Disclosing Nonbinary Identity to Teachers - Stock Letter

androgyneity:

I usually send out a letter to all of my teachers as the beginning of each semester making them aware of my trans/nonbinary status and language preferences. I thought my letter this year was pretty good, and though the information in the letter is pretty specific to my circumstances, I thought it might work well as a stock letter, for others to use as a reference to write coming out letters to their teachers.

____________________________________________________________

Hi [Teacher’s Name],

I’m sending this out as an email to all of my teachers this semester, to make you aware of some information that is important to my education here at [School’s Name].

I am a transgender person - specifically, I am nonbinary. Basically what that means is I’m of a gender that is neither male nor female. Since the way in which people interact with and speak about each other is so dependant on gender, it is usually necessary for me to disclose this information at the beginning of each semester, in order to let people know how to refer to me.

My preferred and legally recognized name is [Name], and the pronouns I use are gender-neutral “they/them/their/themself”. While using gender-neutral pronouns is my strong preference, I understand that many people who may have never interacted with a nonbinary person before may have difficultly adjusting to using “they” in the singular form - in which, case “he” is preferable to “she”. I also prefer to be referred to using gender-neutral language (“person” instead of “boy or girl”, etc.)

I understand that, since nonbinary people are such a small portion of the population, this might be difficult for some to understand. If you are interested in accessing further resources or learning more about nonbinary and transgender people and accommodating them in the classroom, I have included some links to external resources.

I appreciate your anticipated support.

Sincerely,

[Name]

Creating Inclusive Classrooms For Transgender Students

Gender Spectrum Education Resources    

Colleges making efforts to be more trans-friendly

t-r-a-n-s:

The cause for transgender rights still faces a long journey, but on many college campuses, policies are changing to remove gender identity barriers from campus life.

The University of Vermont recently announced that it will become the latest among a growing number of colleges which allows…

aroavenger:

meaninglessladders:

aroavenger:

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TUMBLR PROF ANNOUNCEMENT: If you are trans or nonbinary and you are in the same situation as the student above, email your professors before class starts. I understand that it might be uncomfortable, but generally professors are absolutely happy to accommodate you. I know I always will be!

If your professor does not respond positively, contact the Dean or the campus LGBT+ resource center with a copy of the email and show them that you are concerned about gender discrimination in the classroom. 

Also this is a link to the template I used to write this email, and I’ve seen another similar template going around, and this was extremely helpful.

List of 20 most LGBT friendly, unfriendly colleges

theartoftransliness: