Gay History -- How We Got Here

[michaelflanagansf]

My real concern about it is in writing. I think it can, and does, cause confusion. It makes you have to stop and think who the writer is talking about. I was always taught that readers should not have to do that. There are work-arounds, but they can be awkward. Adding the parenthetical "( who uses [prefers] the pronoun "they")" can be inelegant. My concern with the writing is clarity.[/font][/size]

Indeed it is difficult, and I just dealt with it yesterday. I work with someone who identifies as non-binary and when writing to people who don't know that person I find myself using their name a lot and doing odd sentence constructions. I guess what I would say is that I'm willing to put up with a little discomfort on my part to make the other person comfortable. I like this co-worker a lot, they're very smart and helpful, and I want a good working relationship with them.

[michaelflanagansf]

Also, to be completely honest, I kind of identify with the non-binary crowd. I have never felt "totally male" and in the 70s that was expressed through androgyny and after that by "gender bending." Although I am really at odds with all the word policing. I have always found it hilarious when I'm misgendered by someone in public. It embarrasses them more than it does me.

[michaelflanagansf]

"On May 25, 1895, Oscar Wilde was taken to prison. He spent the first several months at London’s Pentonville Prison, where he was put to work picking oakum. Oakum was a substance used to seal gaps in shipbuilding. Prisoners spent hours untwisting and teasing apart recycled ropes to obtain the fibers used in making oakum."

https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/oscar-wilde-trial

[Lyle (Mooska)]

Thoughts? Opinions?

1776 Is Coming Back to Broadway
The pre-Broadway run is now in previews at American Repertory Theater
by Zachary Stewart | May 25, 2022

This musical tale of the Declaration of Independence will feature a company of female, nonbinary, and trans actors.

https://www.theatermania.com/boston-theater/news/1776-is-coming-back-to-broadway-heres-a-first-look_93835.html

[tfferg]

"On May 25, 1895, Oscar Wilde was taken to prison. He spent the first several months at London’s Pentonville Prison, where he was put to work picking oakum. Oakum was a substance used to seal gaps in shipbuilding. Prisoners spent hours untwisting and teasing apart recycled ropes to obtain the fibers used in making oakum."

https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/oscar-wilde-trial

Picking oakum was the meaning of the sentence of hard labour.