Gettin' pissy wit' it.
I don't write letters to the editor all that often, but I think this one was worth firing up the old righteous-indignation-o-matic - especially since it was a pretty clear case of mixing uninformed with lazy and ending up with disrespectful.
To whom it may concern:
I enjoyed reading Lisa Black's article "School accused of promoting homosexuality" [go through bugmenot] and thought it was generally well-balanced and interesting. However, I was deeply troubled by the following section:
Erin Kaplan, 17, a senior, who describes himself as the only transgender student at Deerfield, said he believes that the climate at school has improved since the panel discussions began five years ago. He said the student alliance began the practice "after a really big wave of homophobic comments, targets for being gay."
Kaplan, a panelist for the last three years, tells students that he was born a boy-his parents gave him the name "Evan"-but that he has always felt like he should have been a girl. He wears feminine clothing at times but has a man's narrow hips and husky voice.
I have resisted - barely - the urge to add [sic] after every use of "he," "him," and "his," and I can't even imagine what sort of copy-editor's mark one would use to indicate "inclusion of someone's birth name for purely prurient reasons." Not only are Black's gaffes offensive to the LGBT community, they're simply unacceptable given that all major stylebooks agree on appropriate usage when writing about transgender people.
To wit:
Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth.
If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the way the individuals live publicly.
- Associated Press Stylebook, 2006 edition
and
transgender:
is an overall term for people whose current identity differs from their sex at birth, whether or not they have changed their biological characteristics. Cite a person's transgender status only when it is pertinent and its pertinence is clear to the reader. Unless a former name is newsworthy or pertinent, use the name and pronouns (he, his, she, her, hers) preferred by the transgender person. If no preference is known, use the pronouns consistent with the way the subject lives publicly.
- New York Times Style Guide, 2005 edition
I won't belabor the point. Clearly, Ms. Kaplan's birth name was neither newsworthy nor pertinent. Furthermore, not only is her identity pretty soundly female, her gender presentation is, too. It's not hard to deduce that someone who introduces herself as "Erin" probably also goes by "she" - and, that being the case, it's a matter both of common courtesy and journalistic standards to use the appropriate pronoun.
For further reference, Ms. Black (and whoever let her story cross their desk without fixing the pronouns and birth-name issue) might benefit from reading:
http://www.glaad.org/media/guide/transfocus.php
Thank you for your kind attention, and for a generally worthwhile paper.
Respectfully,
[me]
Ok, so maybe calling the Trib "generally worthwhile" was damning it with faint praise, but if it weren't for faint praise I wonder if it'd get any praise at all.
To whom it may concern:
I enjoyed reading Lisa Black's article "School accused of promoting homosexuality" [go through bugmenot] and thought it was generally well-balanced and interesting. However, I was deeply troubled by the following section:
Erin Kaplan, 17, a senior, who describes himself as the only transgender student at Deerfield, said he believes that the climate at school has improved since the panel discussions began five years ago. He said the student alliance began the practice "after a really big wave of homophobic comments, targets for being gay."
Kaplan, a panelist for the last three years, tells students that he was born a boy-his parents gave him the name "Evan"-but that he has always felt like he should have been a girl. He wears feminine clothing at times but has a man's narrow hips and husky voice.
I have resisted - barely - the urge to add [sic] after every use of "he," "him," and "his," and I can't even imagine what sort of copy-editor's mark one would use to indicate "inclusion of someone's birth name for purely prurient reasons." Not only are Black's gaffes offensive to the LGBT community, they're simply unacceptable given that all major stylebooks agree on appropriate usage when writing about transgender people.
To wit:
Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth.
If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the way the individuals live publicly.
- Associated Press Stylebook, 2006 edition
and
transgender:
is an overall term for people whose current identity differs from their sex at birth, whether or not they have changed their biological characteristics. Cite a person's transgender status only when it is pertinent and its pertinence is clear to the reader. Unless a former name is newsworthy or pertinent, use the name and pronouns (he, his, she, her, hers) preferred by the transgender person. If no preference is known, use the pronouns consistent with the way the subject lives publicly.
- New York Times Style Guide, 2005 edition
I won't belabor the point. Clearly, Ms. Kaplan's birth name was neither newsworthy nor pertinent. Furthermore, not only is her identity pretty soundly female, her gender presentation is, too. It's not hard to deduce that someone who introduces herself as "Erin" probably also goes by "she" - and, that being the case, it's a matter both of common courtesy and journalistic standards to use the appropriate pronoun.
For further reference, Ms. Black (and whoever let her story cross their desk without fixing the pronouns and birth-name issue) might benefit from reading:
http://www.glaad.org/media/guide/transfocus.php
Thank you for your kind attention, and for a generally worthwhile paper.
Respectfully,
[me]
Ok, so maybe calling the Trib "generally worthwhile" was damning it with faint praise, but if it weren't for faint praise I wonder if it'd get any praise at all.