He/She/They Quotes

“And, even if a man were to pretend to be a woman in order to win, trans women would still not be to blame. If you are afraid of a cis man pretending to be a woman in order to win women’s sports, you are afraid of toxic cis men, not trans women!”
― Schuyler Bailar, He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters

“There is no such thing as gender-affirming surgery for transgender children—that’s a dog whistle from the right. Gender affirmation in children is entirely social, involving support from the people around them and things like hair and clothing changes. There isn’t even really medical affirmation in children until they start to undergo puberty, at which point some transgender children may be able to access puberty blockers—drugs that have been used to halt precocious puberty in cisgender kids for decades. Some adolescents who have been affirmed in their gender for a long time may be able to access surgery, after going through extensive evaluation processes and with the consent of their parents, but it’s not common. It’s also worth noting that cisgender adolescents also get surgeries that affirm their gender—breast reductions and procedures for gynecomastia, nose jobs, and the like. But gender affirmation for children is just loving them and supporting them and giving them the ability to be themselves. —DR. ELIZABETH BOSKEY (she/her), Phd, MPH, MSSW, social worker and researcher focusing in trans health11”
― Schuyler Bailar, He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters

“It is not the absence of mistakes that makes you kind, it's how you deal with them that matters.”
― Schuyler Bailar, He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters

“It is not every trans person’s job to educate you on transness because they are trans.”
― Schuyler Bailar, He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters

“Insinuating that Black trans women play a role in our own murders instead of examining the spiritual sickness involved in taking another person’s life is symptomatic of a society devoid of empathy.”3”
― Schuyler Bailar, He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters

“There will always be people who don’t get it,” Kevin Tyrrell (he/him), my Harvard swim coach, told me. “Don’t spend your energy on them.” Though simple, this proved to be one of the most useful pieces of advice he ever gave me.”
― Schuyler Bailar, He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters

“intersecting oppression is referred to as transmisogynoir and was first coined by the writer Trudy (she/her).5 In “The Anatomy of Transmisogynoir,” an op-ed for Harper’s Bazaar, Ashlee Marie Preston reveals how Black trans women are ignored or actively excluded by Black cishet communities”
― Schuyler Bailar, He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters

“Transgender is an adjective that describes people whose gender identity differs from the gender they were assigned at birth.”
― Schuyler Bailar, He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters