To name something is to know that very being, when one names something, one is able to refer to it, talk about it. We name objects, we name things and we name people, we name ourselves in social media and even in social gaming “platforms”. Naming oneself, is to assert the identity that one chooses.
So then why is it a problem when the trans community does the very same thing? el Colegio, the university that I study in, has a program under Title IX, in which trans people who want to start changing and shading out their now deadnames can do so, and even ask for it before entering the campus.This is part of an initiative to make el Colegio a safe place for the LGBT+ community. However despite these efforts that had been worked on tirelessly, I have experienced transphobia and witnessed the inaction of some members of the administration when tasked to honor this program.
At the beginning of this semester I was left horrified, unseen and unheard as I once again had to forcefully divulge my trans identity and explain it on top of that I had to be the point of information of my instructors and professors in regards to this program. In my Digital Design class where we had our accounts made beforehand, I didn’t think I’d need to ask if they were still going to use the deadname. Now this is a worry that the transgender community on campus must have and prepare for beforehand .
Names are powerful, they carry with them meaning and identity that people create with their name is crucial to how one conceptualizes themselves. Then, it is especially awful to not honor or respect the name of the people that decide it for themselves, that carve out for themselves identities outside of the gender binary or those who transition, making us fight tooth and nail against the oppressive bureaucratic and patriarchal systems of power..
I had to write again to the people that work within offices of Calidad de vida inside the campus to see why is this happening again, why does it continue and ultimately why is the very program that was fought for, is not being honored within the university. That specific situation had left me in tears in the middle of the classroom of my Digital Design class, unable to continue with that day’s work. However the professor was swift in making the necessary changes. In other classes I had to stay silent, uncomfortable as the deadname is being uttered out. Only to wait until the end of the class and needing to correct the professor or instructor, which ends up with me informing them, for the first time, about Title IX.
Some workshops that were intended to help and improve the quality of life of the LGTBQ community had been halted, or otherwise put on pause for reasons beyond their control. I could only find myself reporting my incident and urging staff to retake these workshops as soon as they could. It’s not acceptable that people like me are made to go through such uncomfortable situations, that we are ignored as a community.
So what I have been left with, is to write, write about my experience, to urge the faculty members and to write about trans rights.
Our names deserve to be heard.