How to support trans and enby students in class

Hey y’all,

While I make an effort at the start of classes to ask (if people are comfortable) sharing pronouns, I realize this may not translate to scenework.

For instance, let’s say “Jenny” uses she/they pronouns, but in scenes people always label her as a man. Even if it isn’t every scene, I imagine being asked to play a gender that causes dysphoria for people would be very harmful.

I have heard at some schools that instructors start classes by asking not only for pronouns, but also what genders people are comfortable playing on stage.

For those who have implemented this, has this helped and do you have any advice for how to uphold this in scenes? Or if anyone has an alternate approach, I would greatly appreciate it!