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/Esqueer_\/status\/1624147323373686801\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csmall\u003Etwitter.com\/Esqueer_\/status\/1624147323373686801\u003C\/small\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\n \u003C\/figcaption\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlejandra Caraballo posted\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/Esqueer_\/status\/1624147323373686801\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E a video of a powerful testimony by Lola Smith\u003C\/a\u003E,\na 12-year-old nonbinary person forced to beg for their rights in front of the Florida Medical Board.\nThis video is both terrifying and empowering. Indeed, everyone should see it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut transphobes transphobing and trans people being forced to defend their dignity is just a part of the struggle.\nAnother one is how our \u201callies\u201d are pretending to ally\u2026\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou\u0027d think that if a nonbinary person says they\u0027re nonbinary within the first few seconds of a video,\nif they literally introduce themselves with name, age and gender,\nthen people watching the video and commenting on it would get the message that the person is nonbinary.\nAnd yet, there\u0027s comments underneath the tweet calling Lola\na \u201cbrave young lady\u201d, \u201cinspiring young woman\u201d, she\/her-ing them\u003Csup\u003E1\u003C\/sup\u003E\u2026\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJust because transphobic politicians are setting the bar for treating trans people with dignity\nas terrifyingly low as letting them exist in public spaces,\nit doesn\u0027t mean that\u0027s where your allyship should stop.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EReal allyship \u003Cem\u003Estarts\u003C\/em\u003E with \u003Cem\u003Eactually\u003C\/em\u003E respecting a person\u0027s identity.\nIf you look at a person who says they\u0027re nonbinary and you see a girl\u003Csup\u003E2\u003C\/sup\u003E,\nyou\u0027re missing the entire point.\nLola is very likely to see this tweet and see the comments where \u201callies\u201d purposefully misgender them.\nHow will they feel, after having to defend themselves in front of a panel full of transphobes,\nseeing that even self-proclaimed allies don\u0027t really respect them?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYes, \u003Cstrong\u003Epurposefully\u003C\/strong\u003E misgender.\nIf you make a mistake, if something slips your mind \u2013 it\u0027s perfectly fine, we all do that;\nbut you need to take effort to correct that mistake!\nAs an analogy, say you reposted an information about a celebrity dying,\nbut it turns out it was all a hoax, they\u0027re very much alive, and you were made aware of that.\nYou would edit or remove your post, so that the fake news doesn\u0027t circulate anymore, right?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet here the \u201callies\u201d in question, after getting politely corrected (and interacting with the replies),\nstill as of time of writing this post (13h after) have neither apologised nor removed their tweets.\nSo how on Earth is it not a purposeful misgendering of a child?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd apparently, according to some other user in the replies,\npolitely correcting a factual error that actively harms a trans kid\nis what makes us \u201cinsufferable\u201d, \u201csmall-minded\u201d, \u201cpedantic\u201d, \u201ccounter-productive\u201d,\nand a self-designated \u201cpronoun police\u201d \ud83e\udd26\ud83e\udd26\ud83e\udd26\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHoly fuck, that\u0027s absurd\u2026 The video we\u2019re commenting under is about Lola demanding respect for their identity,\nand the \u201cally\u201d in question not only didn\u2019t do that but keeps refusing to do that by not removing the tweet\n(well, it got 38 likes, you could see how big of a sacrifice it would be to lose those imaginary internet points!).\nHow is it \u201ccounter-productive\u201d to correct someone\u2019s mistake, especially in this context?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut most importantly\u2026 \u201cPronoun police\u201d? Seriously?!\nPolice are a tool of power, authority, and often oppression.\nCalling a minoritised group\u2019s effort to protect each other from mistreatment\nby simply pointing out that someone is hurting us\na \u201cpronoun police\u201d is misguided at best, malicious at worst\u2026\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou\u0027re trying to flip the reality. You\u0027re literally calling the oppresed oppressors,\nyou\u0027re comparing care for a kid\u0027s identity to state-sanctioned violence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHow \u003Cem\u003Einsufferable\u003C\/em\u003E of you.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Chr \/\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Csmall\u003E\u003Csup\u003E1\u003C\/sup\u003E Lola doesn\u0027t mention their pronouns in this short video,\nit could also be some neopronouns or even indeed \u201cshe\/her\u201d \u2013\nbut outright assuming it\u0027s \u201cshe\/her\u201d just because of their AGAB is a bad assumption to make;\nEnglish has a normative pronoun used to describe people whose gender and\/or pronouns we don\u0027t know\n(eg. \u201csomeone left \u003Cem\u003Etheir\u003C\/em\u003E umbrella in the hallway\u201d), so that\u0027s what I\u0027ll be using here.