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Virgin Atlantic to introduce pronoun badges.
Virgin Atlantic staff have the option to wear these badges now, & also to offer them to their customers.
I'm really not quite sure what to make of this. I'm 100% pro inclusivity & being fair to all, or at least as much as possible, I just want us all to be happy & get on with each other and that especially applies to those who are discriminated against for reasons of race, religion, ethnicity or sexuality. I'm a little unsure if we are maybe taking it too far though.
DISCLAIMER - It might be a generation thing, it's not easy at my age to adjust the traditional ideologies & thinking we have had for so long.
Comments
When I was at school there were no 'non he/she' people and there was no debate about what people were at all. Interestingly my son who is 17 said all through school there were about 5 or 6 people in each year who now identified as something other than what you would generally presume just by looking at them, so it's relatively common nowadays. They were probably there all along but were just too afraid to speak up.
Great post @kapowblamz
I think it's particularly difficult to grasp for the middle-aged & upwards generations. We are getting there though.
Do you remember the hoo-hah when Elton John first "came out"? At the time, he was the highest profile celebrity to do so. These days he is almost universally loved & respected.
If anybody want's to be known as a he/she/they/it whatever that's their choice, crack on, the more people that do it the more it will become the norm, although I read the other day somebody wanted to be called "it", I do find it strange somebody wanting to be called "it", when I was young if I called anybody it I would have got a skelp on the back of ma heid.
students would go out their way to avoid getting this tray often going for trays under neath or altering the tray stack etc. There was one teacher who would be very strict that students had to take the next tray and if he was in the line near you there was little chance of avoiding it, but you did not want that tray because you would be bullied and called gay if you took that tray.
some other insult in school was you were called a girl, and of course the ultimate insult the most offensive thing anyone could call you ever was a **** because this was calling you gay and a girl at the same time.
my response to been called **** was "fair sometimes I feel like a **** trapped in a guy's body"
they never really knew how to that one. Looking back the whole thing was ridiculous. its just interesting how times have moved on.
On a purely practical basis, these are helpful-particularly for the Customer. It is far more to help the Customer than the badge-wearer. People worry (IMO too much) about getting such things right
My youngest works in a customer-facing job. He/She looks like a Woman, but goes by the first name of (Mr) Samuel.
A badge just helps people be at ease. Anyone who is gender-fluid etc never minds if people make honest mistakes. It is only when people deliberately deny them their choice that there are problems.
PS-gender-fluidity, non-binary etc is indeed a generational thing. But it is not new. 1920's Berlin. Even a Roman Emperor. It was just confused until recently with various other, different conditions.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/sep/22/uk-government-drops-gender-self-identification-plan-for-trans-people
We now have a Home Secretary who routinely tramples on the rights of Transgender people, as well as being as thick as mince, and so there is likely to be further moves to deny freedom of choice.
My purely personal view is this. I do not believe that anyone under the age of 18 should be allowed to do anything that is irreversible in relation to this. But, without my knowledge or consent, they managed (at age 15) to have their name legally changed to Mr Samuel (surname). Fortunately, they are now 21 and still of exactly the same mindset.
In 100 years time, when an archaeologist digs up some bones from this era, he'll decide if the skeleton is male or female.
That sums it up perfectly for me.
I don't think that a woman can become a man or vice versa, I don't think a man can give birth to a baby.
Whilst people can 'identify' as whatever they want I don't think they can insist that others use their pronouns of choice, surely they have to respect the fact that others may have different opinions? I would probably use whatever pronouns they wanted by the way, I would just feel pretty awkward calling someone he when they are obviously female or vice versa.
As for people transitioning before they reach adulthood? Absolutely not and I don't think it should be allowed. Children can be confused about a lot of things including their sexuality, a situation that is sometimes made worse by a history of abuse. There have been a number of instances of people transitioning and then regretting it and once you start chopping bits off it's very difficult to go back (again), I suspect that the chances of someone regretting transitioning is much higher if they do so before they have even reached adulthood.
Sorry Phil