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This past Tuesday we heard from Cindy Rivers, a local trans advocate and actor, who spoke to us and answered our questions about the updated terminology and how to better ally ourselves with the community in general. Her very interesting, informal presentation set us at ease immediately and there were many questions people had which she was happy to answer.
Cindy started with explaining that gender is what your innate sense of self is. This may not always align with your physical appearance or biological parts. It may be what we think of as masculine, feminine or neither. It is also not always linked to your sexuality, which is who you are emotionally attracted to. They are two very different things. Looks do not always translate into sexual orientation.
She explained that people in the trans community are almost always very happy to share what their preferred pronouns (he, she, his, her) for use in general speech are and we should not be afraid to ask. We can also avoid issues by using gender neutral language as much as possible.
She also explained the meaning of the LGBTQ2SIAAP ‘alphabet’ that is often used. The meanings are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans sexual, Queer or Questioning (not sure ) , 2S Two Spirited, Intersex (born with body parts of both) , Asexual (not attracted to either) , Agender (neither female or male) , and Pansexual. The terms Cis and Trans are also often used. Cis meaning ‘on the same side’ and Trans meaning ‘on the other side’. She said that people can be born with all kinds of combinations of body parts and the gender they are raised as by their parents does not always align with who they feel they are once they grow up.
Cindy said that people in this community are often confronted with threats to their personal safety, and that the better they present themselves to others the safer they are. The use of gender specific public washrooms can be a problem which is best dealt with by the inclusion of gender-neutral individual washrooms, just like you have at home. She said that people should use the washroom they are most comfortable with.
We would like to thank Cindy for her very open and interesting talk. She has hopefully made us more aware of the issues surrounding this community and has given us some ideas on how improve inclusion for people in this community.
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