Suchergebnisse

Abstract
There are an increasing number of university students who express a fluid gender embodiment and identity, resisting binary gender categories as well as binary transgender categories. The use of gender-neutral, as well as third-person plural pronouns, disrupts linguistic gender hegemony and creates particular gendered meanings. With the increasing number of trans* people who queer the gender binary, how does language affirm or deny their personhood? This research note uses data from an online survey (N = 557) to examine teachers' recognition of trans* individuals' pronouns. Results demonstrate that trans* students who identify as genderqueer tend to use gender-neutral and third-person pronouns. However, educators are less affirming when it comes to gender-neutral pronoun recognition. Educators must resist taken-for-granted gender attribution processes and explicitly ask all students to state their pronouns. Accurate pronoun recognition supports trans* students' identity development and honors their personhood.

The recent visibility of transgender lives demonstrates the dawning of a new period in the potential to include transgender topics in sociology courses. The focus on transgender individuals, communities, and inclusive initiatives are gaining momentum on many public and private college and university campuses, awakening old and new curiosities, igniting student activists and advocates everywhere. Such developments provide an important opportunity for instructors who are motivated to create trans-friendly syllabi, courses, and classrooms. In this article, we briefly explore how transgender people have been used to teach sociological concepts and provide strategies to positively integrate transgender communities into the classroom. Ultimately, we intend this article to show new and more sensitive ways to include transgender experiences into a wide range of sociological courses.