Being Trans* in College?

Vctory
Fri, 21 Aug 2015 03:31:46 +0000

Out of curiosity, how would your professors find out?

If it’s a seminar class, I’d understand if your professors refer to you as Mr/Ms lastName, but my seminar professors always used my first name and have never referred to me with pronouns. If they use the pronouns you don’t identify with, it’s up to you to go up to them after class and fix the problem–decide for yourself whether or not it’s worth the risk for your comfort (given the liberal slant of academia, I think most professors would be absolutely fine with referring to you by the pronouns with which you identify yourself).

Re: the dysphoria, I’m not sure how a professor would react if you tried talking to them about it or explain it. I’d recommend going through the counseling service at your school, and they could advise on how to best interact with the professors.

Edit: Drafted this, went to grab a late night snack, then posted without seeing your reply. I’d recommend talking to counseling at your school or addressing the problem on a case-by-case basis. If you’re called “she” by a professor, calmly approach them afterwards or write a very peaceful email. Acknowledge that they’re human and don’t mean to offend you. Your school’s counseling service (and most likely your professor) has seen this problem before and knows exactly how to handle it. They’re there to help you, and your tuition money’s making sure they do their job. If you’re uncomfortable in any way, they’ll try and change things to accommodate you.

(Note: that’s not necessarily the way it works in the “real world”, so you might want to seek therapeutic help to overcome the dysphoria when called by the wrong pronoun, but your college is there to help you.)