Transgender Pronouns Bill: Broke the Various Components of Human
An Opposing Position Paper by Maybelen Tanghian
This topic is all about the transgender pronoun bill due to transgender activism, which led to the rise of transgender pronouns when addressing transgender individuals, including words such as “ze,” “ey,” “hir,” “xe,” “hen,” “ve,” “ne,” “per,” “thon,” “Mx.” and more. Why is the transgender pronoun bill wrong? Because it seeks to force people to use a set of neo-pronouns while speaking to a transgender person, and the worst thing is that there are penalties ranging from fines and damage to mandatory anti-discrimination training that would be applied to anyone who just refuses to address a transgender individual based on his or her preferred pronoun, which we considered an injustice kind of thing.
The reason why I am not in favor of the transgender pronoun bill being considered is that this proposed law has broken various human components. This bill, which allows transgender preferred pronouns, could violates the religious tenant, ignores the grammar rules of the English language, and violates our right to free speech and freedom of expression. As a result, it led to utter chaos and unprofessionalism.
The first drawback is that transgender preferred pronouns violate religious tenets. These pronouns raise problems from a secular perspective that ignores religious values. If we just think properly, it’s so simple to honor and use correct pronouns such as “he” and "she." Why do we make it difficult, like with transgender pronouns? The answer is, simply, "It’s just for fashion!" People act like they’re being unvalued and discriminated when they’re not being called by their desired pronouns, but it’s still an invalid move because it’s not really a big deal. We can’t say that it’s discrimination towards transgender people if there’s someone who prefers not to use the transgender preferred pronouns. According to the research, “Discrimination occurs when a person is unable to enjoy his or her human rights or other legal rights on an equal basis with others because of an unjustified distinction made in policy, law or treatment.” (Amnesty International, 2022). So, we can’t say it’s discrimination when someone don’t want to use transgender preferred pronouns when addressing transgender people because it also violates the freedom of speech for someone who don’t want to use those pronouns. It’s fair and clear to all. Using their preferred pronouns would be demanding for people to address them as "your majesty," with a bow or curtsey, because they think they are royalty, even though they’re not.
Second, the transgender pronoun bill broke English grammar conventions, which created misunderstanding and made it challenging to communicate effectively. We first learned how to use grammar in spoken language many years ago. Later, in school, we spent a lot of time learning the formal syntax of communication and were taught how to formulate grammatical elements, particularly the proper use of pronouns—with the exception of the pronouns that Bill C-16 was attempting to create. According to new research, “The use of correct grammar is important because it is the main feature within both our spoken and written communication that allows us to have our messages clearly understood. Using incorrect grammar can lead to sentences being meaningless and the message unclear, which in turn can lead to misinterpretation by a communication partner. Using correct grammar makes listening and reading easier for others to understand and can make the communication process more enjoyable.” (Admin, 2016b). Therefore, it would be normal to experience chaos due to this bill. I oppose it because I believe that we can’t achieve any progress from it. There are so many other pressing societal issues that demand our attention. There are many more critical lessons we should impart to kids and even elders, such as teaching them about livelihood and the functioning of the universe down to its most minute details instead of minding this inconsequential kind of stuff.
Thirdly, the adoption of these transgender pronouns has violated our right to free speech and freedom of expression. This elicited many unfavorable responses and aggressive criticisms toward those who suggested this shift. In CBC news, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto, Mr. Peterson claims that this violates the “freedom of speech and expression” rights of the people. (2016). According to Peterson, the left thinks that free speech should be abandoned since it has somehow become associated with the “right wing.” He wouldn't use pronouns since the new law would make doing so constitutes hate speech and came to the conclusion that the law is oppressive as well as detrimental. Don Plett, a conservative senator, was a vocal opponent of Bill C-16. He claimed that the word "gender expression" is ambiguous and that using a non-"immutable trait" as a basis for discrimination could result in legal problems. (Reid, supra.)
There’s another thing about this bill that led us to disappointment: Bill C-16 represents a historically significant infringement on Canadians' right to free speech. In an interview with the Toronto Sun, he stated: “These laws are the first that I’ve seen that require people under the threat of legal punishment to employ certain words and speak in a certain way instead of merely limiting what they’re allowed to say.” Therefore, insisting that others use your preferred pronouns would be linguistic coercion. Demanding such terminology implies that you have the freedom to express yourself in whatever way you see fit, whether orally or in writing. From a legal sense, it's hard to imagine how society could forcibly enforce the use of language that obviously contradicts certain views or notions.
In conclusion, gender-neutral pronouns are not really necessary in this generation because there are already bills that have been suggested to prohibit such discrimination. According to the research, “Equality Bill, also known as the Anti-Discrimination Bill (ADB), are a series of House and Senate bills that were introduced in the 17th and 18th Congress of the Philippines which aims to set into law measures to prevent various economic and public accommodation-related acts of discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression.” (Wikipedia contributors, 2022)
This legislation is a result of transgender activism and advocacy. This movement is based on the idea that transgender people, are still being persecuted in today's society and thrives on the drama of "discrimination." I have the utmost regard for the LGBTQ+ Community, but what they are requesting is not for everyone's benefit; rather, they are just considering their own. So why should we cause turmoil when we can keep things simple? By approving this measure, we made our predicament worse, broke religious principles, disregarded English grammatical norms, and went against our First Amendment rights to free speech and expression, among other things.
References:
(2016). YouTube. Retrieved December 9, 2022, from https://youtu.be/SiijS_9hPkM.
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. LGBTQ+ Resource Center. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2022, from https://uwm.edu/lgbtrc/support/gender-pronouns/
Admin, K. S. W. (2016, November 27). Using grammar. Kid Sense Child Development. Retrieved December 9, 2022, from https://childdevelopment.com.au/areas-of-concern/using-speech/using-grammar/?fbclid=IwAR1_Eqnas9jEmW-b7ZS5EOyLs4uVYve6tH0JtKMcqA9L-KF0Wmb9hcK_Urg#:~:text=Using%20incorrect%20grammar%20can%20lead,the%20communication%20process%20more%20enjoyable
Canada: Senate Passes Landmark Transgender Rights Bill. The Library of Congress. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2022, from https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2017-09-11/canada-senate-passes-landmark-transgender-rights-bill/?fbclid=IwAR3Gj57_qmB1Mv82WsPAmg0GrIvfQfAf5aJSVeUn9ESl8XG1F3zryCQYA8k
Murphy, J. (2016, November 4). Toronto professor Jordan Peterson takes on gender-neutral pronouns. BBC News. Retrieved December 9, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37875695?fbclid=IwAR03MeJZLsTzcXTtHLCFRg-jeQbThItn17JhsCiVjEpLRReWBWvIZ9NrPVM
What is discrimination? Amnesty International. (2022, October 31). Retrieved December 9, 2022, from https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/discrimination/
Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, October 6). Sogie equality bill. Wikipedia. Retrieved December 9, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOGIE_Equality_Bill