I read your column daily and watch you on MSNBC. I do not tweet or have apps on my phone. (Hacked twice and I am over 70 and from Fond du Lac!). I have learned quite a bit from my trans stepdaughter and her friends. (Yes, I have been a serious feminist since I was about 5. Growing up in FDL in the 50's will do that to a girl.) "Pre…
I read your column daily and watch you on MSNBC. I do not tweet or have apps on my phone. (Hacked twice and I am over 70 and from Fond du Lac!). I have learned quite a bit from my trans stepdaughter and her friends. (Yes, I have been a serious feminist since I was about 5. Growing up in FDL in the 50's will do that to a girl.) "Pregnant people" is the language that I feel most comfortable with and believe is critical to our understanding of what is often vital to trans people and LGBTQ people. Here is an article that I found interesting. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/apr/20/the-dad-who-gave-birth-pregnant-trans-freddy-mcconnell Thanks to whoever is reading this.
Marthanne, thank you for saying this. I confess I am not comfortable with children having sex changes before they are fully matured physically. And I also confess to being tired of what I perceive as tortured language (pregnant people v women, for instance; and "chestfeeding" is simply not a thing!). Your experience can inform my belief, however, and each of us is important and has a part of play in the whole of us, so I thank you for the link and I will read it.
Most of my experience with trans people has been with those who are 18+. I too have some concerns about young children making profound decisions about the rest of their life. I agree, some of the language seems awkward at best. My stepdaughter and her friends are quite strident about their view of the "rest of us" and I think the language they use is often meant to divide more than unify. Yet, I feel certain that my mother, were she still alive, would say the same thing about her hippie daughter.
I read your column daily and watch you on MSNBC. I do not tweet or have apps on my phone. (Hacked twice and I am over 70 and from Fond du Lac!). I have learned quite a bit from my trans stepdaughter and her friends. (Yes, I have been a serious feminist since I was about 5. Growing up in FDL in the 50's will do that to a girl.) "Pregnant people" is the language that I feel most comfortable with and believe is critical to our understanding of what is often vital to trans people and LGBTQ people. Here is an article that I found interesting. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/apr/20/the-dad-who-gave-birth-pregnant-trans-freddy-mcconnell Thanks to whoever is reading this.
Marthanne, thank you for saying this. I confess I am not comfortable with children having sex changes before they are fully matured physically. And I also confess to being tired of what I perceive as tortured language (pregnant people v women, for instance; and "chestfeeding" is simply not a thing!). Your experience can inform my belief, however, and each of us is important and has a part of play in the whole of us, so I thank you for the link and I will read it.
Most of my experience with trans people has been with those who are 18+. I too have some concerns about young children making profound decisions about the rest of their life. I agree, some of the language seems awkward at best. My stepdaughter and her friends are quite strident about their view of the "rest of us" and I think the language they use is often meant to divide more than unify. Yet, I feel certain that my mother, were she still alive, would say the same thing about her hippie daughter.
As a friend and I used to say, "kicking and screaming we will be pulled into the 21st century."