I have some dear friends who seem to believe that defining gender by multiple possibilities solves something. I don’t see it, but maybe that’s because I’m old. I’ve spent a fair part of my life battling gender-role stereotypes; I’m not in the least certain that defining more genders makes this any easier or better. I am who I am. While I am currently comfortable in my body, I’ve found that has varied widely over the years, and might have done a surgical procedure to reassign my gender at one time or another if it were (a) available and (b) affordable, but am currently happy I did not.

I completely support my GBLTQO friends in determining who and what they are. As I have never been entirely certain who or what I am, and as that uncertainty in my case has not been restricted to questions of gender identity, why would I not?

Am I cis? I think I’m too old for any such determination, and if the options discussed today were discussed when I was in my 20s I might have easily argued that I am not. However, I’ve been what I am for so long that I don’t think it matters how I am labeled. I do not, however, feel it is appropriate to lump me into a category which has not existed for at least 60 years of my life and would prefer for my friends to not do so.

Here’s the main point: In my life, labels have been the cause of issues, problems, and stigma, not the solution. Never the solution. But I support your right to stick whatever labels on yourself that you feel is right, and hope that it does more good than harm to you.

As for genderless pronouns, the same goes. I’ve used some early attempts at this myself. I do not know the source of the current set being used by young people, but nobody asked me about it and they should have asked people who cared and have fought the same fights (which includes me). Maybe I’m just jealous they didn’t ask, but I do not find the new terms usable. (You can go through my old writings and find “s/he” and “hir” used rather widely as far back as 1985, so I’m not making this up.)

Anyone care to discuss this? The floor is open. Best forum is my Facebook page; comments here are so much spam I may have effectively closed them.

Hugs,
Me