#names matter

[queenbookbuff]

Sneak PeeK: Next Chapter of I Think He Did It.

All sneak peeks are in the roughest form and subject to change.

"How long have you known Jacqueline Burkhart?"

 "It's Jackie." Eric Blurted out

"Excuse me?"

"Her name is Jackie. Noone calls her Jacqueline."

Crispin snapped back “It matters why? Is that not her full name?”

Maybe it was because he was tired. Maybe it was because he had watched his best friend nearly kill someone. Maybe it was because he knew that Jackie had been terrorized. Whatever the reason Eric jumped up and lost it.

“It matters because her name is Jackie. She isn’t Jacqueline to anyone who loves her. She isn’t a full name to us. If you are going to defend us, then you need to know she’s Jackie.”

Hyde grabbed Eric’s arm and hissed, “Calm down. It doesn’t matter right now.”

If Hyde thought he was going to get his best friend back in line he thought wrong, because Eric yanked his arm away from Hyde and continued on his tirade.

“It does matter. Names matter in our group, and you know it. Who we are depends on what name is being used and who is saying it. I’m Forman. Kelso never been anything but Kelso. Jackie is the only one who calls him Michael. Only Jackie and my parents call Hyde, Steven. I’ve been friends with him since the first grade, and I’ve NEVER called him Steven. Donna has always been Donna, except Kelso calls her Big D sometimes and Jackie calls her Lumberjack. I am the only one who calls Jackie the devil. Fez calls her Goddess. My dad calls Jackie, Loud One. Kelso is Jughead. We are all dumbass to my dad. No one Calls my dad Reginald! It’s Red! My mom is Kitty! Never Katherine.” 

Eric took a breath, gestured at Hyde and then kept ranting,

“You freaked out the first time Jackie called you Hyde after you broke up. Kelso flipped when she stopped calling him Michael. How we see each other matters!  It all means something! Are you going to sit there and tell me Jackie is Jacqueline? Because you know it's not true! She is Jacks, Doll, Doll Face, and I’ve heard you call her baby. She is the woman you love. We didn’t go over to Bradley’s to defend Jacqueline Burkhart. You didn’t beat the hell out of him for Jacqueline. You didn’t almost end his life for Jacqueline. You did it for Jackie. We went for Jackie. That Mr. Straight is why it freaking matters.”

[esperantoauthor]

Just thinking about how many of my colleagues haven’t figured out that one of my co-worker’s name is Christina rather than Christine. These people have known her for FOUR years and many interact with her on a weekly basis, receive frequent emails with her full name, sign official paperwork with her name, not to mention that I have corrected many of them. And this isn’t the kind of name slip up where they say the wrong name and then fix it, which shows you are trying.

The lack of respect is truly galling. Yes it takes effort. The fact that you won’t put it forth sends a message loud and clear.

[findsilver]

every time it slips back onto the foreground of my consciousness that paul’s first name is actually james and he’s just been going by his middle name this whole time, my entire being suffers a malfunction. the thing is, i know this, but sometimes i become hyper-aware of it, and it feels so wild to me. he could have easily been going around by james, and the notion of it feels entirely bewildering, since names have impact and that would make him a diametrically different person by default.

[chryssadirewolf]

Pronouns matter. Pronouncing someone’s name correctly matters. Why? Because that’s how someone identifies, that’s who they are. If you can’t be bothered to use the correct pronouns or say someone’s name properly, you are disrespecting that person and saying they don’t matter.

[ramblesandrambling]

[jupiterleaps]

Do any other nonbinary people out there have strong feelings about Crowley's choosing the name Anthony J. Crowley for himself? I know it isn't used much in canon, but every time I see it in tags or in a fic it just makes me a little happy.

[lifeonthestrugglebus]

I can not emphasize enough how much it pisses me off that my name is constantly misspelled (masculinized) specifically in academic settings. I can promise you that people with name male coded names never see their names feminized over email. Erik never becomes Erika. Justin never becomes Justine. Mark never becomes Mary. But the reverse happens constantly.

I’ve noticed this happens the most in STEM fields and professional settings. Which honestly speaks to the degree of baked in sexism. But it is also so so disrespectful. My name is literally spelled out over email and class lists, it is *right there*. It would take 0% more effort to not change my name to something it isn’t.

You could tell me it’s just a typo, but it isn’t. It’s the same misspelling every time, a misspelling that shows that you fundamentally assume anyone in science is a man. To the degree that it somehow compromises your ability to read what is written right in front of you. And it’s never a “typo” that happens in the opposite direction. It’s a pretty clear indication of the underlying thoughts, or lack there of, about you as a student and as a professional.

I’m sick of it.