\u003C\/small\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Csmall\u003E\u003Csup\u003E2\u003C\/sup\u003E Calling them a \u201cwoman\u201d, even if preceded with \u201cyoung\u201d, is also kinda cringe\u2026\nThey\u0027re a kid. A 12-year-old who should be enjoying their childhood\nand not be put in the situation where they have to advocate for their rights\nin front of adults filled with hatered\u2026\u003C\/small\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","words":663,"readTime":3,"lang":"en"}}},"blog\/society\/open-letter-dutch-trans-id-bill":{"key":"blog\/society\/open-letter-dutch-trans-id-bill","type":"article","published":true,"meta":{"createdAt":"2023-01-27T18:41:03+01:00","publishedAt":"2023-01-27T18:41:03+01:00","group":null,"category":"blog","subcategory":"society","slug":"open-letter-dutch-trans-id-bill"},"content":{"en":{"slug":"open-letter-dutch-trans-id-bill","title":"Open letter: Dutch trans ID bill","intro":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\n \u003Cnoscript\u003E\n \u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/open-letter-trans_small.png\u0022 alt=\u0022A hand holding an envelope in the colours of trans flag\u0022 class=\u0022border-bottom\u0022 width=\u0022480\u0022 height=\u0022256\u0022\u003E \n \u003C\/noscript\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022hide-noscript\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022data:image\/png;base64,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\u0022 data-src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/open-letter-trans_small.png\u0022 alt=\u0022A hand holding an envelope in the colours of trans flag\u0022 class=\u0022border-bottom\u0022 width=\u0022480\u0022 height=\u0022256\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \n \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CnM3w07IT4T\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E DWH Delft organised a letter writing campaign\u003C\/a\u003E\nto advocate for the passage of the trans ID bill in the Netherlands.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs much as I\u0027d personally prefer to remove gender markers from official documents entirely,\nI believe that if it has to be there, it should at least be reasonably easy for trans people to make it reflect their real gender.\nSo here\u0027s my letter:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","content":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\n \u003Cnoscript\u003E\n \u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/open-letter-trans_big.png\u0022 alt=\u0022A hand holding an envelope in the colours of trans flag\u0022 class=\u0022border\u0022 width=\u0022960\u0022 height=\u0022512\u0022\u003E \n \u003C\/noscript\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022hide-noscript\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022data:image\/png;base64,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\u0022 data-src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/open-letter-trans_big.png\u0022 alt=\u0022A hand holding an envelope in the colours of trans flag\u0022 class=\u0022border\u0022 width=\u0022960\u0022 height=\u0022512\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cfigcaption\u003E\n \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/G_lwAp0TF38\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\n \u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E\n unsplash.com\/photos\/G_lwAp0TF38\n \u003C\/a\u003E\n \u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CnM3w07IT4T\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E DWH Delft organised a letter writing campaign\u003C\/a\u003E\nto advocate for the passage of the trans ID bill in the Netherlands.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs much as I\u0027d personally prefer to remove gender markers from official documents entirely,\nI believe that if it has to be there, it should at least be reasonably easy for trans people to make it reflect their real gender.\nSo here\u0027s my letter:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Chr \/\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDear representative,\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen most people think about trans folks, they focus only on the gender incongruence of our bodies \u2013\nthe aspect in which we do indeed require and appreciate the expertise of medical professionals.\nThere are, however, so many other aspects of life where all that\u2019s needed for our happiness and wellbeing\nis just \u003Cstrong\u003Eunderstanding and acceptance\u003C\/strong\u003E. Human gender is not defined by our bodies \u2013\nwe all express it through things like clothes, makeup, language, name, etc.;\nwe all care how other people see us; we care if our official documents properly describe facts about us.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBeing trans is not \u003Cem\u003Ejust\u003C\/em\u003E a medical issue\u003C\/strong\u003E. For many of us the social and legal aspects of transition\nmight actually be more important than the medical side.\nWhat we need first and foremost is \u003Cstrong\u003Erespect for our identity\u003C\/strong\u003E.\nThat\u2019s why \u003Cstrong\u003EI\u2019m voicing my support for the proposed self-ID bill\u003C\/strong\u003E (\u003Cem\u003Ewijziging vermelding geslacht in geborteakte\u003C\/em\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEach person knows best what gender they are\u003C\/strong\u003E, it\u2019s as simple as that.\nThe very same way that you know which gender you are, trans people do too.\nIt might take a while to figure out, gender is a complex concept after all,\nbut eventually we arrive at a conclusion that\u2019s as obvious to us as the air we breathe.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut there\u2019s an important difference between the transgender and cisgender experience:\nnobody requires a doctor\u2019s opinion to confirm that a cis person is really the gender they say they are.\nOur society and our government just take it for granted that if someone\u2019s declared gender\nmatches the genitals they were observed to have at birth, then they must be telling the truth.\n\u003Cstrong\u003EAll the trans community is asking for is for the same respect and trust to be extended to us\u003C\/strong\u003E.\nWe know who we are \u2013 and we need the government to acknowledge that.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0027s been confirmed by multiple studies that gender affirmation \u003Cstrong\u003Eimproves mental health\u003C\/strong\u003E and \u003Cstrong\u003Esaves lives\u003C\/strong\u003E.\nThe government has the moral responsibility to listen to the voice of science.\nRequiring expert assessments not only is an \u003Cstrong\u003Eunnecessary hurdle\u003C\/strong\u003E for trans people,\nbut also \u003Cstrong\u003Eisn\u2019t supported by the experts themselves\u003C\/strong\u003E.