Dekeldoh (imported) wrote: Thu Aug 02, 2018 5:04 am As far as I am concerned, I only have a gender when I'm filling out a form or using a public bathroom. In those cases, I prefer "Other" and "Gender Neutral" respectively.
Individuals may wear whatever clothes they like, use whichever bathroom they feel most comfortable in, and insofar as practicality allows, be treated however they prefer.
I don't understand exactly what the terms "gender" or "gender identity" mean, but they seem to be very confusing words that mean different things to different people. I don't think I will ever need to know what they mean.
The least grating term that another person has used to describe me is "not man not woman." The "non-binary" label is in theory innocous, and should simply refer to the regular word non-binary--neither male nor female, or not solely male or female, but not at all describing exactly what. It could be anything. However, the word seems to be very confusing to most people, and has become a label that some take to mean something specific. Additionally, I could say that my gender is extremely binary--it is 0, or false.
Overall, I'm not fond of strangers using unfamiliar words to describe me in my presence, and if someone asked me what my "gender" or "gender identity" was out of curiousity, they may have better luck extracting such a thing from a concrete wall. The wonderful psychologist who wrote my first surgery referral used "he" pronouns without ever asking me about it, and I never noticed until the second practicioner I saw pointed that out. The second practicioner had me fill out an insurance form when I first came in, and told me I didn't have to fill out anything I found uncomfortable or confusing. Naturally, I skipped right over the pronouns box. I later found out she didn't notice, when she called me asking what pronoun she should use for me in the referral. I told her I didn't mind, and she accepted that with some confusion and told me she'd use whatever seemed fitting. Apparently, she eventually decided on "they."
It doesn't matter one bit what somebody refers to me as. My preference is simply calling me by my name without the Mr, Mrs, he, she or whatever. We all have a name and the most respectful way of referring to or about a person is simply to use their name.