I so appreciate that more cis folk are talking about trans people and our rights, but we need a refresh on a bit of language: We *were* assigned a gender at birth—past tense. I'll use myself as an example: "Charlie was assigned female at birth." NOT "Charlie is assigned female at birth." Short 🧵 - ThreadSky

cknightwrites.bsky.social • 13 days ago

I so appreciate that more cis folk are talking about trans people and our rights, but we need a refresh on a bit of language:

We *were* assigned a gender at birth—past tense. I'll use myself as an example:

"Charlie was assigned female at birth." NOT "Charlie is assigned female at birth."

Short 🧵

Comments

gmnair.bsky.social•13 days ago

I mean, trans rights aside, that's just the proper tense.

gmnair.bsky.social•13 days ago

(not meaning to put trans rights aside)

cknightwrites.bsky.social•13 days ago

No, I knew what you meant! No worries.

cknightwrites.bsky.social•13 days ago

It's absolutely grammatically correct to say "was assigned," but that's why the acronym example is more common, I think. The presentation changes to allow for the present tense, but it's still wrong. And I think understanding that from a place of empathy will impact more than grammar.

gmnair.bsky.social•13 days ago

Oh, for sure. I wasn't aware of the acronym at all until now. So that makes a lot of sense.

gmnair.bsky.social•13 days ago

Absolutely my ignorance on the subject. (also, I can't claim to be the best authority on grammar, either!)

vanessagrossmann.bsky.social•13 days ago

Great point. Similar to person-first language for mental health. Will definitely be mindful of this one.

cknightwrites.bsky.social•13 days ago

I see them as opposites! Person-first language tries to disconnect us from our disabilities in a way that misunderstands them because they *are* part of our identities. This language for trans people allows us to disconnect from something that is *not* part of our identity.

awesomejohn.bsky.social•13 days ago

Being that the birthing process is over (you're done being born), the shift in tense is the only way to express it.

cknightwrites.bsky.social•13 days ago

And yet...trans folk are subjected to hearing this incorrectly pretty often, and if you look at the acronym example, you can see how the presentation changes the tense. That's why I encourage leading with empathy, not grammar, when we talk about why this should be past tense.

jasonbu.online•13 days ago

Thanks for this, Charlie. Small shifts in language can make a big difference, and I appreciate the reminder to be mindful.

cknightwrites.bsky.social•13 days ago

I hear this error more with the acronym: "Charlie is an AFAB nonbinary person."

Nope. I'm a nonbinary person who *was* AFAB. See how that focuses on who I am now instead of what a doctor decided based exclusively on my genitals? See how people are actually more than what's in their pants?

cknightwrites.bsky.social•13 days ago

Many of us look at our AGAB as something that happened to us, and that's another reason to keep it past tense. We're not chained to that now (and neither are you, cis friend—just sayin).

I'd honestly prefer we never discussed AGAB, but if we must...let's at least do it with some respect, please.

dankayur.bsky.social•13 days ago

So the issue I'm seeing with your example is that there are 2 tenses - Past assignment and present identity - but the sentence is condensed to the point of only using one verb. That structure needs to be thrown out and replaced entirely because there's no way to make it right as is.

dankayur.bsky.social•13 days ago

More generally, though, thank you for this thread. The language you'd prefer is the language I'd prefer too but I never really examined why before.

cknightwrites.bsky.social•13 days ago

At the end of the day, it's empathy > grammar and always should be.

cknightwrites.bsky.social•13 days ago

Oh. End thread. Forgot that. Sorry.

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