\nSimplifying the procedure of changing the gender marker on the birth certificate\nis going to make it \u003Cstrong\u003Eeasier for trans people to participate in public life\u003C\/strong\u003E and government services.\nIt \u003Cstrong\u003Ecosts nothing\u003C\/strong\u003E to respect someone\u2019s identity, and it costs next to nothing to make one\u2019s official documents reflect that reality.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAllowing an \u201cX\u201d marker would be an amazing step towards affirming people like myself,\nwhose gender doesn\u2019t fit neatly in the categories of \u201cman\u201d and \u201cwoman\u201d.\nMaking the public life \u003Cstrong\u003Einclusive for intersex and nonbinary people\u003C\/strong\u003E is an important part\nof the Netherlands staying a progressive and diverse country \u2013\nwhich are some of the most important qualities that made me fall in love with this place and call it my new home.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOpponents of this bill make a lot of arguments that aren\u2019t reflected in the reality\nof what the actual effects of such self-ID legislation would be.\nThey claim that fairness in sports would be negatively affected,\neven though most associations already have their own rules and don\u2019t rely on a gender marker in documents.\nThey claim that bathrooms would become less safe, even though there\u2019s no evidence\nthat being trans inclusive had increased sexual violence in bathrooms anywhere in the world,\nand even though this legislation doesn\u2019t even affect the rules regarding access to gendered bathrooms \u2013\nit\u2019s still just as legal to enter a bathroom regardless of one\u2019s gender,\nand it\u2019s still just as illegal to harass and rape people.\nPainting the entire community of trans people as potential rapists is just despicable,\nand arguing that the only thing stopping \u003Cem\u003Eactual\u003C\/em\u003E rapists from harassing people in bathrooms\nis somehow the gender marker in their documents, that\u2019s simply ridiculous.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere\u2019s no evidence of potential systemic abuse of a self-ID system,\nand the bill has safeguards in place to ensure that people don\u2019t change their marker on a whim.\nIt also addresses the rare situations of detransition.\nEssentially \u2013 there\u2019s no reason to believe that simplifying the way that trans people\ncan adjust their gender marker to better reflect reality would in any way be a systemic issue\nor otherwise harmful to the society. What is harmful, though,\nis all the disinformation and unethical attacks targeting minoritised groups, such as trans people.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe just want to live our lives in peace, being true to ourselves.\nWe just want our identity respected and the reality reflected in our documents.\nWe just want the government to simply believe us that \u003Cstrong\u003Ewe know who we are\u003C\/strong\u003E.\nBecause no one knows our identity better than we do ourselves.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2014 Andrea Vos\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","tags":["netherlands","politics","bill","self-ID","transgender","trans"],"hasMore":true,"image":"https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/open-letter-trans_small.png","introLite":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/open-letter-trans_big.png\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/open-letter-trans_mini.png\u0022 alt=\u0022A hand holding an envelope in the colours of trans flag\u0022 width=\u0022240\u0022 height=\u0022128\u0022 loading=\u0022lazy\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CnM3w07IT4T\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E DWH Delft organised a letter writing campaign\u003C\/a\u003E\nto advocate for the passage of the trans ID bill in the Netherlands.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs much as I\u0027d personally prefer to remove gender markers from official documents entirely,\nI believe that if it has to be there, it should at least be reasonably easy for trans people to make it reflect their real gender.\nSo here\u0027s my letter:\u003C\/p\u003E","contentLite":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/open-letter-trans_big.png\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/open-letter-trans_mini.png\u0022 alt=\u0022A hand holding an envelope in the colours of trans flag\u0022 width=\u0022240\u0022 height=\u0022128\u0022 loading=\u0022lazy\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cfigcaption\u003E\n \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/G_lwAp0TF38\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csmall\u003Eunsplash.com\/photos\/G_lwAp0TF38\u003C\/small\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\n \u003C\/figcaption\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CnM3w07IT4T\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E DWH Delft organised a letter writing campaign\u003C\/a\u003E\nto advocate for the passage of the trans ID bill in the Netherlands.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs much as I\u0027d personally prefer to remove gender markers from official documents entirely,\nI believe that if it has to be there, it should at least be reasonably easy for trans people to make it reflect their real gender.\nSo here\u0027s my letter:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Chr \/\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDear representative,\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen most people think about trans folks, they focus only on the gender incongruence of our bodies \u2013\nthe aspect in which we do indeed require and appreciate the expertise of medical professionals.\nThere are, however, so many other aspects of life where all that\u2019s needed for our happiness and wellbeing\nis just \u003Cstrong\u003Eunderstanding and acceptance\u003C\/strong\u003E. Human gender is not defined by our bodies \u2013\nwe all express it through things like clothes, makeup, language, name, etc.;\nwe all care how other people see us; we care if our official documents properly describe facts about us.