It is an automatic inclination in contemporary society to assume gender identity. We live in a world full of binaries, but to live by these binaries is to erase non-cisgendered people.

Having attended an all women’s institution (Chatham University) for two years, I was constantly questioned. Either people fetishized the institution as “a lesbian school,” or they were interested in vaginas and how awful it would be for, “all the girls to have their periods at once.” However, not all women have vaginas. To define women by their body parts both reduces them to sexual objects and is not inclusive. This erases transgendered women, intersex people, non-binary people, genderqueer people, etc. Furthermore, there is the issue of pronouns. The large majority of people assumed the pronouns of each student that attended Chatham to be “she/her.” Assuming pronouns is ignorant. Not caring to use the right pronouns is an act of violence and disrespect.

Then, there are the “they/them” pronouns. There is a tendency of people to say “he or she” instead of “they.” Using “they” breaks down the strictly male/female binary and allows space for all genders. There are not just two genders. Many people argue that using “they” in grammar is often incorrect. However, this issue is so much larger than sentence structure. Whether the sentence is grammatically correct or incorrect should not be of importance when it comes to respect. Using the right pronouns can save lives. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, forty-one percent of transgendered or gender non-conforming people that they surveyed had attempted suicide.

Gender Identity assumption is not just limited to Chatham or other all women’s colleges. It is an societal occurrence which needs to be spoken about and corrected.