Y'all, this artist redenition of me made me feel really dysphoric. It was a mash up of my face then and my face now. It was not who am I. The artist captured my pose on stage. My non-binary self looks fucking awkward next to these women who are smiling & laughing in comradery.
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What should have been a nice gesture, "Hey, let's have an artist sketch speakers," turned into something that highlighted the fact that the event wasn't prepared to make structural changes to support non-binary people. In short, no more "women + non-binary" spaces for me.
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So, how can events improve inclusivity for non-binary people? 1. Have non-binary organizers who represent the many gender identities under the umbrella term "non-binary". We're not a monolith. Consult with agender people, genderfluid people, non-binary trans masculine people.
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2. Change the name of your group to "Marginalized gender identities & sexes in X". Yep, that's not as cute as "PyLadies" or "ChickTech" or "PDXWiT". But it represents that you're willing make a branding change to support non-binary and intersex people.
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3. Talk to your sponsors about your new mission. Ask them what they're doing to support non-binary, transgender, and intersex people. If they speak to your group, make sure they have a message for us too.
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4. Make pronouns be front and center at your event. Make it a group tradition to introduce yourself as, "Hi, my name is X and I use Y pronouns". Pronouns should be as big as names on badges.
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5. Don't refer to each other as "gals" or "ladies". Yes, those terms were great when it was 100% women in the room. I know how thrilling it is to be able to use those terms. But they no longer invoke the same comradery when non-binary people are present. Use "folks" instead.
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6. T-shirts. Ugh. Look, I know how hard it is to find a shirt that fits your curves or smaller frame. It was exciting to stock things that finally fit you. But not all non-binary people want a fitted shirt. Please do have fitted cut shirts, and also stock straight cut shirts.
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If you want to know more tips, I'm moderating a discussion on Tuesday August 20 at 5pm.
@PearConf is hosting a meetup about how to support non-binary co-workers:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pear-conf-august-meetup-tickets-66952559909 …1 reply 3 retweets 7 likesShow this thread -
Replying to @_sagesharp_ @PearConf
Will you be at OSS North America or OSS Europe? Would love to get tips.
@openchainproj is building out a wide community but we can and should do better in encouraging participation from a diversity of people.1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
I don't attend Linux Foundation events any more. I'll be at GitHub Universe next, teaching a Code of Conduct enforcement workshop.
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