Trans Inclusive GSA
"Being inclusive means that your student club and its members commit to an ongoing process of education. Your club will need to make an effort to ensure that its activities and advocacy efforts are inclusive of transgender and gender nonconforming people and issues."
Meet the Gender Unicorn
Important Definitions
Gender Identity
Gender
A set of cultural identities, expressions and roles — codified as feminine or masculine — that are assigned to people, based upon the interpretation of their bodies, and more specifically, their sexual and reproductive anatomy.
Since gender is a social construct, it is possible to reject or modify the assignment made, and develop something that feels truer and just to oneself.
Gender Identity
An persons deep-seated internal sense of being who they are as a gendered-being-specifically the gender with which they identify themselves. Everyone has a gender identity.
Transgender:
A person whose gender identity and/or expression is not aligned with the gender they were assigned at birth. “Transgender” is often used as an umbrella term encompassing a large number of identities related to gender nonconformity including genderfluid, nonbinary, genderqueer, and many others.
Cisgender:
A person whose gender identity is aligned with the sex they were assigned at birth.
Gender Expression
Gender Expression: A person's outward gender presentation, usually made up of a person's own style regarding their clothes, jewelry, make up, vocal inflection and body language. Everyone expresses their gender in some way.
Gender expression can be categorized as:
Feminine: Having qualities or an appearance traditionally associated with women (Make up, jewelry, dresses, high pitched voice...)
Masculine: Having qualities or appearance traditionally associated with men
Androgynous: Androgyny is the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics into an ambiguous form.
Gender Non-conforming (GNC)/Gender Expansive: A person's whose gender expression is perceived as incongruent with cultural norms/expectations of their assigned sex at birth. Some boys/men may be perceived as less masculine or feminine and some girls/women as less feminine or more masculine.
GNC/Gender expansiveness is often confused with being transgender or with sexual orientation.
Binary transgender people can also be GNC, so a transgender man can be feminine and a transgender woman can be masculine. However, some transgender people may be forced to have a gender expression that is incongruent with their gender identity due to safety and other concerns.Although gender identity can influence/inform gender expression, they often do not as many people experience some variation of gender non-conformity.
Attraction
Physical Attraction/Sexual Orientation
Sexual orientation is the tendency to feel sexual desire toward people based on their physical sex based characteristics and gendered perception. For many people, gender or sex have the biggest impact on how sexually attractive they find someone, but this doesn't mean that people who are attracted to a particular gender are attracted to all people of that gender or always unattracted to people of other genders.
Differences in gender, sex, physique, dress, personality and many other traits can all play a role in how sexually attractive someone finds a person and also in what way they find them attractive.
Emotional Attraction/Romantic Orientation
While sexual orientation is the tendency to feel sexual desire toward people of certain genders, a person may have the tendency to fall in love with certain people. We might call this romantic orientation—the desire for intimate and emotional relationships with people of particular genders or sexes. It's about who we feel affection for and may include who we seek out to build a life or family with.
Adapted from: "Make Your GSA Transgender & Gender Nonconforming Inclusive." GLSEN. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2016.
Massachusetts & BPS Protects Trans/GNC Students
Guidance for Mass. Public Schools Creating a Safe and Supportive School Environment
Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity
An Act Relative to Gender Identity (Chapter 199 of the Acts of 2011),1 which became effective on July 1, 2012, amended several Massachusetts statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of specified categories, to include discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Among the statutes amended is G.L. c. 76, § 5, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity against students who enroll in or attend the public schools. G.L. c. 76, §5 now reads as follows:
Every person shall have a right to attend the public schools of the town where he actually resides, subject to the following section. No school committee is required to enroll a person who does not actually reside in the town unless said enrollment is authorized by law or by the school committee. Any person who violates or assists in the violation of this provision may be required to remit full restitution to the town of the improperly-attended public schools. No person shall be excluded from or discriminated against in admission to a public school of any town, or in obtaining the advantages, privileges and courses of study of such public school on account of race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin or sexual orientation. (Emphasis added)
Superintendent’s Circular School Year 2023-2024
Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students – Nondiscrimination on The Basis Of Gender Identity
Massachusetts law and the Boston Public Schools require that all classrooms, programs, activities, and employment practices be free from bias and discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity. This circular sets out guidelines for schools and district staff to create a culture where transgender and gender nonconforming students feel safe, supported, and fully included, and to meet each school’s obligation to provide educational opportunities for all students. We aim to achieve inclusion of transgender and gender nonconforming students, while maintaining students’ right to privacy.
Ways to be Trans Inclusive
Practice Sharing Pronouns
Start off an introduction with your chosen name and pronouns and then invite others to introduce themselves using their name they go by and their pronouns, if they are comfortable doing so. Normalizing the practice of including pronouns in every day conversations will help students feel more comfortable sharing pronouns. Additionally, include your pronouns in your e-mail signature so other staff members are aware of the importance of pronouns.
Publicize your Inclusion!
Many GSAs are renaming themselves as "Gender/Sexuality Alliances." This simple change can send a message to trans, bisexual, pansexual and asexual students that they are welcome members of your GSA community.
On your posters, emphasize your inclusion for transgender students (and all diverse sexualities and genders) and think about hosting school wide events for transgender members of your community. November is Trans Awareness Month, but you can celebrate all year long!
Use Gender-Neutral Pronouns
Some transgender and gender nonconforming people may prefer what are traditionally thought of as female or male pronouns, like “she” or “he”, but others use gender-neutral pronouns. Respecting people’s gender pronouns is an important way to be supportive of everyone’s identity.
“Zie” (pronounced “z”) is subjective and is used instead of “she” or “he.”
“Hir” (pronounced “here”) is both objective and possessive and is used instead of “him,” “his,” “her,” and “hers.”
“They,” “them,” and “their” are also gender-neutral and can be used as singular gender-neutral pronouns.
Plan an activity to allow people to become more fluent with these pronouns. For example, break the group into pairs, have each person get to know the other, and then have each member introduce their partner to the group using only gender-neutral pronouns. Remember to gently correct people if they make a mistake.