If we were to think about life even just 10 years ago, I bet many of us would remember the days that politics weren't really spoken about. A lot of us were probably raised with the same standards; don't talk about politics and religion. Hell, I use to waitress and bar-tend and that is the unspoken rule of the bar. Don't talk about politics or religion, especially when alcohol is involved. As my dad always told me, you're not going to change their opinion, and they're not going to change yours.
Fast forwards 10 years, you now know everyone and their mothers political opinion. You can't get on Facebook for one day without a political post. Just about everything on the TV mentions politics in some form or fashion. Talking about politics has become the new social norm. Unfortunately, bullying has also become the new social norm. You're no longer allowed to have differing opinions. And this comes from both sides of the political spectrum. I've seen it from the extreme left as well as the extreme right.
Free speech for all!
.....Except for those who disagree with me!
Now, what stereotypes do you associate with those in the Republican party? What are the usual go-to's?
Racist.
Homophobic.
Islamophobic.
Any other word that ends in 'ophobic'...
Misogynistic.
War-Hungry.
And so on and so forth.
Well, I'm here to say, for those of you who are willing to listen, we're not any of those things. Do those people out there exist? Absolutely. But they're not limited to the republican party, or even the democratic party. There are assholes everywhere. On both sides.
But just because I'm a registered Republican, doesn't mean I'm any of those things. But I will tell you what I am. I am a young woman, mother and student who was raised by amazing parents who taught me the importance in respecting everyone. No matter their race, or their beliefs.
I was raised to treat everyone as the human beings that they are, because while we may not all have the same beliefs, we're all still human beings. Going day by day trying to figure out life and do what's best for our loved ones. We're not all going to do it the same way, and that's okay. We're not all going to vote for the same people, and that's also okay.
We can have different views. But just because we have different views, doesn't make me any of those things you assume that I am. You probably saw the title and instantly thought about how racist I must be. Or how I hate women. Or how I'm just probably so full of hate.
But I'm not.
I'm full of love. As a new mother especially, I'm full of a love I've never felt before. I don't hate anyone (except the San Fransisco Giants but that's just because I was #RaisedRoyal and I'm also #StillBitter).
I want what's best for most importantly my son, my family, my friends. But also for you, whoever reads this.. No matter your views, I value your safety and your future. Because at the end of the day, we're all playing for the same team. No matter who you are, what you believe, who you love; I will always treat you with respect unless you disrespect me.
I'm no longer ashamed of saying I am a republican. Because I'm confident in the values I was raised with. I'm confident in the respectful, loving person I am growing up to be and will raise my son to be. And because quite frankly, republicans aren't the ones out destroying buildings and assaulting people in alleged, 'protests' which are actually 'riots'.
I'm a republican and that's okay.
Maybe you're a democrat.. and that's okay.
Maybe you're an independent.. really, that's okay.
As long as you treat everyone with love and respect no matter their differences?
It's okay.
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1. Use singular they for people whose pronouns you don't know, people who use those pronouns, and stop using him/her.
One of the most common, and often cluttered, phrases I hear when people try to talk about a person whose gender is unknown is he/she, him/her, (s)he. This is not only clunky and annoying to say, but ignores the fact that not everyone uses those pronouns or identifies as a man or a woman. When you say he/she you're really forgetting part of the population and making a lot of assumptions about people you don't know. This also goes for assuming a stranger's gender -- how someone presents isn't an indication of the gender they are or the pronouns they use. By assuming, you're misgendering someone before you even know them, when it is totally easy to use them, where you are assuming nothing. Singular they has been in use for hundreds of years. Using it will declutter language and create an environment in the world that allows for transgender and non-binary people to not be misgendered.
Source: genderqueerid.com
2. Stop using the words "opposite sex" or "both sexes" or "opposite gender" or "both genders".
Not only is this language erasing of transgender people outside the binary, but it is also erasing intersex people. The idea of the opposite of gender or sex, first of all, makes no sense. There is no opposite when it comes to biology, and since there are more than two sexes and more than two genders, there can be no opposite and no both (both implies two). Replace this language with all sexes or all genders and just get rid of the idea of opposite gender or sex from your mind and vocabulary entirely.
