Your idea about a call sheet with preferred pronouns prior to the first meeting of cast and crew is an excellent idea because it allows for more inclusivity. People learn things in different ways. Some are auditory learners and some are visual. Most dislike making a mistake. It is a shame that the AEA did not adopt this as best practice.
To ask someone who is heavily visual to learn and memorize names/preferred pronouns without an aide memoire is not kind. It is in fact setting them up to fail and to be humiliated when they make a social faux pas. It is to use a DEI term -- ableist.
There is a difference between an accident and deliberate harassment. And if someone has accidentally called someone else by the wrong name or pronoun, shaming that person makes that shared space suddenly unsafe for that person who made an innocent mistake like you did.
I do get that the people who suffer from gender dysphoria do suffer from complex mental health conditions. I have also read Time to Think about the UK gender clinic and what was happening there through blind affirmation. It is an ongoing medical scandal where shortcuts were taken and it would seem people suffering from same sex orientation were harmed. Social transition such as preferred pronouns is not necessarily benign if it leads to unnecessary medical intervention.
Whilst I personally try to get names and pronouns correct as I like being polite, I do draw the line at giving violent rapists who only choose to self id after arrest their preferred pronouns or indeed access to female spaces as happened in Scotland. It is a red line for me, but that is me. I doubt somehow you would encounter such people in a theatrical setting though.
Wow, thank you for your multifaceted response. I have two good friends who are trans, and they're amazing, grounded, generous folks. But my knowledge of the various concerns you mention is minimal. Many times I've encountered coworkers who are nonbinary or gender non-specific, which is different--and the pronoun preferences are almost as varied as the myriad gender identifications they believe in. As mentioned in my essay, I found the reactions to my mistaken use of pronoun were concise, non-combative and reasonable--as it should be! I hope the pronoun declarations thing can be handled differently in theatre situations--via a pre-rehearsal cast list which can also be posted on the callboard where it can be referenced at any time. This would allow everyone, including folks like me who prefer not to identify this way, freedom of choice whilst doing due diligence to make sure the company is vigilant about pronoun preferences.
Yes it is about DEI being a shield not a sword. Simple solutions like the one you suggest should be a way forward, because they protect everyone without singling people out.
And whilst you personally found the reactions non-combative, concise and reasonable, other people might have had different reactions, particularly depending on the nature of their disability or indeed cultural background. It is about creating a safe working environment for all in a way that supports everyone.
Living in a pluralistic society means finding solutions which work for people of all faiths and none as it were.
Your idea about a call sheet with preferred pronouns prior to the first meeting of cast and crew is an excellent idea because it allows for more inclusivity. People learn things in different ways. Some are auditory learners and some are visual. Most dislike making a mistake. It is a shame that the AEA did not adopt this as best practice.
To ask someone who is heavily visual to learn and memorize names/preferred pronouns without an aide memoire is not kind. It is in fact setting them up to fail and to be humiliated when they make a social faux pas. It is to use a DEI term -- ableist.
There is a difference between an accident and deliberate harassment. And if someone has accidentally called someone else by the wrong name or pronoun, shaming that person makes that shared space suddenly unsafe for that person who made an innocent mistake like you did.
I do get that the people who suffer from gender dysphoria do suffer from complex mental health conditions. I have also read Time to Think about the UK gender clinic and what was happening there through blind affirmation. It is an ongoing medical scandal where shortcuts were taken and it would seem people suffering from same sex orientation were harmed. Social transition such as preferred pronouns is not necessarily benign if it leads to unnecessary medical intervention.
Whilst I personally try to get names and pronouns correct as I like being polite, I do draw the line at giving violent rapists who only choose to self id after arrest their preferred pronouns or indeed access to female spaces as happened in Scotland. It is a red line for me, but that is me. I doubt somehow you would encounter such people in a theatrical setting though.
Wow, thank you for your multifaceted response. I have two good friends who are trans, and they're amazing, grounded, generous folks. But my knowledge of the various concerns you mention is minimal. Many times I've encountered coworkers who are nonbinary or gender non-specific, which is different--and the pronoun preferences are almost as varied as the myriad gender identifications they believe in. As mentioned in my essay, I found the reactions to my mistaken use of pronoun were concise, non-combative and reasonable--as it should be! I hope the pronoun declarations thing can be handled differently in theatre situations--via a pre-rehearsal cast list which can also be posted on the callboard where it can be referenced at any time. This would allow everyone, including folks like me who prefer not to identify this way, freedom of choice whilst doing due diligence to make sure the company is vigilant about pronoun preferences.
Yes it is about DEI being a shield not a sword. Simple solutions like the one you suggest should be a way forward, because they protect everyone without singling people out.
And whilst you personally found the reactions non-combative, concise and reasonable, other people might have had different reactions, particularly depending on the nature of their disability or indeed cultural background. It is about creating a safe working environment for all in a way that supports everyone.
Living in a pluralistic society means finding solutions which work for people of all faiths and none as it were.
And you'd think we could do this by now.