(no subject)

[thedeltaquadrant]

it's not really that hard to just mirror the language people use to identify themselves just because "this other term also applies so i'll just use it instead".

if someone only ever calls themself agender, just call them agender too, instead of defaulting to nonbinary. if someone identifies as a nonbinary woman, call them that, instead of just nonbinary or just a woman. if someone only ever refers to themself as someone "with autism", don't just call them autistic. if someone only ever calls themself plus-size, just call them plus-size instead of fat. if someone calls themself low vision, just call them that instead of blind or visually impaired. if someone calls themself bi, just call them bi instead of bisexual or biromantic.

don't assume things. labels are so individual. the worst thing that happens is that you find out they were fine with other terms being used. but the best thing that can happen is that you show someone that you listen and acknowledge, respect and honour their identity and the language that they use, which is a kind and beautiful thing to do.

this is about individual people btw, not whole communities. "nonbinary", "fat", "trans", "autistic", "blind" etc. may still describe entire communities despite not everyone in that community also using that term, if that makes sense. when i say "nonbinary people", we're talking about anyone this term applies to, but if an individual person asks to call them specifically something else instead, just honour their request.

or you could, you know, just ask what terms someone would like to be called. this is true for all terms really, not just gendered ones.

discord: the.delta.quadrant