Alright, I'm applying for a conference--to be honest I don't really want to go, but that is another story. It is a welcoming and affirming, all the various denominational welcoming groups, conference to be held in New Orleans in September. I'm filling out the registration form. I get to the bottom of the page and they want demographic information. And I think they are just two much, so I wanted to share them with you.
Race/Ethnicity:
African American
Asian/Pacific Islander
Bi/Multi-Racial
Caribbean
Caribbean-African Descent
Central American
European Descent
Latino/a
Middle Eastern
First Nations/Native American
South American
South Asian
Other
(Did anyone notice there is not an option for North American/Caucasian? Am I supposed to mark European Descent? My family is from Alabama, a couple hundred years ago maybe.)
Check all that apply:
Cross-dresser
Female
FTM
Genderqueer/androgynous
Intersex
Male
MTF
Transgender
Transsexual
Gender Non-Comforming
__________
(Seriously!)
Sexual Orientation:
Bisexual
Gay
Heterosexual
Lesbian
Queer
Same Gender Loving
Two Spirit
_______
(OK, first of all, wtf is Two Spirit? Second, don't you love it that they give you the option in both the previous sections for you to write in something--as if they could possibly have left anything out.)
Check one:
Rural
Small Town
Suburban
Urban
(I just want to write them a note that I felt limited because I could only choose one. I mean I live in an urban area but some times I feel a little small town;) )
Seriously, come on people! I want to make sure everyone feels welcome. But that is a lot of labels.
Peace out!
5 comments:
Thank you. WTF was my response to "two spirit" as well. Let me know when you figure out what that one is.
Two-spirit is a Native American term. My understanding is it describes someone who has elements of both genders within them or is not able to be easily placed into one gender and/or sexuality.
Thanks for enlightening. But my question is still the same as Brian's -- wtf?
What happened to the option: "None of your business!" Is that a crude, unfeeling response?
As for ancestry, I'd say my ancestors came from Virginia, Mississippi, Texas, and Florida. I feel so ostracized! To think I am of "european descent!" And would that cluster me in with people who are British or French? The time has come to add to the list "my family is not native american but has lived in North American (not Canada) since at least the 1800s."
Let us tread lightly on the Native road and assigning of cultural aspects for things that are not our own. That two-spirit thing is driving me right up the wall. and with the whole native american thing, we all know that it's an imperfect name, but we also all know to whom it is referring. Here's a funny little issue too, hardly any "native americans" refer to themselves as that anymore. Indian seems to be the way to go. How's that for irony?
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