Just don’t use pronouns in public. That’s what Connor Gillis usually tells his mother before they go out. Just call me by my nickname.
Gillis is not obsessed with grammar, but being born a female now living as a male, makes common pronouns like “he” and “she” a complicated issue. The transgender distinction is one that even the most shunned of the gay and lesbian community will often agree has the hardest plight of the oft-embattled LGBT community.
“Being transgender confuses people; it’s harder for people to grasp,” insists Gillis, a 24-year-old from Atlanta, who prefers to be referred to by male pronouns. “People can more easily grasp the concept of gay or lesbian – being sexually attracted to someone of the same sex – but transgender is often an abstract concept to many people.”
Em Elliott, a field organizer for Georgia Equality and the Georgia Safe Schools Coalition — Atlanta-based non-profit organizations that played an integral role in helping get critical school bullying legislation passed in the state Legislature last year — says popular culture plays a major role.
[...]
Complete article at JJIE : http://bit.ly/pPMeKh
