r/genderqueer•
foxxxxoxo

how should i handle my parents misgendering my partner

for context, im genderqueer myself, i use all pronouns.

i never came out to my parents though. i dont know if i ever will. they're not hateful, they consider themselves "allies", but when it comes to genderqueerness they just don't know a lot. one time i "casually" talked to my parents about genderqueerness and they said they think anyone's free to act however they want to act and be who they want to be, so why change your pronouns? they think "asking people to change pronouns is like asking to be spoiled" (weird way to say it but bear with me, there's no proper english translation).

my partner goes by she/they. and i know masc terms and male pronouns make her feel uncomfortable and not affirmed (being amab). i told my parents that she's nonbinary and uses she/they. but they kind of disregarded the "she" and said that they can't use they cause it "doesn't make sense". and now they just use male pronouns.

my parents didn't meet her yet(we live in different countries but visit a couple times a year), but i know eventually they will and i would really really like for her to feel safe and comfortable and welcome, especially since she doesn't have the best experience with her own family id really like her to feel welcome in mine.

my parents are good people and were really kind and understooding when me and my sibling came out as queer(sexuality wise) but when it comes to gender there's a bit of a language barrier. in my native language there's no they/them, the neutral pronoun is the same as the male one, and there's two plural pronouns one female and one male, and again the male one is used in cases of both genders/neutral.

and also genderqueerness is basically invisible where im from so they just really don't kniw much and are a bit insensitive about what it is that they do know.

i would like to talk to them more about this but at the same time i dont want to put my partner in an uncomfortable position where they feel that they are asking for too much or i am making too big of a fuss about a problem that maybe is not even mine. i also dont want this to have a negative impact on what my parents think of her.

i think i am also projecting a bit, as i recently discovered my genderqueerness and i kind of wish i had someone speak up for me/help me speak up when i felt my identity was denied. so i get a bit intense every time anyone in my life is misgendering my partner and feel some sort of responsibility for it.

i think as i am writing this it is more and more clear to me that i should first tell my partner more about the situation and then ask them what they want and what they need and from there just talk to my parents and see what happens. so yeah i answered my own question but i would still like any advice/thoughts anyone might have.

Posted Nov 1, 2023, 4:01 PM UTC

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