Mga dapat tandaan sa paggamit ng gender pronouns, alamin!
Mga dapat tandaan sa paggamit ng gender pronouns, alamin!
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00:00This is where it became a hot topic in an online post where you can see a waiter who seems to be being punished by a customer because he called her Sir.
00:11Well, did you see that, Dayan?
00:13Yes, this is viral on social media.
00:15And we saw different opinions of netizens, especially when it comes to using this gender pronoun.
00:21What is right, right, and acceptable?
00:24That is what we are going to talk about. We will be joined by Alvin Cloy, a gender specialist. Good morning.
00:32Good morning, Dayan. Good morning to all of you who are listening and watching Rise and Shine in the Philippines.
00:38Alright, Sir Alvin. Good morning, Rise and Shine.
00:41Well, we want to know, what are gender pronouns and why are they important?
00:47Good morning, Fifi.
00:48So, gender pronouns are the extension of our identity.
00:57These are the ones that give ideas to other people about what we use in reference to ourselves.
01:05If we are masculine, we use he and him pronouns.
01:09If we are feminine, we use she and her pronouns.
01:13There is also a new pronoun called they and them for gender non-binary.
01:19These are the people who do not use or do not refer to any of the masculine or feminine pronouns.
01:25So, these are what we call gender pronouns.
01:28This is more of an extension of ourselves and our gender identity.
01:33How can we know what is the right pronoun to use for a person?
01:39That's a good question.
01:41Because we don't know the pronouns used by people if we don't ask them.
01:48Or if we don't hear it from the person we are talking to.
01:52So, it's important that if we are not sure how to use the pronouns,
01:58we can ask the person what their pronouns are.
02:02As a society, we have what we call gender perception.
02:08This is how we look at people based on their cues,
02:13if they are masculine or feminine.
02:15Their clothes, their voices, their looks.
02:18And because of this, we create an idea if they are more masculine or more feminine.
02:25If they are more masculine or more feminine,
02:27it's easier for us to determine who is a sir and who is a ma'am.
02:31Especially in our culture, we use these kinds of names.
02:38In other countries, they don't use the term sir and ma'am.
02:41So, their names are more direct.
02:45So, if we are not sure, for example, what the pronouns are,
02:48it's better to ask them.
02:50Or we can introduce ourselves first
02:55and tell them what our pronouns are
02:57so that the person we are talking to can also tell us their pronouns.
03:02Alright, what are the examples of gender-neutral pronouns that we can use
03:07if we are not sure of the correct gender pronouns?
03:11One of the things that we can do is,
03:14if we can not use pronouns,
03:17for example, in speaking, especially in the Philippines,
03:20we can use, like in Tagalog,
03:24ang siya is a pronoun that does not refer to he or she,
03:31but it is a pronoun directed to everyone else.
03:35Or for example, sila, sino po sila?
03:37Atin is also a pronoun used.
03:41Even if the person you are talking to is singular,
03:43atin or sila is still used.
03:46That kind of approach can be more generic
03:51if we are not sure who will be the recipient of our conversation.
03:57But, like I said, if we really want to use he and she, sir and ma'am,
04:04it's better to just ask.
04:06Or you can use both, like what other professionals do,
04:12sir and ma'am, just like that.
04:14Some people get offended when they use pronouns
04:18that are not consistent with what they are using.
04:22That's why we really need to ask,
04:24or we need to change when we are corrected.
04:28With regard to that,
04:29what should we do when we make a mistake in using a person's pronouns?
04:33That's why we are the ones who are told the wrong gender pronouns.
04:37What can we do about this?
04:41It's very common that when we use the wrong gender pronouns,
04:48we are the ones who correct our conversations.
04:52But correcting is also important.
04:55How you say it,
04:58the tone, the way you speak,
05:00even the way that you establish rapport,
05:03the way you look at that person,
05:05the way that you say it,
05:08it's also very important,
05:10the words that we use.
05:12Because correcting can also establish,
05:16as many of our transgender brothers and sisters say,
05:20to educate, not to humiliate,
05:23or not to shame a person.
05:25You can educate people and tell them what your pronouns are,
05:29so that they are also open to the idea that,
05:34okay, I made a mistake, I'm sorry.
05:36It is also very common that most of us,
05:39when we make a mistake,
05:41we automatically apologize and correct ourselves.
05:45So if you make a mistake in the pronouns that you use in your conversations,
05:48because it happened to me,
05:50I also made a mistake in the pronouns that I used in my conversations,
05:55so I need to apologize and remember what pronouns I used.
06:00I also, when I make a mistake in the pronouns that I use,
06:05I also need to make them understand that I'm not using those pronouns.
06:10So they understand that and they also apologize.
06:14Alright, Sir Alvin, on a personal note,
06:16or in your opinion,
06:18because we understand what happened with the video,
06:20where the other person,
06:25she was there for two hours,
06:27so basically it's because she's being called as,
06:30I'll say she,
06:32because she's referring herself as a woman.
06:35So on the other hand,
06:37the waiter,
06:39he let the customer go because he's still a customer.
06:43So what are your thoughts about this thing that happened?