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBeing trans is not \u003Cem\u003Ejust\u003C\/em\u003E a medical issue\u003C\/strong\u003E. For many of us the social and legal aspects of transition\nmight actually be more important than the medical side.\nWhat we need first and foremost is \u003Cstrong\u003Erespect for our identity\u003C\/strong\u003E.\nThat\u2019s why \u003Cstrong\u003EI\u2019m voicing my support for the proposed self-ID bill\u003C\/strong\u003E (\u003Cem\u003Ewijziging vermelding geslacht in geborteakte\u003C\/em\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEach person knows best what gender they are\u003C\/strong\u003E, it\u2019s as simple as that.\nThe very same way that you know which gender you are, trans people do too.\nIt might take a while to figure out, gender is a complex concept after all,\nbut eventually we arrive at a conclusion that\u2019s as obvious to us as the air we breathe.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut there\u2019s an important difference between the transgender and cisgender experience:\nnobody requires a doctor\u2019s opinion to confirm that a cis person is really the gender they say they are.\nOur society and our government just take it for granted that if someone\u2019s declared gender\nmatches the genitals they were observed to have at birth, then they must be telling the truth.\n\u003Cstrong\u003EAll the trans community is asking for is for the same respect and trust to be extended to us\u003C\/strong\u003E.\nWe know who we are \u2013 and we need the government to acknowledge that.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0027s been confirmed by multiple studies that gender affirmation \u003Cstrong\u003Eimproves mental health\u003C\/strong\u003E and \u003Cstrong\u003Esaves lives\u003C\/strong\u003E.\nThe government has the moral responsibility to listen to the voice of science.\nRequiring expert assessments not only is an \u003Cstrong\u003Eunnecessary hurdle\u003C\/strong\u003E for trans people,\nbut also \u003Cstrong\u003Eisn\u2019t supported by the experts themselves\u003C\/strong\u003E.\nSimplifying the procedure of changing the gender marker on the birth certificate\nis going to make it \u003Cstrong\u003Eeasier for trans people to participate in public life\u003C\/strong\u003E and government services.\nIt \u003Cstrong\u003Ecosts nothing\u003C\/strong\u003E to respect someone\u2019s identity, and it costs next to nothing to make one\u2019s official documents reflect that reality.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAllowing an \u201cX\u201d marker would be an amazing step towards affirming people like myself,\nwhose gender doesn\u2019t fit neatly in the categories of \u201cman\u201d and \u201cwoman\u201d.\nMaking the public life \u003Cstrong\u003Einclusive for intersex and nonbinary people\u003C\/strong\u003E is an important part\nof the Netherlands staying a progressive and diverse country \u2013\nwhich are some of the most important qualities that made me fall in love with this place and call it my new home.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOpponents of this bill make a lot of arguments that aren\u2019t reflected in the reality\nof what the actual effects of such self-ID legislation would be.\nThey claim that fairness in sports would be negatively affected,\neven though most associations already have their own rules and don\u2019t rely on a gender marker in documents.\nThey claim that bathrooms would become less safe, even though there\u2019s no evidence\nthat being trans inclusive had increased sexual violence in bathrooms anywhere in the world,\nand even though this legislation doesn\u2019t even affect the rules regarding access to gendered bathrooms \u2013\nit\u2019s still just as legal to enter a bathroom regardless of one\u2019s gender,\nand it\u2019s still just as illegal to harass and rape people.\nPainting the entire community of trans people as potential rapists is just despicable,\nand arguing that the only thing stopping \u003Cem\u003Eactual\u003C\/em\u003E rapists from harassing people in bathrooms\nis somehow the gender marker in their documents, that\u2019s simply ridiculous.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere\u2019s no evidence of potential systemic abuse of a self-ID system,\nand the bill has safeguards in place to ensure that people don\u2019t change their marker on a whim.\nIt also addresses the rare situations of detransition.\nEssentially \u2013 there\u2019s no reason to believe that simplifying the way that trans people\ncan adjust their gender marker to better reflect reality would in any way be a systemic issue\nor otherwise harmful to the society. What is harmful, though,\nis all the disinformation and unethical attacks targeting minoritised groups, such as trans people.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe just want to live our lives in peace, being true to ourselves.\nWe just want our identity respected and the reality reflected in our documents.\nWe just want the government to simply believe us that \u003Cstrong\u003Ewe know who we are\u003C\/strong\u003E.\nBecause no one knows our identity better than we do ourselves.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2014 Andrea Vos\u003C\/p\u003E","words":871,"readTime":4,"lang":"en"}}},"blog\/society\/too-queer-to-represent-queers":{"key":"blog\/society\/too-queer-to-represent-queers","type":"article","published":true,"meta":{"createdAt":"2019-12-15T17:21:28+01:00","publishedAt":"2019-12-16T22:36:00+01:00","group":"nonbinary","category":"blog","subcategory":"society","slug":"too-queer-to-represent-queers"},"content":{"en":{"slug":"too-queer-to-represent-queers","title":"Too queer to represent queers?","intro":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\n \u003Cnoscript\u003E\n \u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lgbalien_small.png\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 class=\u0022border-bottom\u0022 width=\u0022480\u0022 height=\u0022720\u0022\u003E \n \u003C\/noscript\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022hide-noscript\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022data:image\/png;base64,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\u0022 