Queer & Allies Hosts Gender Panel for Transgender Awareness Week

By: Margo Mead

Staff Writer

Published December 6, 2018

Green River’s Queer & Allies club hosts a gender panel to answer students’ questions in recognition of National Coming Out Week at 12 p.m. Nov. 20 in Salish Hall. 

The panel consisted of six members, Anne Hiles, President of Queer and Allies, and club members Ray Loop, Dee Senaga, Karina Cisneros and Gender Studies and Political Science professor Allison Jansen.

Questions were introduced by the club throughout the panel to initiate an open discussion between the panelists and the audience. All questions related back to gender and identity.
The first question introduced was “what is a pronoun?” The panel defined a pronoun as how to refer to someone without using their name, such as using he/him, she/her, they/them, or an array of other options.

It has become conventional for teachers to allow students to introduce themselves in the classroom with their chosen pronoun. Many are beginning using they/them pronouns. This introduces the fact that some do not identify by binary (he/him or she/her) pronouns.
The panel then moved on to the difference between preference and identity. Senaga stated it is common for people to ask those who are transgender if they are also gay. Senaga believed this to be a “bizarre” assumption.

“Maybe I’m not attracted to these people, maybe I want to become these people,” Loop said, as sexual preference and gender identity are disconnected.

The discussion then moved to the differences between identity and self-expression. One can express themselves as one gender yet feel different or neutral on the inside. Loop provides an example of this as he dresses in a masculine manner to encourage others to refer to him with masculine pronouns, although he would like wearing other clothing as well.
The panel gave the definition to the term transgender, which refers to someone who chooses to identify other than their gender assigned to them at birth. Genderfluidity refers to someone who switches genders, meaning someone could feel they are a specific gender at one moment to then feel a different way at a later time.

“It’s a discovery you make about yourself and a choice to express it,” said Loop. For some, it is a straightforward decision when choosing how to identify, but for others, it is a journey. “The older understanding is that you always knew, nowadays it’s that a few do but others are just confused,” Jansen said.

So, what is the best way to ask someone’s gender? “It’s often best to find a time where it’s just you and the other person,” Senaga said. “To do that off to the side is a lot safer for that other person.” Asking someone this question in a public atmosphere “is almost like forcing them to come out,” Hiles said.
The panel noted nobody would be mad at you for using they/them pronouns if you do not know what their pronouns are. “Misgendering can cause a whole journey to fall apart,” said Hiles. Misgendering is the act of referring to someone as the incorrect gender, such as addressing a person who uses he/him pronouns she/her.

How does someone know if they are transgender? The panel explained that gender dysphoria (unease or dissatisfaction with their bodies) and euphoria are good indicators. “The most common way that someone knows they are transgender is the same way that people know they’re cisgender, they just know,” Jansen said. Being cisgender is identifying with the same gender they were born as.

What does it mean having a gender that is not male or female? Hiles defined it as “different with a capital D.” Not having a binary gender is generally not yet socially accepted. Clothing and expression tend to represent a gender of their own as of right now, but hopefully, this will change in the future. “Anyone can wear makeup and rock it,” said Hiles.

The panel concluded with questions from the audience. For any student who may have more questions about gender identity, the Queer and Allies Club meets at noon every Tuesday in the Club Corner located in the Mel Lindblom Student Union.