It's disorienting, isn't it? (No pun intended.) I've sometimes been tempted to dismiss the vast alphabet soup and label-extravaganza of the 21st-century sexual landscape out of sheer confusion. I think being employed in the public sector all those years gave me a certain advantage: my first diversity training that included transgender was fifteen years ago. It was eye-opening, to say the least: my first inkling that maybe the binary system of male/female, gay/straight, etc., was just a myth.
The fact that a high school girl can come out to a teacher in the way you've described is wonderful, but I don't blame you for freaking out a little. People in our age bracket don't automatically know how to be appropriate in such a situation--we have to be carefully taught. I'm sort of surprised that the school district you work for hasn't done more in this arena. But...budgets, right?
On the pronoun issue, yeah. I know a bare handful of people who've tried to make a go of "zir," "hir," and the like, but I'm sorry--it's not catching on. I see "them" and "their" more all the time (more to avoid the "his or hers" awkwardness than as any real nod to more-than-two-genders), and it looks to be heading toward general acceptance. The lack of nuanced pronouns really underscores how deeply the binary concept is embedded in the culture.
The book I'm discussing in the original post here presents a bewildering array of labels that I'm still thinking a lot about, and the author does a great job with the pronouns available, but the English language simply still lacks the necessary richness to reflect these realities. I hope your student finds their way. :D
no subject
The fact that a high school girl can come out to a teacher in the way you've described is wonderful, but I don't blame you for freaking out a little. People in our age bracket don't automatically know how to be appropriate in such a situation--we have to be carefully taught. I'm sort of surprised that the school district you work for hasn't done more in this arena. But...budgets, right?
On the pronoun issue, yeah. I know a bare handful of people who've tried to make a go of "zir," "hir," and the like, but I'm sorry--it's not catching on. I see "them" and "their" more all the time (more to avoid the "his or hers" awkwardness than as any real nod to more-than-two-genders), and it looks to be heading toward general acceptance. The lack of nuanced pronouns really underscores how deeply the binary concept is embedded in the culture.
The book I'm discussing in the original post here presents a bewildering array of labels that I'm still thinking a lot about, and the author does a great job with the pronouns available, but the English language simply still lacks the necessary richness to reflect these realities. I hope your student finds their way. :D