06:47And afterwards, it really backfired,
06:49so much comments on social media,
06:51considering that the Philippines is a traditional and patriarchal country.
06:55So how are we also going to address this,
06:58on that kind of setting?
07:00Go ahead, Sir.
07:01Yeah, I think what happened there,
07:04first of all,
07:06when the issue came out,
07:08the issue became one-sided,
07:11it was against the transgender person.
07:14So that's how it happened.
07:15So we didn't immediately hear her side.
07:18Anyway, so when it came out in her opinion,
07:22what happened was,
07:24it's not just the gender problem,
07:27our problem is in gender pronouns.
07:29The problem or the challenge in that situation
07:33is because of what we call the perception of power.
07:36What does that mean?
07:38In that situation,
07:39the person is a VIP client.
07:43And the way it happened is,
07:46what she corrected,
07:48they were trying to resolve it according to the story.
07:51And when they were trying to resolve it,
07:53it happened for two to three hours.
07:56She was able to correct it.
07:59So the treatment didn't work.
08:02That's what happened.
08:04And because of that situation,
08:06a lot of people reacted,
08:08like, why is it like that?
08:10Because you can also correct,
08:12for example, for me,
08:13if there really is an ordeal,
08:15and you need to subject it to gender sensitivity,
08:19you need to educate,
08:21it's okay.
08:22But you make the person sit down,
08:23you talk,
08:24like that.
08:25But that's not what happened.
08:27She was able to stand.
08:28That's why people saw that,
08:30wait, I don't think she can stand,
08:32or that treatment wasn't fair.
08:35Because you're a VIP client,
08:36she's a waiter,
08:37that's why the treatment was like that.
08:39So that's the response.
08:42That's why she backlashed
08:43instead of gaining support.
08:49All right, sir.
08:50I also heard about,
08:52there are different pronouns,
08:53like Zizer,
08:54if you're familiar with that.
08:56Yes.
08:57Tell us more about this,
08:58because we know the she, he, them,
09:01but there's also a Zizer,
09:02it's spelled as Z-E-Z-I-R,
09:04if I'm not mistaken.
09:05Go ahead, sir.
09:06There's Z,
09:07there's Zers,
09:08so these are the pronouns
09:10that are not familiar to our culture
09:13because it's more
09:18US-based.
09:20It's more Western.
09:23And it's not used here in the Philippines.
09:25Even the they and them
09:27that started in the US,
09:29when it was tried here in the Philippines,
09:32a lot of people reacted to the they and them.
09:34They didn't understand
09:35how to use it grammatically correct,
09:38why is it like that.
09:40But actually, the they and them
09:42is more acceptable to us
09:44because in our Filipino language,
09:47that's what we use in conversations,
09:50the they and them.
09:52We're okay with that.
09:53But the Z and Zer,
09:54it might be hard for us to explain to people
09:57what those pronouns are.
09:59So these are pronouns for non-binary
10:01or those people who are not identifying
10:03as he or she.
10:05Okay.
10:06Alright,
10:07some have admitted
10:08that it's really hard to use
10:10these gender pronouns.
10:12How can we educate more people
10:16about this and explain
10:18why it's important to use
10:20proper gender pronouns?
10:23Pronouns are important
10:25because as I said earlier,
10:27it's an extension of our identities,
10:29of ourselves.
10:31It's a substitute for our names,
10:35it's an exchange.
10:37So it means,
10:39whatever you know about yourself,
10:41this is also the pronoun you use.
10:43That's why it's important
10:45and it's very personal.
10:46Gender pronouns are an extension
10:49of our identities.
10:51That's why when we talk to other people,
10:54it's important that we know
10:57and respect the pronouns
11:00that other people use.
11:02Now, for example,
11:04we're not yet okay
11:10with using pronouns
11:12to other people.
11:15In reference to themselves,
11:17we can't call them by their pronouns.
11:21Always think,
11:23if you're in that situation,
11:25if you're going to use pronouns
11:27that you don't use,
11:29will you get hurt?
11:33Will you also correct the other person?
11:36If that's your response,
11:38that's also what happens
11:40to the person we're talking to.
11:42That's our basis when it comes to pronouns.
11:45It's respectful to the person we're talking to.
11:48You know what?
11:49This is a very interesting topic.
11:51In fact, I had this kind of paper
11:53in my Ph.D. program
11:55together with my classmates
11:56about gender-neutral language
11:58and teacher-student communication relationship
12:00on the school setting,
12:02specifically in UP and FEU.
12:04They're really exercising it.
12:06Well, on the other hand,
12:08in other schools,
12:09especially for state universities,
12:10it's not yet super implemented,
12:11but they're still following it.
12:13And we hope that
12:14it's not just in schools.
12:16And after school,
12:18we can also exercise
12:19questions and respect.
12:21And of course,
12:22the Filipino language
12:23is also more helpful
12:24so that a person won't be offended
12:26based on what they were talking about earlier.
12:28Well, Sir Alvin,
12:29thank you very much
12:30for joining us this morning
12:32to talk about
12:33this very interesting topic.
12:35Thank you so much.
12:36Thank you very much to all of you.