data-src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lgbalien_small.png\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 class=\u0022border-bottom\u0022 width=\u0022480\u0022 height=\u0022720\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \n \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s sad, being a member of a minoritised community and seeing some of its members turn against the others. Like in case of that \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/natancombigirl\/status\/1205554427324719106\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E twitter discussion\u003C\/a\u003E on whether or not \u201cweird looking\u201d people and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/blog\/too-queer-to-represent-queers\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E drag queens\u003C\/a\u003E should be allowed to represent us, or even mention publicly that they are queer, for fear of giving us a bad reputation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI used to be that asshole who answers \u201cno\u201d to this question.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","content":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\n \u003Cnoscript\u003E\n \u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lgbalien_big.png\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 class=\u0022border\u0022 width=\u0022600\u0022 height=\u0022900\u0022\u003E \n \u003C\/noscript\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022hide-noscript\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022data:image\/png;base64,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\u0022 data-src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lgbalien_big.png\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 class=\u0022border\u0022 width=\u0022600\u0022 height=\u0022900\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cfigcaption\u003E\n \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/natancombigirl\/status\/1205554427324719106\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\n \u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E\n twitter.com\/natancombigirl\/status\/1205554427324719106\n \u003C\/a\u003E\n \u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s sad, being a member of a minoritised community and seeing some of its members turn against the others. Like in case of that \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/natancombigirl\/status\/1205554427324719106\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E twitter discussion\u003C\/a\u003E on whether or not \u201cweird looking\u201d people and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/blog\/too-queer-to-represent-queers\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E drag queens\u003C\/a\u003E should be allowed to represent us, or even mention publicly that they are queer, for fear of giving us a bad reputation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI used to be that asshole who answers \u201cno\u201d to this question.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI used to be \u003Cem\u003Ethat\u003C\/em\u003E gay guy who thought that those \u201ceffeminate\u201d of us shouldn\u2019t really talk loud about their homosexuality \u2013 cause they would only strengthen the stereotypes and make the lives of \u201cus, normal gays\u201d harder to live.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI used to be \u003Cem\u003Ethat\u003C\/em\u003E gay guy who enjoyed drag queen shows and who liked his queen friends personally, but who advocated against them being in drag when they represent the whole LGBTQ+ movement to the rest of the world. I didn\u2019t want the world to think that \u003Cem\u003Eall\u003C\/em\u003E of us are like this.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt was so wrong of me.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBecause our strength comes from diversity. Because our fight doesn\u2019t make sense if we only fight to be safe, and not for the ability to be ourselves. Because our fight doesn\u2019t make sense if we don\u2019t fight for \u003Cem\u003Eall\u003C\/em\u003E of us.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI wasn\u2019t just restricting others \u2013 most of all, I was restricting myself. I\u2019m a nonbinary person, but I\u2019ve spent a huge chunk of my life \u003Cem\u003Epretending\u003C\/em\u003E to be a man, instead of living a fabulous life free of gender norms. All just to make some bigots more \u003Cem\u003Ecomfortable with my existence\u003C\/em\u003E. Well, fuck them.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you want to make the oppressed shape themselves in a way that the oppressor wants them to, you\u2019re playing by their rules, and you\u2019ve already lost. You\u2019re working towards a \u201ccompromise\u201d between bigotry and being oneself, between hatred and happiness \u2013 a compromise that makes everyone unhappy.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou\u2019re valid just the way you are. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you\u2019re really worrying so much about the \u003Cem\u003Eimage\u003C\/em\u003E of the community, show the world an image of queer people coming together hand in hand, as \u201cstrange\u201d as they might be, united in diversity \u2013 and not fighting each other who\u2019s the \u003Cem\u003Eright amount of gay\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","tags":["acceptance","aliens","being yourself","bigotry","expression","fight","gender norms","inclusivity","lgbtq","non-binary","nonbinary","queer","representation","transgender","weird"],"hasMore":true,"image":"https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lgbalien_small.png","introLite":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lgbalien_big.png\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lgbalien_mini.png\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 width=\u0022240\u0022 height=\u0022360\u0022 loading=\u0022lazy\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s sad, being a member of a minoritised community and seeing some of its members turn against the others. Like in case of that \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/natancombigirl\/status\/1205554427324719106\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E twitter discussion\u003C\/a\u003E on whether or not \u201cweird looking\u201d people and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/blog\/too-queer-to-represent-queers\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E drag queens\u003C\/a\u003E should be allowed to represent us, or even mention publicly that they are queer, for fear of giving us a bad reputation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI used to be that asshole who answers \u201cno\u201d to this question.