3. Ask people's pronouns when you meet them.
In order to help create a safer environment for trans and non-binary people, asking for pronouns and educating others on why you're asking is an important step. This allows the person to give you the pronouns they want you to use and stops you from assuming their gender, misgendering them and making them uncomfortable and hurt. This is something that is good to normalize is every conversation, not just in LGBTQIA+ spaces or in spaces that you suspect trans and non-binary people might be. Trans and non-binary people are everywhere and the more common asking about pronouns becomes, the less people will be misgendered.
4. Use the word cisgender.
The word cisgender means that you identify with the gender you are assigned at birth. Basically, not transgender or non-binary. Using the word cisgender helps stop the idea that being trans or non-binary is 'abnormal' and that cisgender is the norm. It is a term that has existed for a long time. Using the term cisgender also, as the picture above says, helps to maintain that all gender experiences are valid, and all right rather than abnormal.
5. Stop saying "born a boy/girl" about a transgender or non-binary person.
I can't stress how annoying and upsetting this phrasing is and I hear it all the time by people who claim to be allies and people who are completely ignorant. No one is 'born' anything. Your gender and sex assignment are things that are given to you when you are born. This also is essentially outing trans and non-binary people to people who they don't know, misgenders them, and continues to hold up cis-sexist and transphobic ideas that one is born a gender and that their gender is innate and unchanging. It provides people with unnecessary and personal information about someone's genitals (since that is really what someone is saying when saying born a boy/girl). If someone is saying this, they are telling you the make up of someone's genitals, which is completely unnecessary and invasive. You don't need to mention what someone was assigned at birth.
Source: flavorwire.com
6. Stop using the term 'preferred pronouns'.
While the term is better than not asking at all, it still really isn't a good term. The word preferred implies that these pronouns are wanted, but optional when that is not the case. My pronouns and other transgender people and non-binary people's pronouns are not optional; they are absolutely required. If you want to ask for someone's pronouns just ask 'what pronouns do you use?'. The word preferred isn't needed because it isn't preferred, it's required.
Source: nytimes.com
7. Stop using a transgender or non-binary person's dead name.
The term dead name means someone's name before they changed it (if they changed it). You have no right to use or know that name. It isn't a name the person uses anymore and to use it is disrespectful and violent. Saying things like 'Before Doug was Doug he went by ____" is not okay. Not only does it out someone as transgender or non-binary, it gives someone very personal and unnecessary information. Having a dead name used is hurtful and makes me instantly not trust someone. Do not ask for someone's dead name: there is no need for you to know it; it is not their name. Before you say something like the above example, think about why you're saying it. Is that really relevant to the conversation? Why do you feel the need to share this incredibly personal information that you have no right to share? Plain and simple: don't use someone's dead name. It's disrespectful and cruel.
While this list is only a basic introduction to improving language and making spaces safer, there are plenty more ways and articles that can provide more information and education. Learning and unlearning is a process that is incredibly important to making spaces safer for trans and non-binary people.
1. You can't remember your last day off.
Maybe it was three weeks ago. Oh, and you had to request the day off because you had a doctor's appointment.
2. Whenever someone asks to hang out, you're working.
Honestly, don't even bother inviting me places. You already know what the answer will be.
3. When you do see your friends, you're in a "treating mood."
You've managed to save so much money that when the bill comes to the table, you treat everyone to dinner. Finally. Something to spend your money on.
4. You work so much you don't have time to spend the money you're making.
You've casually spent maybe $3 total this week considering you've only had enough time between work to grab a coffee...once.
5. You're too tired to function when you aren't working.
Finally, a day off and the only thing on my mind is how long I can sleep today. Again, don't even bother texting me because I'll be too tired to move.
6. Finally seeing your friends and having way too much to catch up on.
You are with the group again and suddenly you've realized everything that you missed since the last time you've been together, which was more a month ago. Oops!
So, it's time to stop working so much and take time off to enjoy what really matters: the people we surround ourselves with.
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