Freedom from Explanation

Freedom from Explanation

Author: Finn Ware; Ewan Wolff, PhD, DVM, DACVIM
Edited by: Ewan Wolff, PhD, DVM, DACVIM
Review: Mia Cary, DVM

From the GIBOR: “The work involved in transgender diversity, equity, and inclusion education (including implicit bias and microaggressions) and training of staff should be the responsibility of the veterinary profession, employers, and institutions rather than the individual. Training should be informed by transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming voices and expertise.”

Importance

Freedom from explanation means a lot of things. For one, it means that a transgender, nonbinary, or gender non-conforming person doesn’t owe anyone a justification for being themselves. This justification includes how, why, when, and pretty much any other (one word) question you can think of. Being asked to explain and/or defend some facet of being gender diverse to a coworker or supervisor feels like being the subject of vivisection. It doesn’t matter whether the anesthetic of “friendly” words is used. It is truly uncomfortable and creates an unsafe workspace. In fact, the kinder the tone of inquiry is, the worse the harm as it allows the transgender, non binary, or gender nonconforming persons’ demurral from the embarrassing conversation to be construed as rude. It is important to remember that any time these questions are asked it adds to the many thousands of times a year that a gender diverse person has to come out in their daily lives. Secondly, it is essential to remember that such questions represent microaggressions and the compounded effects are significant on mental health and retention in any setting.

Historic Precedent

In a 2022 study ~100 US trans and non-binary study adult participants experienced 3240 microaggressions in 30 days (Truszczynski et al. 2022). Another study of 292 transgender people showed that microaggressions leading to participants feeling dehumanized and having internal negativity accounted for 55% of mental health changes (Cascalheira et al.2023). A 2023 metanalysis of 45 studies of the effect of gender diverse identity related microaggressions showed a direct impact on mental health and suicide attempts (DeSon et al., 2023). Another study of queer trans people of color demonstrated that the combination of microaggressions centered on racial identity and trans identity had a summative effect on mental health and denser identity (Chi, 2023 unpubl.). The effect of microaggressions on gender diverse identity are well enough established at this point to demonstrate that constant explanation has a detrimental effect.

Legal Precedent

The National Center for Transgender Equality notes that “invasive, disrespectful personal questions may constitute harassment” as laid out by the Bostok vs Clayton County ruling which is against the rights protected for employees. 

Now that transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming issues have gained visibility in the media it has sparked quite a bit of curiosity from cis people. While there is nothing wrong with being curious, how that thirst for information is quenched can be problematic.

Author anecdote #1: After being misgendered repeatedly at a job recently, I added hand-written pronouns to my name badge in an effort to correct the behavior in the least confrontational manner. This provoked my supervisor to demand why I had done so. I ended up having to explain to her what pronouns were (she claimed not to know what they were, despite being college educated) and why it was important to use the correct ones for folks. Since she instigated this conversation publicly, several other coworkers overheard it. This outed me as being trans. Later on, one of them decided it was ok to corner me and say that it was ok with her that I was trans, especially since I am a trans man; “not one of those ‘they people’”. I was horrified. I couldn’t just walk away without letting her know that we should just use the words people want us to use when describing them. It wasn’t ok to judge their validity. She doubled down on saying that the “singular they” is poor grammar and showed lack of education. We argued for a bit and I ended up telling her that she was making me really uncomfortable and walking away. Even though the content of the conversations my supervisor and the coworker instigated was wholly inappropriate, they both used such friendly and kind demeanors that I was the one pinned as being difficult.

Anecdote #2: Since the above interactions occurred in common spaces at work, it opened me up to several other humiliating experiences. The next week another coworker decided it was ok to ask me what kind of surgery trans men get and when was I going to have it? She came off as innocent and inquisitive, which masked the bold fact that she was asking about my genitals in a place of work. She became confused when I demurred and claimed to “only be asking” and that I “shouldn’t be ashamed of being trans”.

Individual Action

• If you are gender diverse, know your rights.
• If you have questions about gender diverse people, take time to educate yourself using resources other than the person, as this may be considered harassment.
• Consider seeking out gender diverse advocates who want to provide education and support.
• Before you ask a question, consider the impact of what you are asking. Is it something you would like to be asked?

Steps for Implementation

These are some of the many reasons that it is important for the employer to include gender diverse topics in DEI training. Failing to do so leaves the burden of education on their transgender, non binary, or gender nonconforming employees, and this can be painful and humiliating. Also, even if the gender diverse employee is willing to put in the emotional labor of educating, they are not always equipped to do so. Being a DEI educator takes quite a bit of training and should be monetarily compensated accordingly.

Admittedly, it is not easy to communicate to someone in a privileged position that some questions they pose to someone of a protected class may be inappropriate. It might be that someone’s gender diverse coworker is the first transgender, non binary, or gender non conforming person they (knowingly) encountered. Providing easily accessible and mandatory reading and resources so the staff has the basic facts such as:

What are inappropriate questions?

“But I am just curious”, or “Do you mind if I ask…” is a clue to not ask it. If you feel like you have to ask permission to talk about a subject, then that subject is probably not ok for work and should be avoided. No matter how personable and friendly the gender diverse co-workers comeb off, know that this just may be their personality or them trying to get by in a space where they are the minority.

Consequences of Violation

The consequences of violating this right are set by federal and state law as well as organizational policy for harassment.

References

Cascalheira, C.J. and Choi, N.Y., 2023. Transgender Dehumanization and Mental Health: Microaggressions, Sexual Objectification, and Shame. The Counseling Psychologist, 51(4), pp.532-559.

Chi, K., 2023. The Mental Health Correlates of Microaggressions Towards Transgender and Gender Diverse People of Color: Moderating Effects of Identity Affirmation and LGBTQ+ Community Connectedness. Master’s Thesis unpublished, Utah State University.

DeSon, J.J. and Andover, M.S., 2023. Microaggressions Toward Sexual and Gender Minority Emerging Adults: An Updated Systematic Review of Psychological Correlates and Outcomes and the Role of Intersectionality. LGBT health.

Truszczynski, N., Singh, A.A. and Hansen, N., 2022. The discrimination experiences and coping responses of non-binary and trans people. Journal of homosexuality, 69(4), pp.741-755.

Additional Resources
1) What are cis-normative gender roles and why are they optional?
https://genderspectrum.org/resources?category=medical&type=article

2) Trevor Project; Understanding Gender Identities
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/article/understanding-
gender-identities/

3) What is cis-sexism:
https://genderspectrum.org/articles/myths

4) Examples of Cis-sexism:
https://www.healthline.com/health/transgender/cissexist?c=113976098425
#examples-of-cissexism