\u003C\/p\u003E","contentLite":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lgbalien_big.png\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lgbalien_mini.png\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 width=\u0022240\u0022 height=\u0022360\u0022 loading=\u0022lazy\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cfigcaption\u003E\n \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/natancombigirl\/status\/1205554427324719106\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csmall\u003Etwitter.com\/natancombigirl\/status\/1205554427324719106\u003C\/small\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\n \u003C\/figcaption\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s sad, being a member of a minoritised community and seeing some of its members turn against the others. Like in case of that \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/natancombigirl\/status\/1205554427324719106\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E twitter discussion\u003C\/a\u003E on whether or not \u201cweird looking\u201d people and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/blog\/too-queer-to-represent-queers\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E drag queens\u003C\/a\u003E should be allowed to represent us, or even mention publicly that they are queer, for fear of giving us a bad reputation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI used to be that asshole who answers \u201cno\u201d to this question.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI used to be \u003Cem\u003Ethat\u003C\/em\u003E gay guy who thought that those \u201ceffeminate\u201d of us shouldn\u2019t really talk loud about their homosexuality \u2013 cause they would only strengthen the stereotypes and make the lives of \u201cus, normal gays\u201d harder to live.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI used to be \u003Cem\u003Ethat\u003C\/em\u003E gay guy who enjoyed drag queen shows and who liked his queen friends personally, but who advocated against them being in drag when they represent the whole LGBTQ+ movement to the rest of the world. I didn\u2019t want the world to think that \u003Cem\u003Eall\u003C\/em\u003E of us are like this.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt was so wrong of me.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBecause our strength comes from diversity. Because our fight doesn\u2019t make sense if we only fight to be safe, and not for the ability to be ourselves. Because our fight doesn\u2019t make sense if we don\u2019t fight for \u003Cem\u003Eall\u003C\/em\u003E of us.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI wasn\u2019t just restricting others \u2013 most of all, I was restricting myself. I\u2019m a nonbinary person, but I\u2019ve spent a huge chunk of my life \u003Cem\u003Epretending\u003C\/em\u003E to be a man, instead of living a fabulous life free of gender norms. All just to make some bigots more \u003Cem\u003Ecomfortable with my existence\u003C\/em\u003E. Well, fuck them.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you want to make the oppressed shape themselves in a way that the oppressor wants them to, you\u2019re playing by their rules, and you\u2019ve already lost. You\u2019re working towards a \u201ccompromise\u201d between bigotry and being oneself, between hatred and happiness \u2013 a compromise that makes everyone unhappy.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou\u2019re valid just the way you are. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you\u2019re really worrying so much about the \u003Cem\u003Eimage\u003C\/em\u003E of the community, show the world an image of queer people coming together hand in hand, as \u201cstrange\u201d as they might be, united in diversity \u2013 and not fighting each other who\u2019s the \u003Cem\u003Eright amount of gay\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","words":382,"readTime":2,"lang":"en"}}},"blog\/society\/toilets-locker-rooms":{"key":"blog\/society\/toilets-locker-rooms","type":"article","published":true,"meta":{"createdAt":"2017-07-13T11:53:18+02:00","publishedAt":"2017-07-13T11:50:00+02:00","group":"nudism","category":"blog","subcategory":"society","slug":"toilets-locker-rooms"},"content":{"en":{"slug":"toilets-locker-rooms","title":"Gender specific toilets and locker rooms make no sense","intro":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\n \u003Cnoscript\u003E\n \u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/restroom-whatever_small.jpg\u0022 alt=\u0022Restroom sign: Whatever, just wash your hands\u0022 class=\u0022border-bottom\u0022 width=\u0022480\u0022 height=\u0022378.19672131148\u0022\u003E \n \u003C\/noscript\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022hide-noscript\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022data:image\/png;base64,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\u0022 data-src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/restroom-whatever_small.jpg\u0022 alt=\u0022Restroom sign: Whatever, just wash your hands\u0022 class=\u0022border-bottom\u0022 width=\u0022480\u0022 height=\u0022378.19672131148\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \n \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt first I didn\u2019t really think about it. It was yet another thing that my parents taught me and I just accepted. Boys and girls need to have separate toilets and locker rooms, so that the boys wouldn\u2019t do nasty things to the girls. Simple.