BY LILA GONZALES
Special to the Clarkston News

Across the country, there have been attacks on transgender and gender-nonconforming rights.
According to Hari Sreenivasan from PBS News, “2021 is already a record year for states aiming to restrict transgender rights.”
We must continue fighting back on these transphobic attacks, and a small way to help is by asking for pronouns when meeting new people.
When you ask for someone’s pronouns, it creates a safer place for gender nonconforming people and dismantles the patriarchy. Society must break down the stigma around asking for pronouns and sharing one’s pronouns to improve the mental health of transgender and gender-nonconforming people.
One survey done by Myeshia Price-Feeney, Amy E. Green, and Samuel Dorison to understand transgender and nonbinary youth, surveyed 25,000 LGBTQ+ youth. They found that transgender and nonbinary youth had higher rates of depression and suicidal thoughts.
That is why we need to continue moving forward and creating safe spaces for transgender and gender-nonconforming people. According to another survey conducted in 2015 by Michigan State on transgender Michigan residents, “43% of respondents experienced serious psychological distress in the month before completing the survey (based on the Kessler 6 Psychological Distress Scale).”
Along with that, 79% of these transgender people have faced abuse in their life, from verbal to physical. We must help transgender and gender-nonconforming people in any way we can.
A quick way to not add more barriers in their life is to do the simple bare minimum of asking for their pronouns and using them.
Whenever you meet someone, you should share your pronouns and then ask for theirs. When you ask for pronouns, it shows that you will respect their gender identity.
Even if the person is cisgender, you should ask for their pronouns because it creates a safer space for transgender and gender-nonconforming people to share their pronouns.
It also helps dismantle the idea that a woman should look a certain way and a man should look a certain way. To show how important it is to ask for pronouns, I interviewed some of my peers.
When I asked one person how they felt when people asked for their pronouns, they said, “I feel seen, I feel like people see me and notice that my pronouns might not be the generic he/him or she/her.”
Another person said, “I feel very respected and happy and understood it also makes me feel more comfortable.”
Along with that, you must educate yourself on how to use all pronouns correctly. There is a newer system of pronouns called neopronouns that exist outside of she/her/hers and he/him/his pronouns.
For most, at first, neopronouns seem out of this world and incomprehensible. Despite your confusion, you must respect and use their pronouns. Doing this is important because it shows respect for their identities.
Hopefully, our Clarkston community will continue moving towards a near future where everyone feels respected and valid. Start helping the LGBTQ+ community in as many ways as you can.
Even if it’s through small choices of putting your pronouns in your social media bios or asking for someone’s pronouns, it all matters.
Lila Gonzales will be in ninth grade this coming school year at Clarkston Junior High School.