Not sure how to refer to the trans community? I’ll give yall some advice that I commented about.

The way you word things when you discuss trans people can carry a lot of implications and instilled bias. Especially in this day and age, communication means a lot more than it used to, and a lot of words and phrases can be dog whistles to other… unfortunate opinions.

So, here’s what I’ve got for you

Try and avoid words like “transgenderism”. Its usually used by transphobic people to dehumanize the trans experience. The word implies that being transgender is a disease like cancer, something that can be destroyed.

Examples from the perspective of a trans person, and how the word describes themself- “I have transgenderism” (implies its an illness)

“I am transgender” (implies the concept of identifying outside birth sex)

In these examples, I specifically quote them as if a trans person were saying it. I rarely hear younger trans people use “transgenderism”. I believe its because the trans youth and younger generations were raised on the newer terminology, and we mostly see the old terminology on extremist rightwing culture. In a trans person’s mind, that word is directly tied to transphobia.

The reason people outside the queer community don’t realize this more often is because they’ve never been “othered” the way LGBT people have. Its the same as I, a white man, can’t understand what its like to be black. I will never know that kind of dread. So, with very little real information and a lot of propaganda, the average normal person will have some transphobic ideas.

Of course, most trans people can tell if someone is transphobic or not, but especially for trans youth it can be touchy. I remember having a difficult time trusting people because I was never quite sure if they really understood.

The key difference is if someone has developed actual resentment, tension, or disgust with the idea of transness. Usually, those who aren’t instilled with those beliefs will be intrusive and overbearing. They’ll ask pointed, weird questions. Whereas my coworkers always were respectful when asking about my identity and the process of transition. If you feel disrespected by someone, its best to keep some distance. Or, try and educate them! If you want to give them a shot, wether you’re trans or not, I say why not? Sometimes just planting a seed to give it a chance to sprout is the best thing you can do as an ally or sibling.

That’s all I have to say today, so thank you for reading lovelies, and have a nice whatever time of day :)