Monday 1 July 2013

On Asterisks and Acronyms

Bit of an informational post for those who don’t know - Due to basically living on tumblr, I tend to type asterisks after gender identities, such as women*, men*, etc.
This basically means people who identify as a woman, or as a man. The way we use language is rarely trans* friendly, and so it can be alienating to not be included.
For me, the asterisk is basically a footnote, so when I write ‘women*’ I’m adding ‘not all women have vaginas and not all people with vaginas are women’, and vice versa for men. I feel that this is important to note, particularly as my first blog will be about periods. Not all people who menstruate are women and not all women menstruate.
While we’re on the topic of trans* inclusivity, the following, in alphabetical order, are phrases that I’ll probably use a good bit:
- Cis(gendered) – 100% alignment between your gender (the way you see yourself) and your biological sex (nearly always based on genitalia at birth). I’m shying away from this a good bit now as many in the trans* community have issues with ‘cis’ being associated with ‘normal’. 
-DMAB – designated male at birth
-DFAB – designated female at birth
-LGBTQAI* stands for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, the Trans* community, Queers, Asexuals, Intersexuals and then the * is basically or any mix thereof. The reason it’s become a longer acronym is due being more inclusive and representational.
-MRA – Men’s Rights Activist, those who cry ‘what about the menz??’ and use phrases like ‘feminazi’. See also: scum of the earth.
-POC/WOC – people of colour/women of colour
-QUILTBAG - stands for Queer/Questioning, Undecided, Intersex, Lesbian, Trans*, Bisexual, Asexual, Gay. A more pronounceable version LGBTQAI*
A final note, I’m not perfect. I’m a white DFAB for-the-most-part-heterosexual woman. As such, I am aware that I’m coming to a lot of issues from a privileged point of view. I will try my very best to be inclusive and not an asshole, but please, if I fuck up, call me out on my shit. Unless, you’re a butthurt MRA or an anti-choicer, then you can fuck right off <3

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