I went to a gender Equity training for work today
I think I knew more than the presenter, just cause you know I'm in the LGBTQ community so obvs I'm gonna know more about it when it comes up. (Thanks, Tumblr.) Y'all the dude sitting in front of me literally said to a black, female presenter that he wondered when the world got so sensitive and that he feels uncomfortable because he's afraid to say take this to your parents, etc.
I was shaking ngl, cause I try to just like, keep my head down since I'm not the most liked person in my school system and I don't wanna give people a reason, but, that was a big no, and tbh, I thought I would save his bacon because this lady was gonna take him out so when she says, does anybody want to answer this, I was like, I do.
I said, I don't think people have gotten more sensitive, I think we're just starting to talk about it more. I said I've got a trans student and I am the only teacher that kid has that hasn't used their dead name all year. (Not technically true, but it only happened because I literally didn't recognize the name in question as belonging to that kid, and I definitely apologized after) I said, you don't have to get it, and maybe next year this kid will change their mind and go back to being that person, but it costs zero dollars to be nice to someone, and I think if people called you m'am all the time and you had to just be okay with it and agree it would hurt your feelings. I said I think it just matters that we respect what they say. I think I've been really lucky in that I have had parents at home but every time you say take it to your parents you might be reminding somebody that don't and making your language more neutral just lets everybody be in the circle instead of having some people be out of it.
I thought I was gonna be sick, y'all. I haven't voiced an opinion even remotely this strongly all year. The presenter was with me, dudes. She was like, write that down. The other woman in the room who had wanted to respond said I was a tough act to follow.
I knew what a microaggression was and what a demiguy was and explained it to the class. I didn't think that would ever fucking happen in my life.
And an old guy who tbh looked like the kind that would be totally lost the whole time at the end of the little class said he wanted to sum up by repeating that it costs zero dollars to be nice to people.
I just, she fucking hugged me after. A bunch of super normal looking people who were just trying to get their training hours in were like saying to each other and to me that they'd be back for the presentor's next training on Thursday which is diversity training and seemed genuinely excited.
Y'all, I just felt so fucking validated for once. I didn't feel like I had to play dumb and though I was being careful it just felt nice to not have to hide my opinions so much in a professional setting. I don't usually get to feel that way. My coworkers are nice, but I definitely play world's shittiest secret gaygent a lot.