I am writing to address a critical issue that affects individuals across our society – misgendering. In a country like Pakistan, there is a lot of impact of microaggressions such as misgendering. There is a common misconception in our society that the transgender community is a Westernized concept. Asinine as it is, many believe it and choose to teach it to their children. People misgender others in a way to insult them as if being transgender is a humiliating aspect of one’s identity.
It is our duty as allies to ensure that we create a safe space for them every time we start a conversation. This does not necessarily refer to those who are ‘out’ and visibly trans, non-binary, or gender non-conforming. Mitigating or preventing misgendering is relatively effortless. The easiest way to do so is by always introducing yourself with your pronouns whenever you meet new people. Moreover, display your pronouns in emails, social media profiles, and professional settings. In addition to this, you can implement the use of pronoun buttons at social events – similar to how name tags are used.
The most uncomplicated aspect of the entire movement is allyship. Fortunately enough, it abides by basic ethics that we should all heed. In essence, mutual respect agreeing upon the fact that everyone has the right to decide and choose what pronouns they would like to go by, and the responsibility of using those correct pronouns falls on everyone around them (including strangers) should be formed and followed.
Marryam Kamran, Lahore