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Mar. 4th, 2012 03:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nnyI asked a year 11 to do me a favour in class.
"Yes, boss," he said.
I liked it. I told them I liked it, too. I said that patriarchal name conventions and word associations make female epithets less powerful, and that there is an automatic heirarchical difference between the associated power levels of 'miss' and 'sir'. I told them that transgender teachers ought not to have to answer to an honorific that they feel uncomfortable with, and that a gender neutral term would save a lot of hassle that way. I told them that there is an implied heirarchy implied by the term which might well promote the sort of respect that teachers deserve to have in their classroom; that I am responsible for everything that happens in the classroom and therefore in charge of it; that because they get their rent, food, clothes paid for them school is, essentially, their job.
They stared at me for a couple of seconds, while I giggled to myself about how impassioned an argument I can make on the basis of a minute's thought and a whole ton of bullshit.
"Yes, boss," they said.
"Yes, boss," he said.
I liked it. I told them I liked it, too. I said that patriarchal name conventions and word associations make female epithets less powerful, and that there is an automatic heirarchical difference between the associated power levels of 'miss' and 'sir'. I told them that transgender teachers ought not to have to answer to an honorific that they feel uncomfortable with, and that a gender neutral term would save a lot of hassle that way. I told them that there is an implied heirarchy implied by the term which might well promote the sort of respect that teachers deserve to have in their classroom; that I am responsible for everything that happens in the classroom and therefore in charge of it; that because they get their rent, food, clothes paid for them school is, essentially, their job.
They stared at me for a couple of seconds, while I giggled to myself about how impassioned an argument I can make on the basis of a minute's thought and a whole ton of bullshit.
"Yes, boss," they said.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-04 03:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-04 03:46 pm (UTC)You're awesome. And I love their reply at the end :)
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Date: 2012-03-04 05:03 pm (UTC):)
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Date: 2012-03-04 05:03 pm (UTC)I am reminded of Janeway preferring not to be called "sir", and saying that "ma'am" would do in a crunch, but generally she most prefers to be called "Captain".
Yup.
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Date: 2012-03-04 08:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-05 02:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-05 08:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-08 03:42 pm (UTC)