(no subject)

[bashasasdemon]

[This is written in a fairly neat handwriting, in a language that may look roughly similar to Arabic to those familiar with it. The paper on the bulletin board has a small note on top, with a lot of space on the rest of the page for people to fill in as needed.]

Since we're all from different worlds and cultures I think there are a few things we should probably get sorted out as a group. First thing should probably be how to address each other. Go ahead and write your name/title/what you want to be called, your gender identifier if that's important to you, and pronouns to use for you.


Kai, he/him

Comments

[obeir]

[ K's print handwriting is neat and precise, almost font-like in its uniformity. ]

My serial number is KD6-3.7, often informally shortened to K for the sake of convenience.

As I'm an android, I'm not sure that I have a gender. [ Other than what humans have assigned: ]

My owner uses male (he/him) and nongendered (it/its) pronouns when referring to me.

Private forever

[ugh_emotions]

Genders are a human thing. You don't need one.

Your owner trying to give you one is weird.

[obeir]

I don't think she or any other human thinks too deeply about what they call us. Outside of her, I've mostly been referred to by anti-android slurs. I might prefer the gendered pronouns over those.

[ugh_emotions]

[Okay, K wanting gender pronouns was...weird. But it wasn't going to say anything. This was a construct that wasn't even free yet, it couldn't go telling K what he should and shouldn't want.]

I guess if you have to pick one...I use they/them, when I'm pretending to be human. It's the least irritating option.

[obeir]

[ It's more that he'd prefer not being called slurs. Then again, at least they're accurate about what he is if nothing else... Gendered pronouns? Not so much. ]

And when you're not pretending to be human?

[ugh_emotions]

It/its.

[not_scrap]

Gender is bullshit.

You don't need it.

[obeir]

It's nice that it only seems to matter here if one wishes it to. But can I ask why you think that?

[not_scrap]

Because it's a trap.

Someone thinks they know you or what you're capable of because of it.

If your asshole owner called you a 'he', they wanted you to be treated like you had power, control. Authority. Same as every 'man'.

Did you?

[obeir]

[ That's a very strange concept to consider. Regardless of the pronouns used for him, he was never socialised as a man and has never experienced the associated male privilege. ]

No. I'm meant to obey and serve humans. Where I'm from, my artificial nature has been the sole determinant for how I'm treated.

[not_scrap]

[Oh no, rant unlocked. You poor thing. ]

Yeah that's just the bullshit game they make everyone play who isn't rich enough to be making the rules. You, me, my crew, you name it. We have to obey the stupid rules and do their stupid jobs so we get the privilege of not getting made dead. [Capitalism SUCKS, yo.]

So you never had like people treat you different than if you looked like a girl?

[hellandbackpack]

Gender's pretty bollocks, honestly. D'you want one?

[obeir]

I'm not sure. Isn't it a mark of personhood? The same with having a name. Or that's what I used to think based on the human culture of the place I'm from. Androids don't have any kind of culture or customs of our own.

[ Kind of hard to when they're not recognised as even being people. ]

[hellandbackpack]

Personhood? Forget the names and the gender stuff. Doesn’t make you who you are. What matters is you get to decide. Want a gender? Fine. Don’t want one? Aces! Doesn’t change a damn thing. Same with names.

Like ghosts. Some folk look at us back home and think we're just old echoes, or nothin' at all. Doesn't matter. I'm still who I decide to be. You decide who you are. That’s all anyone needs to care about.

[birdchasingecho]

Sit in the box if you prefer.

[obeir]

Can you explain what you mean?

[birdchasingecho]

Imagine, if you will, that you are trying, for various reasons, to attract cats. Perhaps you enjoy watching them, or are worried for them. The exact reason isn't important, but the goal is.

To this end, you make a certain number of boxes. And to make sure you cover what you think of as the full gamut of catly experiences, you line them with various colors and materials, some warmer, some less so, perhaps some even cooling.

Of course, cats arrive; they engage with the boxes in various ways, and as cats do, some do not wish to engage in the boxes at all.

To let the cats pick a box is easy.

To shove the cats into the boxes, whether they would prefer or no, ends in tears.

To reduce the metaphor to fact, call the one putting out the boxes a 'culture', the cats 'people', the boxes themselves 'genders' made of behaviors.

So. From my perspective, pick a box if you like. If it fits, you sits.

[all that for a shitty meme. Really, Mei. Really.]

[keytarheroine]

Gonna add a dissenting voice and say while I can't recommend having a gender to everyone boy howdy am I glad to know I'm a girl. I'm sure there are plenty of people who feel likewise and who could well do without, some of them who've bled for the right to choose, either way.

[obeir]

Can I ask why you strongly identify that way? Do people normally just know what gender they are or aren't?

Private

[keytarheroine]

A majority of humans from my world strongly identify with the gender their culture arbitrarily assigns to their anatomy; a significant minority strongly identify otherwise; and a significant minority don't care (and I suspect more people like this exist than is widely reported and they just don't bother to correct anyone because they don't care).

But for the mismatched, correcting it to the point of trying to correct the anatomy to match our self conception is often a literal matter of life and death. We're pretty sure it's got something to do with brain chemistry, but can't pinpoint the exact causes.

...If you haven't guessed, I'm from category 'assigned male at birth, actually female.' I am incredibly lucky that the brand of magic I wield made it relatively quick and painless to correct, but I still needed to take estrogen pills for the longest time after to make sure my first transformation stuck.