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut one day a cleaning \u003Cem\u003Elady\u003C\/em\u003E came in to the \u003Cem\u003Eboys\u2019\u003C\/em\u003E locker room. And one day a female teacher come in. How come? Why can they see half-naked boys, while our female classmates cannot? That got me thinking and trying to find any sense in that.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","content":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\n \u003Cnoscript\u003E\n \u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/restroom-whatever_big.jpg\u0022 alt=\u0022Restroom sign: Whatever, just wash your hands\u0022 class=\u0022border\u0022 width=\u0022960\u0022 height=\u0022756.39344262295\u0022\u003E \n \u003C\/noscript\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022hide-noscript\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022data:image\/png;base64,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\u0022 data-src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/restroom-whatever_big.jpg\u0022 alt=\u0022Restroom sign: Whatever, just wash your hands\u0022 class=\u0022border\u0022 width=\u0022960\u0022 height=\u0022756.39344262295\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cfigcaption\u003E\n \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.tvnz.co.nz\/one-news\/new-zealand\/whatever-just-please-wash-your-hands-dunedin-theatre-installs-quirky-inclusive-signs\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\n \u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E\n tvnz.co.nz\/one-news\/new-zealand\/whatever-just-please-wash-your-hands-dunedin-theatre-installs-quirky-inclusive-signs\n \u003C\/a\u003E\n \u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt first I didn\u2019t really think about it. It was yet another thing that my parents taught me and I just accepted. Boys and girls need to have separate toilets and locker rooms, so that the boys wouldn\u2019t do nasty things to the girls. Simple.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut one day a cleaning \u003Cem\u003Elady\u003C\/em\u003E came in to the \u003Cem\u003Eboys\u2019\u003C\/em\u003E locker room. And one day a female teacher come in. How come? Why can they see half-naked boys, while our female classmates cannot? That got me thinking and trying to find any sense in that.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEven more when I started realising I was gay. Since I fancy other guys, and since girls might fancy me, should I be always given a private locker room and bathroom, so that nobody sees anyone they might fancy?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EShowers in the male locker room at my gym were in renovation for over two weeks. Having to go back home all sweaty and stinky \u2013 not the best experience, trust me... The solution could be really simple \u2013 just temporarily let the guys use female showers. Nothing would happen. I have no problem not raping or assaulting anyone, no matter how hot and muscular they are, and I\u2019m sure straight guys wouldn\u2019t do that either, if they saw hot naked girls. It\u2019s not a darkroom, it\u2019s just basic hygiene, grow up!\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAssuming we only strip to our underwear in the school locker room\u003Ca href=\u0022#ftn-1\u0022 id=\u0022ftn-ref-1\u0022\u003E\u003Csup\u003E[1]\u003C\/sup\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, how is that different from just enjoying a beach in our swimsuits? We don\u2019t separate those by gender (not anymore, at least). Did the world collapse? Did the beaches become dens of iniquity? Did we stop controlling ourselves just because we can see almost-naked persons of the opposite sex? No.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd what\u2019s the deal about the toilets? We have to unnecessarily build separate public toilets for two genders, because what? Because urinals? Man, if someone were inappropriately looking at my junk while I\u2019m pissing in a public restroom\u003Ca href=\u0022#ftn-2\u0022 id=\u0022ftn-ref-2\u0022\u003E\u003Csup\u003E[2]\u003C\/sup\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, I would be pissed \u2013 totally regardless of whether it\u2019s a female or male pervert. And except for pissing in a urinal, it\u2019s not like we do anything intimate in front of other people. Why would I care at all, what gender is the person in a next stall?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe separation of restrooms and locker rooms is not just idiotic and baseless, but can often become problematic, if you don\u2019t easily fit into binary gender division. And I\u2019m not talking only about the transgender, transsexual and nonbinary people. You can encounter some problems even if you\u2019re a cis, straight person. In which locker room should a mother help her little son change, so that none of them feels uncomfortable? To which toilet should a father take his little daughter, not to be regarded a pervert?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe whole thing with the gender division makes \u003Cstrong\u003Eno sense on any level\u003C\/strong\u003E. Can someone explain to me, why are we still doing that?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Chr\/\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022small\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022#ftn-ref-1\u0022 id=\u0022ftn-1\u0022\u003E\u003Csup\u003E[1]\u003C\/sup\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E Why the hell do people prefer to keep stinking with sweat for the rest of the day rather than just take their pants off and take a shower, is a separate topic. Hint: \u003Ca href=\u0022\/tag\/homophobia\u0022\u003E\u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-tag\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E homophobia\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022#ftn-ref-2\u0022 id=\u0022ftn-2\u0022\u003E\u003Csup\u003E[2]\u003C\/sup\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E Well, except if it happened like in a gay bar or something \ud83d\ude09\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","tags":["bathroom","gender","lgbtq","nudity","patriarchy","prudery","restroom","shame","toilet","transgender","transsexual"],"hasMore":true,"image":"https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/restroom-whatever_small.jpg","introLite":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/restroom-whatever_big.jpg\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/restroom-whatever_mini.jpg\u0022 alt=\u0022Restroom sign: Whatever, just wash your hands\u0022 width=\u0022240\u0022 height=\u0022189.09836065574\u0022 loading=\u0022lazy\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt first I didn\u2019t really think about it. It was yet another thing that my parents taught me and I just accepted. Boys and girls need to have separate toilets and locker rooms, so that the boys wouldn\u2019t do nasty things to the girls. Simple.