![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I realized I typed this and forgot to post it.
June 11, 2005
I attended the Women’s and Gender Studies graduation ceremony this afternoon at the University. The ceremony was sweet and it was a small, very connected group of people graduating. After the ceremony, there was cake and punch around which people mingled. Since I only knew two people there, one of them a graduate and, therefore, quite busy, I was left to mix among people of various interesting lifestyles. I found myself speaking with the partner of a transgendered male. She was explaining to me the different uses of pronouns transgendered people choose. This person chose to not identify with a gender and used the pronoun ze to replace he or she and the pronoun hir to replace him and her.
When I was introduced to hir, we spoke for a while. It was a bit nerve-wracking trying to keep from using any pronouns at all since I was afraid to mess up with the new ones I had just learned mere minutes ago. I hope I didn’t come across as a complete spaz to this person and hir partner. To be honest, I wasn’t at all intimidated by the people themselves, as a matter of fact, I would love to just sit and find out all about their struggles and victories in this very gender identified society. The part that made me nervous was trying not to slip with my words and offend. Now that I think about it, I’m sure that that is hir experience a lot, for different reasons. People just don’t know how to act with someone so different. I just become so excited when I meet interesting people that I’m sure I come off the fool a lot of times. I want to know all about them and what makes them different. I ask a lot of questions… probably too many… and I might probe a little too deeply. *sigh* Grace and dignity? Nah! I haven’t the time for that! Bah!
June 11, 2005
I attended the Women’s and Gender Studies graduation ceremony this afternoon at the University. The ceremony was sweet and it was a small, very connected group of people graduating. After the ceremony, there was cake and punch around which people mingled. Since I only knew two people there, one of them a graduate and, therefore, quite busy, I was left to mix among people of various interesting lifestyles. I found myself speaking with the partner of a transgendered male. She was explaining to me the different uses of pronouns transgendered people choose. This person chose to not identify with a gender and used the pronoun ze to replace he or she and the pronoun hir to replace him and her.
When I was introduced to hir, we spoke for a while. It was a bit nerve-wracking trying to keep from using any pronouns at all since I was afraid to mess up with the new ones I had just learned mere minutes ago. I hope I didn’t come across as a complete spaz to this person and hir partner. To be honest, I wasn’t at all intimidated by the people themselves, as a matter of fact, I would love to just sit and find out all about their struggles and victories in this very gender identified society. The part that made me nervous was trying not to slip with my words and offend. Now that I think about it, I’m sure that that is hir experience a lot, for different reasons. People just don’t know how to act with someone so different. I just become so excited when I meet interesting people that I’m sure I come off the fool a lot of times. I want to know all about them and what makes them different. I ask a lot of questions… probably too many… and I might probe a little too deeply. *sigh* Grace and dignity? Nah! I haven’t the time for that! Bah!