ArteSumapaz as a community acknowledges that gender and sex are not binary, and not everyone identifies as a man or woman / male or female. Neither are we en titled to know anyone’s gender nor sex nor sexuality and we must not assume! Assuming that being cisgender and heterosexual is the norm is very harmful and contributes to homophobia and transphobia which very commonly turn in to violent hate crimes and deprivation of basic rights.
Some helpful and important vocabulary:
Transgender: relating to a person who’s gender identity does not correspond with their assigned sex at birth.
Cisgender: relating to a person who’s gender identity does correspond with their assigned sex at birth.
Non-binary: an umbrella term for gender identities outside the gender binary (there are several)
Ways to show up as an ally
- Practice using various pronouns.
- Don’t apologize if you mess up, just correct yourself.
- Correct other people if they misgender someone.
- Don’t assume anyone’s gender nor sexuality. Use they/them pronouns and gender neutral language until they / someone close to them tells you their pronouns.
- Normalize introducing yourself with your pronouns and adding them to your social media bios etc., this creates a safe space for gender variant people to do so.
- Educate yourselves and those around you, have difficult conversations. It is not the job of LGBTQIA+ people to educate you.
- Don’t impose cis and heteronormativity on anyone, especially on kids. They are never too young to learn about various gender and sexual identities.
- Listen to and amplify LGBTQIA+ voices, especially BIPOC and disabled ones.
- Use inclusive language, don’t forget that trans men and non-binary people menstruate and give birth too.
- Acknowledge your privilege – it is a privilege to connect with the gender assigned to us at birth, it is a privilege to not be misgendered.
- Make sure your feminism is intersectional, the patriarchy does not only affect cis women.
GENDER NEUTRAL VOCABULARY
English:
- Friends
- Folks
- Comrades
- Loved ones
- Theydies and gentlethems
- People / Person
- Partner
- Sibling
- Parent
- Child
- Royalty
- Leige
- Highness
- Wonderfulness
- Excelence
- Goddexx
Spanish:
- Diose
- Linde
- Hermose
- Guape / Guapi
- Mx. (pre x)
- Hije
- Hermane
- Amigue / Amigui Veci
- Chique / Chiqui Latine
- Elles
- Seño / Señore Marica
- Amor
- Tie
- Compañere
GENDER NEUTRAL PRONOUNS:
They / them / ze / zir / xe / hir / ae AND MANY MORE (English) Elle (Spanish)
May we work to create a safe and nurturing environment for all, free of any form of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or any kind of discrimination. We are not perfect and there will always be new things for us to learn and unlearn due to years of societal conditioning. May we stay open-minded and help each other grow and be aware and concious of all identities and expressions. May we collectively dismantle all oppressive systems, and make space for all marginalized communities and folks!
By. Minelle
ES 
EN
I am so grateful for this post. Thank you, Minelle, for coming to ArteSumapaz with all of your great energy, and advocating so strongly – we have learned much from you!