‘ Pronouns hold a similar weight and significance ]… ] as names ‘
Did you know that there is a” Gender Recognition and Lived Brand Plan” at the University of California?
The goal of the policy is to” create a tradition of belonging, an atmosphere free of bias and abuse in which all members of our community, including transgender and nonbinary people, may thrive.”
According to The College Fix, “every UC school may offer at least three female options on university-issued documents for anyone who has an academic or professional partnership with the system.”
If a woman’s “lived” brand is different from their legitimate name, the latter had been “kept personal except on specific financial and legal documents”, the policy notes.
UC San Francisco News recently asked Sophia Zamudio-Haas ( pictured ), a DrPH in the Dept. of Medicine, about the value of the policy … and how she “imagines” or “hopes” it affects her.
” Titles and pronouns problem”, Zamudio-Haas said. In English, “pronouns have a similar pounds and significance to names.”
Zamudio-Haas, a specialist in “increasing exposure to culturally tailored and community specific HIV prevention and treatment services for transgender women,” pointed out that she just was reminded that “misgendering people through the use of the bad pronouns” can be corrected by a simple explanation and” taking duty.”
” Something less”, she said, “is an act of violence and purposeful harm”.
Further: Mount Holyoke tells university to report ‘ misgendering,” incorrect’ pronoun use
From the essay:
I wish more people understood that one’s sexual orientation or gender identification cannot be determined by looking at a person.
There is so much rich and beautiful diversification in female appearance, identity, sexuality and sexual need under the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender overcoat. We as a group have so many different lived experience, but ultimately, as individuals we share the same basic needs for safety, liberty, and a sense of peace.
My gender identity and sexuality are frequently hidden from the public as a Mexican American queer woman. In both my personal and professional life, I am frequently assumed to be straight. This can be tiring at times, to explain myself and weather the range of responses. Also, there can be privilege in being straight passing, especially in certain spaces.
Even growing up in San Francisco and working at UCSF for the majority of my career – arguably two of the most welcoming environments for queer people – has taken me years to feel confident in who I am. Because homophobia and transphobia are so prevalent, we can carry these ideas and behaviors around in many different ways.
Zamudio-Haas ‘ take on pronouns and identity certainly is n’t unique in academia. For instance, over 600 students at Washington and Lee University signed a petition last year to denounce conservative commentator Matt Walsh’s “violent words” against trans people.
After all these years of experience, transgender actress Laverne Cox explained to students at George Washington University,” I’ve come to understand that calling a transgender woman a man is a violent act.”
And in 2017, a petition deemed Canada’s Wilfrid Laurier University “unsafe” for” trans, non-binary, and gender diverse students and faculty” because a teaching assistant dared to show a class a debate about gender-neutral pronouns.
MORE: Feds investigate conservative scholar’s ‘ misgendering’ of DEI official
IMAGE: UCSF
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