Kaylie - Final Project

Website: http://kewalsh.wix.com/pgps

On a daily basis, we assume people’s preferred gender pronouns (PGPs), which in most
casual conversations may not seem like a big deal. However, to transgender, genderqueer, and
other non-binary individuals, it is. Gender non-conforming and trans* people face disrespect that
stems from ignorance on a daily basis. Many people feel uncomfortable or even unsafe
disclosing their true PGPs outside of designated safe spaces. If people knew more about gender,
even the basics like PGPs, trans* people would experience less prejudice and less violence.
According to TSER, 80% of trans students feel unsafe at school because of their gender
expression, 58.7% of gender non-conforming students endured verbal harassment, and 49% of
trans students reported physical abuse (2015). These statistics show that trans people have to
navigate environments that are often incredible hostile towards them. Far from PGPs, trans youth
have to worry about verbal and physical violence, rejection from their families, and isolation
from their friends and peers. With that said, asking someone’s PGP is the first small step toward
creating a safe, honest space for trans and gender non-conforming people in their daily life.
We live in a heteronormative culture where 1- we assume that everyone we meet is either
male or female based on their appearance 2- that identity is synonymous with their genitalia 3-
that everyone is attracted to the “opposite” sex. By assuming cis gender hertosexuality is the
norm, heteronormativity, which was discussed in Hoyt’s gender and sexuality presentation,
paints sexual orientations and sexual orientations that diverge from the expected as deviant,
rather than as natural variations in human identity (2015). Hoyt discusses the theory of gender
performativity in her presentation on gender and sexuality as well, a theory that is complicated
because gender is made up but everyone has a right to perform their gender as they see fit
(2015). While gender is a performance, that doesn’t detract from the importance of respecting
people’s PGPs and letting them perform their gender, regardless of how it intersects with their
biological anatomy or expectations of their peers. Additionally, my project seeks to enlighten
people to the fact that gender performance and gender identity do not necessarily coincide with
each other either because someone is not safe to perform their gender how they would like to or
simply because their gender identity is not dependant on their appearance, which is okay too. As
we talked about in class, the gender binary is insidious in even our media like advertisements
(2015). A commercial never has someone that has someone who is gender non-conforming; the
gender of media personas are always fit with what we would assume. And when there is a
“gender surprise” it is for a comedic relief rather than an opportunity to demonstrate that gender
is an internal quality that must be shared before being assumed.

Something that is almost never addressed in everyday human interactions, gender
pronouns are generally assumed and can be a bizarre or uncomfortable topic for some to discuss.
The more routine we portray PGP disclosure to be, the more safe cis-dominated spaces will
become. To ask someone’s PGPs when meeting them isn’t asking people for very much; in fact
it is a small, easy act of consideration that on the individual level protects a person’s identity and
on a larger scale affirms the validity of trans* people to live freely and safely in society.
Works Cited:

Hoyt, K. D. (2015). Gender and Sexuality [Emaze slides]. Retrieved from:
https://www.emaze.com/@ALLOIWII/gender--sexuality-in-the-media
Why Trans People Need More Visibility. (2015). Retrieved November 22, 2015, from
http://www.transstudent.org/transvisibility