Talking to "Normal" People
I will be doing a series every week from Monday to Friday on one topic that screams me to talk about.
I said the word "Normal" in the title, and I should define that first before moving forward. The definition for me: people who are in the majority of society in anyway, there are too many categories to name. For this week, I am talking about people who are cisgender or dress the way they were born or straight. I know that is a lot of people but I need to focus on some of them. The key to all of this, is how do I talk to people in these categories that don't fully understand what transgender, agender, pronouns or even the name I go by now are. There are many many many people who understand all of these or even one of them which is great and very helpful. Overall, I am not calling people out, I am only putting down my thoughts on how I talk to them and how this might help others.
First, when I tell people my name, they say Amelio, Amelia which two things come up. They feel because I present as male, at the moment, my name should match that and the other thing is that people forget that I am not saying my full name when I say Amelia Rose. This is key that people don't read or forget that my full name is two words not one. Second, people always assume my pronouns, they say he/him or she/her without even asking me what my pronouns are. When I am in meetings, and they introduce everyone, the best someone can do is say "Please say your pronouns, if you want." They would then learn my pronouns are they/them. Third and last is a tough one as most people who want to dress differently to how they were born as this is hard to come out and say that. I for one can't tell people right off the bat, I want to switch my appearance, and you should already know that based on your knowledge of the two other things I already mentioned. That is not the case for both situations and I don't know if the person will be freaked out or already knowledgeable and understand or want to learn more.
Should people assume someone wants to change genders? If people change their name and/or dress differently doesn't mean they want to change their gender at all. Gender is different to your name, how you dress, and even sexuality, plain and simple. The key is only some people wants to change their gender. For others who don't want to change their gender, changing their clothes/appearance makes them feel really good.
Does a name put you in a box of your gender? Names don't put you in a box, for example, Jordan, Alex, and Max. People have mostly accepted that those names can be of any gender. Yet, there are still names that people say you are in a box and must be one way or the other without even asking or thinking "I am not sure, so I will not assume what gender this person is until they say that themselves."
Is agender really a gender? Agender means no gender so really this is not a gender but some people make this a third gender. This is up to the person who identifies with the word. For myself, I assume this is not a gender but tells society that I don't want to identify as male or female.
If you have any questions, comments, or thoughts, please leave them below and I will get them when I have a chance. I would love to hear what other people think.
Please support me via donating on my Patreon page.
I said the word "Normal" in the title, and I should define that first before moving forward. The definition for me: people who are in the majority of society in anyway, there are too many categories to name. For this week, I am talking about people who are cisgender or dress the way they were born or straight. I know that is a lot of people but I need to focus on some of them. The key to all of this, is how do I talk to people in these categories that don't fully understand what transgender, agender, pronouns or even the name I go by now are. There are many many many people who understand all of these or even one of them which is great and very helpful. Overall, I am not calling people out, I am only putting down my thoughts on how I talk to them and how this might help others.
First, when I tell people my name, they say Amelio, Amelia which two things come up. They feel because I present as male, at the moment, my name should match that and the other thing is that people forget that I am not saying my full name when I say Amelia Rose. This is key that people don't read or forget that my full name is two words not one. Second, people always assume my pronouns, they say he/him or she/her without even asking me what my pronouns are. When I am in meetings, and they introduce everyone, the best someone can do is say "Please say your pronouns, if you want." They would then learn my pronouns are they/them. Third and last is a tough one as most people who want to dress differently to how they were born as this is hard to come out and say that. I for one can't tell people right off the bat, I want to switch my appearance, and you should already know that based on your knowledge of the two other things I already mentioned. That is not the case for both situations and I don't know if the person will be freaked out or already knowledgeable and understand or want to learn more.
Should people assume someone wants to change genders? If people change their name and/or dress differently doesn't mean they want to change their gender at all. Gender is different to your name, how you dress, and even sexuality, plain and simple. The key is only some people wants to change their gender. For others who don't want to change their gender, changing their clothes/appearance makes them feel really good.
Does a name put you in a box of your gender? Names don't put you in a box, for example, Jordan, Alex, and Max. People have mostly accepted that those names can be of any gender. Yet, there are still names that people say you are in a box and must be one way or the other without even asking or thinking "I am not sure, so I will not assume what gender this person is until they say that themselves."
Is agender really a gender? Agender means no gender so really this is not a gender but some people make this a third gender. This is up to the person who identifies with the word. For myself, I assume this is not a gender but tells society that I don't want to identify as male or female.
If you have any questions, comments, or thoughts, please leave them below and I will get them when I have a chance. I would love to hear what other people think.
Please support me via donating on my Patreon page.
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