I have taken this from a blog I read on a FB page I follow, it's from a parent of a transgender child.......
....Take the time to learn the words that are important to those you love. Learn how they talk about their gender, their sexuality, their preferred pronouns, their body, their love and any other thing that feels helpful to talk about. After you ask which words are important to them, ask if there is anything else they is important for you to know about their journey.
Avoid asking follow up questions to learn more about the words the individual has used to describe themselves. Instead, after your celebrate your time together research the words and learn about them. Just as you might research how to use a new tech device, care for a new pet or learn a few phrases before traveling abroad, you will need to invest in learning more about the words that are important to your loved one.....
... I think this translates well to those we care for. How individuals want to be refererred to, their body parts, the pronouns we use will be very individual, in a similar way to how some labouring women are happy to use the word contracttions, and others want to use terms they see as more positive such as surges.
I think we are all individuals who need to be respected in an individual way, and you cannot make "blanket" terms for any group of people.
Sam Nightingale
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From: A forum for discussion on midwifery and reproductive health research.
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