Proposal Regarding Pronouns (discussion)

[Ender]

Well, I want to point out my positions in all the shitfeasts here recently. Then; 'what ever else comes up' is the contention of quite a few people here who think they are indeed being squashed. Say 'fag' get banned. (I agree by the way I don't want people mistaking my argument with the status quo), say 'it' and it's a shitstorm. Say Republikkkan and it's cool.

I honestly don't see any dissonance there, because party identification is really completely trivial compared with race, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Ok, let's keep this to Master Status identifiers then (sociology sucks btw). How about being crippled of having some other kind of physical abnormality? I'm pretty sure that we can all agree that mocking someone for a physical handicap is a really shitty thing to do. Yet it has been completely acceptable to ride McCain for his injuries for months. Our standards for treatment of various statuses/identifiers/qualities varies wildly.

[Broomstick]

From Lusankya:

Feel free to use my name if you want.

Some of the other senators have said that trans-specific forum rules are a waste of time, as they're already covered by the hate speech rules, but I disagree with them on two counts:

1. Transsexuals get a lot less publicity than other minorities, and many people don't understand the issues that they have. In the "Transgender woman murdered" thread, Knife was not aware that "tranny" was a derogatory term. You would be hard-pressed to find a similar level of ignorance about words like "gook" "nigger" or "dago". Many people are also unaware of what transsexualism is - I've met people who don't understand the difference between it and cross-dressing. Even when I explain it to them, they often don't accept that it's based in the individual's fundamental brain structure, and will treat it as a mental disorder. Trans-specific forum rules would (hopefully) reduce attacks against transgendered individuals which stem from ignorance.

2. The fact that most of the board's transsexuals remain closeted (even in GALE) strongly suggests that the board isn't doing enough to make them feel welcome. It's not a silver bullet, but having the rules openly state that this board is welcoming to transgendered individuals is a step in the right direction.

EDIT: To add onto my last point, some people might say that remaining closeted is the choice of the transgendered individuals themselves. However, given the statistics on transgender abuse, remaining closeted is a completely sensible course to take. If the board wants to be welcoming to transsexuals, then it has to take a proactive stance. Simply letting the matter slide is basically endorsing the status quo.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Napoleon the Clown specifically requested I post this comment of his.

The matter should be damned obvious, but apparently it isn't. The rules state quite clearly that any sort of "loopholes" will be remedied, too. I'd think that the most that would need to be done is to clarify the matter in the rules, rather than making a new rule. Honestly, though, I think that an intelligent individual will be able to figure out that intentionally using someone's gender identity as a way to attack them is on the same grounds as calling them a "fag" or "faggot". It's hateful. Slurs against sexual orientation or gender identity are the same thing as racial slurs, in my opinion, and should all get the same treatment. If someone were to rip into a black member and drop the "n" bomb they'd likely end up getting their ass booted out in short order. I see no reason why calling someone "it" should be treated any differently. And on the same token, I feel that intentionally calling someone by the opposite gender pronoun that they request they be called by should be treated the same as calling someone "it". It's bigotry. This is the first time I know of where a person's transgender status has been used to attack them. Up until now, there hasn't been signs of confusion, so I'd say that most of the board understands this concept. I do, however, see value in making it clear that this board firmly supports the transgender community. This is one of those things that shouldn't really need to be clarified, but here we are. It's sad just how much disdain and even outright hatred there is for the transgender community. A statement that this can be a place of refuge could be of great benefit to any seeking a place to talk about the issues and challenges they face on a daily basis.

Our administration here is intelligent enough to tell the difference between calling a female poster "he" or a male poster "she" by accident. Why it's even considered a potential issue, I don't know. People don't get banned off-hand, either. I've seen only a few cases of someone getting banned without there being discussion of the matter in the Senate. The rest of the time, there's a lot of discussion on what should be done. This board is run in a manner that will prevent one person mistaking an innocent mistake for an intentional attack and banning the poor sod that made a mistake.

Just my thoughts on the matter, for what they're worth.

Napoleon the Clown