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut one day a cleaning \u003Cem\u003Elady\u003C\/em\u003E came in to the \u003Cem\u003Eboys\u2019\u003C\/em\u003E locker room. And one day a female teacher come in. How come? Why can they see half-naked boys, while our female classmates cannot? That got me thinking and trying to find any sense in that.\u003C\/p\u003E","contentLite":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/restroom-whatever_big.jpg\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/restroom-whatever_mini.jpg\u0022 alt=\u0022Restroom sign: Whatever, just wash your hands\u0022 width=\u0022240\u0022 height=\u0022189.09836065574\u0022 loading=\u0022lazy\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cfigcaption\u003E\n \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.tvnz.co.nz\/one-news\/new-zealand\/whatever-just-please-wash-your-hands-dunedin-theatre-installs-quirky-inclusive-signs\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csmall\u003Etvnz.co.nz\/one-news\/new-zealand\/whatever-just-please-wash-your-hands-dunedin-theatre-installs-quirky-inclusive-signs\u003C\/small\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\n \u003C\/figcaption\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt first I didn\u2019t really think about it. It was yet another thing that my parents taught me and I just accepted. Boys and girls need to have separate toilets and locker rooms, so that the boys wouldn\u2019t do nasty things to the girls. Simple.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut one day a cleaning \u003Cem\u003Elady\u003C\/em\u003E came in to the \u003Cem\u003Eboys\u2019\u003C\/em\u003E locker room. And one day a female teacher come in. How come? Why can they see half-naked boys, while our female classmates cannot? That got me thinking and trying to find any sense in that.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEven more when I started realising I was gay. Since I fancy other guys, and since girls might fancy me, should I be always given a private locker room and bathroom, so that nobody sees anyone they might fancy?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EShowers in the male locker room at my gym were in renovation for over two weeks. Having to go back home all sweaty and stinky \u2013 not the best experience, trust me... The solution could be really simple \u2013 just temporarily let the guys use female showers. Nothing would happen. I have no problem not raping or assaulting anyone, no matter how hot and muscular they are, and I\u2019m sure straight guys wouldn\u2019t do that either, if they saw hot naked girls. It\u2019s not a darkroom, it\u2019s just basic hygiene, grow up!\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAssuming we only strip to our underwear in the school locker room\u003Ca href=\u0022#ftn-1\u0022 id=\u0022ftn-ref-1\u0022\u003E\u003Csup\u003E[1]\u003C\/sup\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, how is that different from just enjoying a beach in our swimsuits? We don\u2019t separate those by gender (not anymore, at least). Did the world collapse? Did the beaches become dens of iniquity? Did we stop controlling ourselves just because we can see almost-naked persons of the opposite sex? No.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd what\u2019s the deal about the toilets? We have to unnecessarily build separate public toilets for two genders, because what? Because urinals? Man, if someone were inappropriately looking at my junk while I\u2019m pissing in a public restroom\u003Ca href=\u0022#ftn-2\u0022 id=\u0022ftn-ref-2\u0022\u003E\u003Csup\u003E[2]\u003C\/sup\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, I would be pissed \u2013 totally regardless of whether it\u2019s a female or male pervert. And except for pissing in a urinal, it\u2019s not like we do anything intimate in front of other people. Why would I care at all, what gender is the person in a next stall?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe separation of restrooms and locker rooms is not just idiotic and baseless, but can often become problematic, if you don\u2019t easily fit into binary gender division. And I\u2019m not talking only about the transgender, transsexual and nonbinary people. You can encounter some problems even if you\u2019re a cis, straight person. In which locker room should a mother help her little son change, so that none of them feels uncomfortable? To which toilet should a father take his little daughter, not to be regarded a pervert?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe whole thing with the gender division makes \u003Cstrong\u003Eno sense on any level\u003C\/strong\u003E. Can someone explain to me, why are we still doing that?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Chr\/\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022small\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022#ftn-ref-1\u0022 id=\u0022ftn-1\u0022\u003E\u003Csup\u003E[1]\u003C\/sup\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E Why the hell do people prefer to keep stinking with sweat for the rest of the day rather than just take their pants off and take a shower, is a separate topic. Hint: \u003Ca href=\u0022\/tag\/homophobia\u0022\u003E homophobia\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022#ftn-ref-2\u0022 id=\u0022ftn-2\u0022\u003E\u003Csup\u003E[2]\u003C\/sup\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E Well, except if it happened like in a gay bar or something \ud83d\ude09\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","words":544,"readTime":3,"lang":"en"}}}}}