Vol 3 No 7
I borrowed this blog from a Facebook post and changed nothing about it except to write this intro. This is
not a post that is directly related to Honors Studies, but it conveys a message
that I think many Honors students can relate to. This is a manifesto of someone who doesn’t
fit into what society has decided is a mold and has had enough. They are speaking up and becoming a voice for
what they believe in and, more importantly, for who they are. In Honors, and beyond, the people are dedicated
to supporting students as individuals who are looking for a place to fit in. Who may be looking for home. There is adamancy in this post. There is anger. There is a determination that many of you
will recognize. There is also bravery…and
I encourage all of you to hear the voice, and then to share your own voice,
tell your own story, stand up for what you believe in and who you are. And, when you’re ready, turn to the person
next to you and do the same for them.
The author
of this blog is April Broughton,
Honors Studies librarian and adjunct faculty member, and one of the amazing
library staff here at FLCC. They fully
embrace the message of Honors and many of you will know how dedicated they are
to bettering the lives of students. They
carry a special torch for Honors and I think many of you will see why…
***
This post brought to you by current political
and social discourse and some stunningly callous, cruel, and inhumane comments
read online.
My
pronoun is ‘they’. Simple as that. I am not going to force you to use my
preferred pronoun, I am not going to enforce compliance to my preferences. I
simply expect you to respect me as a person enough to respect that preference
and to act on it as best as you can. To not argue the invalidity of my
preference, as to do so would suggest such a deep lack of regard for myself as
a person that perhaps it would be best if you moved along.
Most
importantly, your opinion does not invalidate my existence. Your denials flung
in the name of grammar, of religion, do not invalidate my existence.
Grammar
is a weak shield to offer. It is an avoidance of the fact that language is a
living thing, and needs to be. I say this as an academic, a librarian, and an
author. We need words to describe the world around us, to describe us. We sit
in our meatspace, engage in slacktivism, and fuss about our First World
Problems. Language has to be able to shift. And you do not get to pick the
shifts you approve of while denying others. That aside, if your argument
against using ‘they’ to refer to an individual of undefined or undesignated
gender is a grammatical one, you have no ground to stand on. Yes, the use for
it in regards to nonbinary individuals is more recent, but it has evolved from
precedent where it has been used as an identifier for individuals where the
gender is unknown or not important. Which seems to fit rather perfectly within
the modern nonbinary usage. Merriam-Webster has an excellent brief discussion
that can be read here: https://www.merriam-webster.com/wor…/singular-nonbinary-they
Religion
is a weak shield to offer. We do not live in a theocracy, despite attempts to
the contrary. I am free to practice my beliefs and not impose them upon you. I
kindly ask the same respect from you. Refusing that request puts you as the
aggressor and not as the self-righteous element you try to present as. My
identity has no effect on your religion as I am not a part of it. Your choosing
to be impacted by me is simply that, a choice. And it does not bear the weight
you would like it to.
I
repeat, your opinion does not invalidate my existence, does not invalidate me.
My
personal identity, my ‘me’, consists of what makes me a person. What makes -me-
a person. Not the bits you have decided should make up a person. The bits of my
identity, the things I identify and hold dear. Only I am responsible for my
self, my actions. You see the me that is specified by my attributes. You see my
social roles, my habits, capacities, my skills. You may even be inclined to
push an identity onto me, seeing my base biological attribute of girl-ness, and
determining how I should fit in socially and culturally. You don’t take into
account my identity, my inner coherence relating to emotional and cognitive
states, the way I experience a sense of continuity of the self. Identity in the
sense of a continual creation and integration, of self-consciousness and awareness.
The me of self-determination. The me that you ignore in your drive to push an
identity upon me, one that fits your narrative. I am responsible for my own
narrative self. That self persists and exists despite your perceptions and
opinion.
***
Let's say it again...
...your opinion does not
invalidate my existence...
