What if Lady Macbeth were a Lord? And what if Pee-Wee Herman were Phoebe?
As entertaining as it may be to conceptualize gender-bent pop culture icons and the quirks that would come from their gender swap, the reality for students who identify as transgender has been far less amusing.
That is until California State University, Long Beach announced a series of provisions that will help assuage transgender issues in school.
These new policies will go into effect next year, which allows students to self-declare their preferred names to professors and faculty, regardless of birth names or physical sex attributes.
Finally, students have the agency to decide who they are to be, or not to be, in the eyes of the university.
To cisgender students who have never struggled with their concept of themselves when it comes to a gender-sex agreement, the impact of preferred names and pronouns may not be immediately clear.
In a super technical, anthropological sense, names are one of the most defining features of an individual’s humanity. With cultural, personal and social connotations attached to specific names, a name can become just as much a part of one’s identity as their race, physical structure or upbringing.
When an improper name is used over and over to refer to a student who no longer feels it is the best representation of their identity, things can get sticky.
There is a sociological theory that explains the remarkable impact micro-aggressions can have on members of a disenfranchised community. Misgendering and referring to trans students by names contradictory to their gender identity reinforces the idea that they are a fundamental mistake and can only be known as the person they were born as.
Nothing could be farther from the truth, or more harmful to students outside the cisgender umbrella.
Western culture already ostracizes trans individuals and categorizes them as “others” that don’t fit into the socially acceptable gender binary. The last thing they all need is a campus that follows suit and gives no cushion for legal/preferred name discrepancies.
CSULB’s new progressive action is creating an environment where all students, be they transgender, gender fluid, non-binary, gender neutral, non-native English speakers or otherwise, can present themselves and be referred to in the way that’s most comfortable to their concept of identity.
Formal releases on the new policy say that it should be in effect by January, and only require students to submit a request to Enrollment Services with their preferred name.
If the preferred name differs from a student’s legal name, certain documents like graduation certificates will have to default to the legal name, but all classroom rosters, identification cards and online portals will reflect the student’s preference.
In no way does the new policy solve the issues trans students face on campus but in combination with gender neutral restrooms scattered across campus, incredibly active LGBT+ advocacy groups and adherence to Title IX standards, it is helping.
If we can keep our campus policies in favor of our transgender community, we should by any means necessary. It’s the least we can do.