I'm surprised on here by how many people consider "ladies and gentlemen" to be out dated now-a-days. I don't do many announcements at work, but when I do, I will always start "ladies and gentlemen". Gives people time for their brains adjust to listen to the announcement.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I would just like to inform you that this train..."
Seems much more friendly, and gives time for the passengers to listen, rather then just;
"I would like to inform you this train"......
But the way the person has gone about it in the Tweet is ridiculous and will more likely get people's backs up then have a positive effect. I was talking to a couple of 20 year olds last year and they were surprised to hear that when I left school as a 16 year old in 2001 we had never been taught about same sex relationships at school. We'd been taught about heterosexual relationships, but never the same sex. "Gay" was still a dirty word. I remember as a 17 year old at college, the first, and only lad to come out as a homosexual, the gossip, talking behind his back. He was literally, the only gay in the village (although it was actually quite a large city centre college).
Then at Uni, in 2004 (it was a small uni), the one boy, Jack, who lived in our halls of residence, who started the process of becoming a women. It was strange. Weird. Unusual. Not weird because it was wrong. Weird because non of us had seen its before, we didn't know what to expect, how to talk to them. Would they want a pint of bitter or cocktail? I'm not saying all transgender people are homosexuals too, it's up to them as they identify. But what I am trying to say, that even as recent as 20 years ago, the education system did not teach about same sex relationships and the idea of changing gender was reserved for late night channel 5 documentaries and identifying as someone outside all gender boundaries, well, it just wasn't a thing.
But its great people can identify as what they want and how they want now. But, let us oldies adjust and catch up. I was talking to a friend last year, who's child I had known as a son growing up, was now known as Amy. I was stumbling for words, didn't know what to say, but she agreed with me, that when she was a child, this just didn't happen. But Amy was one of 12 teenagers in her school who identified as a the opposite gender to what they were born as.
The person in the Tweet how ever, just comes across as aggressive. Like the stereotypical street Evangelist of the 1990's, who will stand on the street corner, proclaiming the news of the Gospel, telling you that you must listen, and that you will indeed listen. But people will walk past, ignore them, chunter to their friends about how they are trying to force their opinions upon others, when all they want to do is pick up their meal deal from Boots.
The only way things will change is by education. But how can you educate 40 year old's? I was in Wickes not long ago. I was served by a person who wore a badge "my pronoun is she/her." I thought they had a lot of nerve to wear that badge, especially in a place like a DIY store that is quite a macho environment. I was there for quite a while, so struck up conversation with the lady. Not about her badge, but the books I had just picked up from the charity book shelves they had in store. When I got home, sat down with my cup of tea, I decided to Google why they were wearing the badge.
Deep down I wanted to be mad, I know I did. I wanted to curse them for forcing their opinion upon me. They were either a born a man and are therefore a man. Or born a women, therefore are a women. Non of this fancy, dancy modern day changing gender milarky. I'm not going to wear a badge that says I'm a man, when quite clearly I am a man. I have mans name. Stubble. Built like a man. Have an Adams Apple. Why do I need to wear a badge to tell others that. Can I wear a badge that says I identify as a bin? If not why not?
But I sat down, punched it into Google and it made sense. People wear pronoun badges to take the awkwardness away. Make it alright to ask. And, you know what, I appreciate that. That day when I was in the DIY store, hand on heart, I would have assumed I was talking to a man. It took the awkwardness away when I said to my daughter "show the lady what game you are playing". It made it simple for me. Saved me making a fool of myself. But they weren't telling me that I need to wear a pronoun badge. I can if I want, but I don't have to. And that's what is important. They wore a badge to take the awkwardness away from me, but didn't expect me to wear a badge in return.
I might have been the only person that week that the lady in the DIY store had an effect on. But it was a positive effect. Since then I've told others, explained to my partner why people wear those badges, stuck up for the person on TV in the mess room who has a pronoun on the bottom of the screen. But by doing that, I'm doing my small part to help educate others. I'm by no means a martyr to the cause, but from one simple gesture of a friendly person wearing a pronoun badge, others are being educated in what is, quite frankly a minefield to us oldies.
It goes back to the street Evangelist. I know I've been there. The message of an Evangelist and that of the person in this tweet is very different. But the process of getting that message across is the same. If you stand and shout, force others to accept your way, they won't. Education is needed. But it's how other's that are educated that is key. Just be normal and others will listen and learn.
It has challenged me. Will I keep saying "ladies and gentlemen" in future? I hope not. It does seem normal to me, but as others have said, normal changes.
It does make me wonder, in 30 years time will we look back, and remember the time when "ladies and gentlemen" was the norm, just like 1960's Britain when land lords would advertise rooms as "no blacks" and it was just accepted? Makes me wonder what the future holds.
Think I might have lost my point in here somewhere but hope it makes some sense!
