I think the linked article does a superb job of capturing the difficulty of understanding the situation for us on the outside looking in. I know I rarely feel comfortable broaching the subject simply because of a concern of offending by using the wrong terminology.
One of the other posters put up talks about taking offense at the use of "lady", but I honestly think that few people would say such a term maliciously. Ideally, a softer approach could be used to correct lady into a more appropriate term, educating rather than taking offense at the (I would assume) unintentional slight.
There is a lot of ground to cover as these issues are rarely discussed, and I believe that as Mudd (and other communities) learn more about the situation and preferred terminology, we can all find common ground, and come to a broader collective understanding of gender.
@Scott: Your comment is incredibly thoughtful, and deserves a thoughtful response. I think that you are absolutely right. Just as it is important for people "on the outside" to critically examine gender and privilege, it is important for us to step back and realize that critical thought is not easy and fast.
The problem arises when people refuse to examine gender and privilege critically. I firmly believe that there are times and places for both hard and soft approaches. Appeasement doesn't always work; sometimes you have to fight to get where you are.
The criticism of the project as being too accusatory did come up when we were designing the quotes to begin with. I don't have an opinion on that now - maybe later, in hindsight.
Finally, feel free to ask. Most of us will not feel offended.
Hey Scott, you probably have stopped checking the blog by now, but I was wondering if I could put up your comment on the post? That way other people just scrolling through can see it too.
http://trans.kolyafloit.com/archives/parents-why-were-way-too-hard-on-them
ReplyDeleteInteresting, someone else gave me that quote so I just assumed it was original. Oops.
ReplyDeleteThoughtful post though, thanks for the link!
I think the linked article does a superb job of capturing the difficulty of understanding the situation for us on the outside looking in. I know I rarely feel comfortable broaching the subject simply because of a concern of offending by using the wrong terminology.
ReplyDeleteOne of the other posters put up talks about taking offense at the use of "lady", but I honestly think that few people would say such a term maliciously. Ideally, a softer approach could be used to correct lady into a more appropriate term, educating rather than taking offense at the (I would assume) unintentional slight.
There is a lot of ground to cover as these issues are rarely discussed, and I believe that as Mudd (and other communities) learn more about the situation and preferred terminology, we can all find common ground, and come to a broader collective understanding of gender.
@Scott: Your comment is incredibly thoughtful, and deserves a thoughtful response. I think that you are absolutely right. Just as it is important for people "on the outside" to critically examine gender and privilege, it is important for us to step back and realize that critical thought is not easy and fast.
ReplyDeleteThe problem arises when people refuse to examine gender and privilege critically. I firmly believe that there are times and places for both hard and soft approaches. Appeasement doesn't always work; sometimes you have to fight to get where you are.
The criticism of the project as being too accusatory did come up when we were designing the quotes to begin with. I don't have an opinion on that now - maybe later, in hindsight.
Finally, feel free to ask. Most of us will not feel offended.
Thank you so much for your comment.
Hey Scott, you probably have stopped checking the blog by now, but I was wondering if I could put up your comment on the post? That way other people just scrolling through can see it too.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Bonny