From a4b239f33913a147b86984441ee90e57663dbdd3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "M. Taylor Saotome-Westlake" Date: Sat, 7 Nov 2020 23:57:52 -0800 Subject: [PATCH] word choices; the badge trim refers to the social construct --- content/2020/two-political-short-stories.md | 4 ++-- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/content/2020/two-political-short-stories.md b/content/2020/two-political-short-stories.md index a4c204d..7c317e9 100644 --- a/content/2020/two-political-short-stories.md +++ b/content/2020/two-political-short-stories.md @@ -29,11 +29,11 @@ My insufficiently-requited love coughs nervously to break the awkward silence as She's about to speak, but gets interrupted by the cell's Alexa. "Shu!" it shrills. "2231 Shu J! Room 101!" -Shu appears to be a young Asian wom—no, you can't see her—their—pronoun badge at this angle. That kind of sexist perception, detectable through facial-expression microanalysis, is why I'm here. +Shu appears to be a young Asian wom—no, you can't see her—their—pronoun badge at this angle. That kind of cisnormative perception, detectable through facial-expression microanalysis, is why I'm here. Well, that and the blog. On reflection, probably mostly the blog. -"No!" screams Shu. "I know I've benefitted from white privilege, but you can't—" A cold-faced young officer enters, a black man. A decade ago, I wouldn't have made a call on his ancestry—possibly white with a slight tan—but in the current year, I can tell by the black trim on his blue _HE/HIM_ badge. Shu puts up a struggle, but is hopelessly outmatched and easily subdued; men are much stronger than wo—the officer is much stronger than Shu. As they leave, I catch sight of Shu's green _THEY/THEM_ badge. +"No!" screams Shu. "I know I've benefitted from white privilege, but you can't—" A cold-faced young officer enters, a black man. A decade ago, I wouldn't have made a call on his race—possibly white with a slight tan—but in the current year, I can tell by the black trim on his blue _HE/HIM_ badge. Shu puts up a struggle, but is hopelessly outmatched and easily subdued; men are much stronger than wo—the officer is much stronger than Shu. As they leave, I catch sight of Shu's green _THEY/THEM_ badge. "So," says my insufficiently-requited love. "What do you suppose is in Room 101?" -- 2.17.1