Thoughtful language key to helping trans people
Discrimination against trans people begins before they’re even born, says Danielle Araya.
“When a woman’s pregnant, the question that first gets asked is if it’s a boy or a girl. I think that does a disservice to if it’s an intersex baby, or even a trans baby. You’re already creating an atmosphere where people have to pick and celebrate this binary of masculine and feminine or male and female.”
When people from pride organizations across Canada gathered in Saskatoon this weekend, one of the workshops on offer helped teach them how to be inclusive of trans people.
Thoughtful language is part of a good approach, as is understanding how isolating it can be for people in transition, says Araya, an educator and facilitator at The 519 Church Street Community Centre in Toronto.
“There’s so much that they lose,” Araya said, as she and colleague Steven Little led an exercise showing how coming out can affect a person’s relationships, health, career, housing, and sense of belonging in their community.
We asked Araya and Little what everyone could do to become more accommodating. Some answers have been edited for length.
The StarPhoenix: What are some things that wellmeaning people do or say that unintentionally hurt trans people?
Araya: For a trans person, it’s hard to navigate the binary of being either male or female or in between, and having sometimes to pick sides. Usually, the language is very masculine or feminine. It’s hard sometimes to talk to people without them offending you unintentionally. If they don’t take the time to really understand the language out there that can be very sexist, can be very racist, can be very offensive to many kinds of people, we’re doing a disservice to our community by not educating ourselves.
SP: If you know a trans person, how do you ask somebody — or do you ask somebody — is there something we can do for you to make you feel welcome?
Little: I’ve come to understand that I am cisgender (someone who is not transgender). That was a really crucial thing for me to get my head around. There’s an equalization in that. So, rather than talking about a trans woman and a “real” woman, which is horrific way to phrase that, I am cisgender. I would say, ‘ My name is Steven. My pronoun is ‘he.’ Would you mind if I check what your pronoun is?”
I think it’s a matter of acknowledging in an equal way the differences and the similarities.
SP: What are some of the most significant barriers trans people encounter on a daily basis?
Araya: The first one is feeling safe enough and strong enough to come out and transition when they feel it’s right for them. The fear that trans people have is they’re going to lose their family, they’re going to lose their jobs. There’s no guarantee of what you might lose or gain after transitioning. It’s always a very precarious position to be in. Transition is when they’re most vulnerable. You’re losing a lot of privilege and safety.
SP: What are steps employers can take that might help trans people feel more comfortable?
Little: I think they really need to utilize the skill of listening. They want to make sure if they’re developing a policy that they’re engaging the trans community. We have a tool kit which we give to people to help with this. You need to go through a long-term process. It should never be a tick-box, or, ‘We’re just going to stick a rainbow flag up, or the trans flag up.’ That’s just nonsense and totally superficial.
Glossary: Cisgender: Used to describe people whose gender identity is in harmony with the sex assigned to them at birth.
Intersex: A person born with biological and/or physical characteristics that are not easily categorized by medical practitioners as male or female.
Trans: An umbrella term used for people whose gender identity is not in harmony with their birth assignment, either wholly or partially, or who experience their gender identity as radically different from what is expected of a “man” or “woman.”
Transition: A host of activities that some people may pursue to affirm their gender identity. This may include changes to their name, sex designation, dress, the use of specific pronouns, and possibly medically supportive treatments such as hormone therapy, sex-reassignment surgery or other procedures.