This week is Transgender Awareness Week in New Zealand. It’s an important time, not just for trans people but for their family, friends, colleagues and the wider community. It’s a week when transgender people and their allies work to educate the public about who transgender people are, sharing stories and experiences, and advocating issues like prejudice, discrimination and violence that affect the transgender community. There are a lot of trans people in New Zealand and many more who are exploring their identity. We need to be there for all of them.
Pronouns – why, what and how
One simple yet very important thing we can all do is recognise and respect the different pronouns people identify with. For someone who identifies with the gender they were assigned at birth (sometimes called cisgender), it’s most often a pretty simple case of she/her or he/him with little thought given to it. But for someone who was assigned one gender at birth but identifies as another or is non-binary, being addressed the wrong way can have an impact much greater and longer lasting than you may be aware of.
Making it clear which pronoun you identify with or prefer people use is inclusive. It supports and makes it simple for people to engage with you the way you’d like them to and shows that you respect others’ identities. It can even be useful for people who have an uncommon or foreign name that’s not necessarily or obviously for a male or female!
One thing you could do to show your support is to include a pronoun on your email signature, by adding a simple step at the end of your name, for example:
Hot tip: people make mistakes, and that’s okay
The most important thing is to acknowledge it. If you use the wrong pronoun for someone and you’re made aware of it, a simple “I’m sorry” and a correction is easy but important. For example, “This is Alex, she’s looking to buy her first home”. Then you’re corrected because Alex uses they/them/theirs pronouns. To put this right, all you need to do is say “I’m sorry, they are looking to buy their first home”, or “Thank you, they are looking to buy their first home”. There’s no doubt that Alex will appreciate this.
Friday 20 November is Transgender Day of Remembrance
This is a day to remember trans people who have lost their lives due to transphobic (anti-transgender) violence. Trans people, in particular black trans women, face a higher risk of violence than cis people because of who they are. Transgender Day of Remembrance honours those who have died and brings awareness to protect our trans community.
Everyone can do more to make trans people feel welcome and safe; we need to love and protect our trans whānau!
