>>>>
>>>>On our side of the pond, a UofT professor is in a shootstorm over pronoun usage: http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-friday-edition-1.3786140/i-m-not-a-bigot-meet-the-u-of-t-prof-who-refuses-to-use-genderless-pronouns-1.3786144
>>>
>>>Kudos to the prof.
>>>We sit and ponder why college costs go through the roof and people are actually being paid to talk about things like this.
>>>Princeton has a VP for inclusiveness.
>>>
>>
>>When I was a young woman, I remember hearing a lot about how awful it was for women to be complaining about their bosses and co-workers calling them "hon" or "sweetie," not to mention for them to be expecting to be paid the same as a man for the same work. It was "why are they making such a fuss?" and "Why are you so sensitive?" *
>>
>>Most decent people now understand (those this year's election has made a clear how many are still indecent). Similarly, there are people who are simply different from the norm. They're asking to be treated with respect. I don't understand why that bothers you so much.
>>
>>As far back as I can remember, people have wanted to call me "Tammy." That's not my name. I don't answer to it, and I tell people not to call me that. It's a matter of respect. So is using the name and pronoun that feels most appropriate to an individual.
>>
>>
>>>It gets worse.
>>>The highest court in the land thinks that this is a serious subject:
>>>http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/10/supreme-court-will-rule-on-transgender-rights-case
>>
>>Because it is. Trans folks face tremendous discrimination and get beat up a lot. I may have asked this before, but I'm curious whether you personally know anyone trans.
>>
>>We, of course, have two trans-women (that I know of) in the VFP community, Janis Booth and Martina Jindrova. Closer to home, one of the young people who spent many, many hours in our home is a trans-women. If you met her, I don't think you'd know that she used to be a man, and in many settings, for her to walk into a men's room would likely endanger her.
>>
>>Tamar
>>
>>* Not directly related to this discussion, but I'm in a couple of private election-related groups. People there have been explaining why they're voting for Hillary. Some of the stories they have to tell about their lives and what they've faced because they're women or because they're gay (or both) are blood-curdling. I've had tears in my eyes more than once.
>
>Your basic thrust here is that people should be considerate of one another's feelings.
>Of course they should.
>Kindness is our most noble trait.
>Oppression (the antithesis of kindness) often begins when a group tries to assert its ideas on people who didn't agree with those ideas.
>It's usually accompanied by some kind of religious, political or ideological underpinning that justifies the oppression.
>Often the oppression takes the form of requiring or banning certain forms of speech or behavior.
>There are some good ways to promote more kindness in the world - another topic - but oppression - however well intended- is not the way to create kindness.
>
>So I applaud this prof, and anyone else who stands up for the right to speak HIS mind the way HE pleases.
>
>If there's another prof who wants to speak ITS mind another way, that's fine too.

You're right within some boundaries. One of them is that we have laws that protect employees (of employers above a certain size) from various forms of discrimination, harassment, etc. Similarly, employers can make workplace rules that require employees to behave in certain ways (as long as they're inside the law).

I'll point out that this is another area where the situation has changed dramatically in my lifetime. I read a book a few years about the woman who brought the case that resulted in the rule that a hostile work environment can be considered sexual harassment and that an employer is responsible, even if it's other employees doing the harassing. Fascinating story about a woman working in what had traditionally been a man's job.

So the prof can speak as he wants, but in the workplace, may be required to do things according to the employer's rules. And outside work, he can be considered a jerk for failing to treat people as they want to be treated.

Tamar