This is an honest question I'm asking, to avoid possible embarassment.
I'm asking this without any predjudice and hoping people will put aside their own, when responding.
I recently had an interaction with a very masculine looking person- military crewcut, baggy clothes, and such, who I honestly thought was a guy, but it wasn't. She got all upset and offended. I honestly thought it was a man, and so I apologized. But at the same time, I have known that most male to female transgenders prefer to be addressed as a female. And I have heard there are some female-male trans people who DO like being thought of as male. So, it's like, there is this minefield of social interaction that I can see people having trouble navigating.
I am asking this without predjudice, as I believe people should be who and what they want to be, so hopefully people don't take this as any dislike or trans-phobic ranting. It was just an awkward situation.
How do you address someone if you don't know what gender they prefer to identify themselves as? Should you just avoid any gender-specific pronouns towards them until you know for sure?
I'm asking this without any predjudice and hoping people will put aside their own, when responding.
I recently had an interaction with a very masculine looking person- military crewcut, baggy clothes, and such, who I honestly thought was a guy, but it wasn't. She got all upset and offended. I honestly thought it was a man, and so I apologized. But at the same time, I have known that most male to female transgenders prefer to be addressed as a female. And I have heard there are some female-male trans people who DO like being thought of as male. So, it's like, there is this minefield of social interaction that I can see people having trouble navigating.
I am asking this without predjudice, as I believe people should be who and what they want to be, so hopefully people don't take this as any dislike or trans-phobic ranting. It was just an awkward situation.
How do you address someone if you don't know what gender they prefer to identify themselves as? Should you just avoid any gender-specific pronouns towards them until you know for sure?