It's really easy — and it matters.
By Shannon Connellan on July 5, 2022
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See it happening on Twitter? Report 'em. Credit: Vicky Leta / Mashable
Mashable celebrates Pride all year long and honors Pride Month in June by exploring and championing the modern LGBTQ world in all its glorious queerness — including the leaders, conversations, and spaces, both online and off, making up a community that embraces and continues to fight for the freedom to thrive as our most authentic selves.
If you're on Twitter and see a person deadnaming or misgendering someone else, you should report it. It'll take you minutes, and truly matters.
The harmful anti-LGBTQ microaggression known as deadnaming (the practice of using the birth or former name of a transgender or non-binary person who has changed it) can happen by mistake. But sometimes it's used maliciously with a deliberate intention to hurt trans and non-binary people — particularly online.
Words matter. Writing for Mashable, Alison Foreman described it perfectly, "For many, unconscious biases creep into the common vocabulary by way of microaggressions, behaviors that subtly or indirectly communicate a derogatory or otherwise hostile message to the recipient. Microaggressions have the power to make those on the receiving end feel socially uneasy, culturally out of place, or even physically unsafe."
"Microaggressions have the power to make those on the receiving end feel socially uneasy, culturally out of place, or even physically unsafe."
You can also report when you see someone on Twitter misgendering another person — using a wrong name, pronoun, or form of address that does not reflect a person's gender. It's really important.
SEE ALSO: 7 microaggressions to avoid during Pride and beyond
"Whether misgendering happens as an innocent mistake or a malicious attempt to invalidate a person, it is deeply hurtful and can even put a person’s safety at risk if they are outed as transgender in an environment that is not tolerant," The Trevor Project notes.
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"Purposefully misgendering is not OK, and you can be a good ally by standing up for others if you witness someone being harassed for their gender. If you misgender someone by accident, apologize swiftly without making an excessive show out of the mistake or your guilt, which can create even more discomfort for the person who has been misgendered. Show that you care by doing better moving forward."
Featured Video For You
The origin of the LGBTQ+ pride flags
Being an ally to transgender and nonbinary people means educating yourself (instead of constantly leaning on trans and non-binary people to share their lived experience), stepping up, and calling it out — and that means online too. You can be capable of being discriminatory yourself, and probably without meaning to, but just be mindful of how carelessness can be harmful to others.
Some online platforms, including TikTok and Twitter, are making calling it out a little easier. In 2018, Twitter updated its hateful conduct policy to include a ban on deadnaming and misgendering on the platform. Here's the policy:
Related Stories
By Shannon Connellan on July 5, 2022
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Flipboard
See it happening on Twitter? Report 'em. Credit: Vicky Leta / Mashable
Mashable celebrates Pride all year long and honors Pride Month in June by exploring and championing the modern LGBTQ world in all its glorious queerness — including the leaders, conversations, and spaces, both online and off, making up a community that embraces and continues to fight for the freedom to thrive as our most authentic selves.
If you're on Twitter and see a person deadnaming or misgendering someone else, you should report it. It'll take you minutes, and truly matters.
The harmful anti-LGBTQ microaggression known as deadnaming (the practice of using the birth or former name of a transgender or non-binary person who has changed it) can happen by mistake. But sometimes it's used maliciously with a deliberate intention to hurt trans and non-binary people — particularly online.
Words matter. Writing for Mashable, Alison Foreman described it perfectly, "For many, unconscious biases creep into the common vocabulary by way of microaggressions, behaviors that subtly or indirectly communicate a derogatory or otherwise hostile message to the recipient. Microaggressions have the power to make those on the receiving end feel socially uneasy, culturally out of place, or even physically unsafe."
"Microaggressions have the power to make those on the receiving end feel socially uneasy, culturally out of place, or even physically unsafe."
You can also report when you see someone on Twitter misgendering another person — using a wrong name, pronoun, or form of address that does not reflect a person's gender. It's really important.
SEE ALSO: 7 microaggressions to avoid during Pride and beyond
"Whether misgendering happens as an innocent mistake or a malicious attempt to invalidate a person, it is deeply hurtful and can even put a person’s safety at risk if they are outed as transgender in an environment that is not tolerant," The Trevor Project notes.
Mashable Light Speed
Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories?
Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter.
Sign Me Up
By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
"Purposefully misgendering is not OK, and you can be a good ally by standing up for others if you witness someone being harassed for their gender. If you misgender someone by accident, apologize swiftly without making an excessive show out of the mistake or your guilt, which can create even more discomfort for the person who has been misgendered. Show that you care by doing better moving forward."
Featured Video For You
The origin of the LGBTQ+ pride flags
Being an ally to transgender and nonbinary people means educating yourself (instead of constantly leaning on trans and non-binary people to share their lived experience), stepping up, and calling it out — and that means online too. You can be capable of being discriminatory yourself, and probably without meaning to, but just be mindful of how carelessness can be harmful to others.
Some online platforms, including TikTok and Twitter, are making calling it out a little easier. In 2018, Twitter updated its hateful conduct policy to include a ban on deadnaming and misgendering on the platform. Here's the policy:
Related Stories
- LGBTQ spaces are needed now more than ever. Here’s what people mapping them have to say.
- Read an extract from Shon Faye's powerful book 'The Transgender Issue'
- Free, online shops for gender-affirming clothing can offer a safe space for all
- Failed by the healthcare system, transgender people find help elsewhere
- TikTok's ban on misogyny and misgendering attempts to clean up For You Pages
So, if you see someone doing this, it's really easy to report it.
