Post by Ayla on Mar 10, 2016 14:44:42 GMT 8
www.montanakaimin.com/news/article_9805c04a-e648-11e5-a50d-ebbcc8c1bf87.html
While taking a test in her Spanish class a few weeks ago, there was one question in particular that stumped Danica Wassmann, but not because she didn’t know the material.
It asked her to use the word “novio,” Spanish for boyfriend, in a sentence. Wassmann, identifying as a lesbian, wanted to use the word “novia,” meaning girlfriend. She was worried her teacher would mark the answer wrong if she did, though.
“I had to decide whether or not it was worth it,” Wassmann said.
In the end, she decided it wasn’t, and she wrote down “novio” instead. It’s an example of one of the many microaggressions LGBT+ students face regularly in the classroom and on campus, she said.
Microaggressions are “the use of such subtle but offensive comments or actions,” according to Random House Dictionary.
As someone who identifies as non-binary and queer, social work graduate student Shayna Chupein said the issue she has run into the most is seeing transgender students be outed and then forced to educate their peers on transgender issues.
Around campus, she has had staff members misgender her or ask her to say her birth name in front of big groups of people.
Being outed can be dangerous for transgender and non-binary individuals.
“You’re opening yourself up to injury and violence,” she said.
When English professor Casey Charles gives out a syllabus, he said he adds a note asking students who are transitioning to contact him and let him know which pronouns to use to avoid outing anyone. Charles teaches a gay and lesbian studies class and has a background in queer and legal studies.
If a student makes a comment that could be considered a microaggression during class, and it isn’t hurtful for another student, he uses it as a teaching opportunity and opens the comment up for discussion. There’s a crucial balance between not hurting another student’s feelings and being open about them at the same time.
“I think the silencing of it can be just as problematic,” Charles said.
These conflicts are important and character-shaping, English literature and anthropology major William Riley said. Riley is also a gay man.
“At the end of the day, none of us got a user guide saying this is what it’s like to be gay or lesbian or bi, or this is what it’s like to be trans,” he said. “A lot of us are just kind of figuring it out on our own.”
Microaggressions can be very frustrating in the moment, but to know how to deal with conflict, students must experience it, he said.
“You have to have someone or something press against it to test that boundary and figure out how you stand firm and reaffirm who you are and come out stronger because of it,” Riley said.
While taking a test in her Spanish class a few weeks ago, there was one question in particular that stumped Danica Wassmann, but not because she didn’t know the material.
It asked her to use the word “novio,” Spanish for boyfriend, in a sentence. Wassmann, identifying as a lesbian, wanted to use the word “novia,” meaning girlfriend. She was worried her teacher would mark the answer wrong if she did, though.
“I had to decide whether or not it was worth it,” Wassmann said.
In the end, she decided it wasn’t, and she wrote down “novio” instead. It’s an example of one of the many microaggressions LGBT+ students face regularly in the classroom and on campus, she said.
Microaggressions are “the use of such subtle but offensive comments or actions,” according to Random House Dictionary.
As someone who identifies as non-binary and queer, social work graduate student Shayna Chupein said the issue she has run into the most is seeing transgender students be outed and then forced to educate their peers on transgender issues.
Around campus, she has had staff members misgender her or ask her to say her birth name in front of big groups of people.
Being outed can be dangerous for transgender and non-binary individuals.
“You’re opening yourself up to injury and violence,” she said.
When English professor Casey Charles gives out a syllabus, he said he adds a note asking students who are transitioning to contact him and let him know which pronouns to use to avoid outing anyone. Charles teaches a gay and lesbian studies class and has a background in queer and legal studies.
If a student makes a comment that could be considered a microaggression during class, and it isn’t hurtful for another student, he uses it as a teaching opportunity and opens the comment up for discussion. There’s a crucial balance between not hurting another student’s feelings and being open about them at the same time.
“I think the silencing of it can be just as problematic,” Charles said.
These conflicts are important and character-shaping, English literature and anthropology major William Riley said. Riley is also a gay man.
“At the end of the day, none of us got a user guide saying this is what it’s like to be gay or lesbian or bi, or this is what it’s like to be trans,” he said. “A lot of us are just kind of figuring it out on our own.”
Microaggressions can be very frustrating in the moment, but to know how to deal with conflict, students must experience it, he said.
“You have to have someone or something press against it to test that boundary and figure out how you stand firm and reaffirm who you are and come out stronger because of it,” Riley said.
