REVA
.......................................................................................................................
Paris, France
12 years old
Mon Ami.e Suzy/Matt
Ma meilleure amie, Suzy*, elle sent qu’elle est un garçon. Elle s’est coupé les cheveux court et cache sa poitrine sous des habits trop grands. Ça me va très bien et je la soutiens, ou plutôt devrais-je dire le.
Ensemble, on a demandé aux professeurs, surveillants et élèves de notre classe d’utiliser son nouveau prénom, Matt*, et d’utiliser les pronoms il/lui/le pour l’appeler. Quasiment tout le monde s’est adapté et l’appelle Matt, mais certains garçons ne l’acceptent pas et continuent de l’appeler Suzy. Ils font des blagues idiotes, comme s’appeler Julie et Juliette, ou disent que je suis sa copine. Mes amies et moi leur crions dessus et les tapons sur la tête avec nos cahiers, nos carnets ou nos clés. En général, après ça ils arrêtent.
Matt utilise toujours les toilettes des filles parce que « chez les garçons, ça pue ». Parfois des filles lui demandent pourquoi il est là; je trouve ça plutôt amusant.
Si vous avez un/une ami(e) dans cette situation, montrez leur tout votre soutien!
Peut-être que vous serez un peu perdue ou agacée, mais faites de votre mieux pour les mettre à l’aise et utiliser les bons pronoms. La plus petite et inoffensive des remarques qui pourrait leur faire croire que vous ne soutenez pas leur transition pourrait être très blessante pour eux.
Enfin, ne vous moquez surtout pas d’eux parce que leur confiance en eux n’est probablement pas très grande en ce moment.
*Les noms ont été changés.
My Friend Suzy/Matt
My name is Reva, I’m 12 and I live in Paris.
My best friend and classmate, Suzy*, feels she is a boy. She has cut her hair short and hides her chest under large clothes. I’m fine with that and I fully support her, or maybe should I say him.
Together, we asked our classmates and the school staff to stop using her original name, her dead name, and call her, or him rather, Matt*, and use the male pronouns. Pretty much everyone has stopped using the dead name Suzy, and very few people make fun of Matt. However, there are a few boys that don’t accept him and still call him a girl. Me and my friends, mostly girls, yell at them and smash our school books on their heads. They make stupid jokes, like call themselves Julie and Juliette, or say that I’m his crush.
Matt still uses the girls’ bathroom - because « at the boys’ it’s smelly » - so sometimes other people get confused; I find it actually pretty funny.
If you have friends in a similar situation, support them!
It might be confusing at first, but do your best to use the right gender pronouns and make them feel comfortable, because it can be very hard. The slightest thing you say that sounds like you don’t think they should transition can be very painful. Finally, don’t make fun of them, even if you find it funny. Their self-esteem is probably not that high right now.
*Names have been changed
My Friend Suzy/Matt
My name is Reva, I’m 12 and I live in Paris.
My best friend and classmate, Suzy*, feels she is a boy. She has cut her hair short and hides her chest under large clothes. I’m fine with that and I fully support her, or maybe should I say him.
Together, we asked our classmates and the school staff to stop using her original name, her dead name, and call her, or him rather, Matt*, and use the male pronouns. Pretty much everyone has stopped using the dead name Suzy, and very few people make fun of Matt. However, there are a few boys that don’t accept him and still call him a girl. Me and my friends, mostly girls, yell at them and smash our school books on their heads. They make stupid jokes, like call themselves Julie and Juliette, or say that I’m his crush.
Matt still uses the girls’ bathroom - because « at the boys’ it’s smelly » - so sometimes other people get confused; I find it actually pretty funny.
If you have friends in a similar situation, support them!
It might be confusing at first, but do your best to use the right gender pronouns and make them feel comfortable, because it can be very hard. The slightest thing you say that sounds like you don’t think they should transition can be very painful. Finally, don’t make fun of them, even if you find it funny. Their self-esteem is probably not that high right now.
*Names have been changed
Story & artwork submitted by: Reva
Mon Ami.e Suzy/Matt
Ma meilleure amie, Suzy*, elle sent qu’elle est un garçon. Elle s’est coupé les cheveux court et cache sa poitrine sous des habits trop grands. Ça me va très bien et je la soutiens, ou plutôt devrais-je dire le.
Ensemble, on a demandé aux professeurs, surveillants et élèves de notre classe d’utiliser son nouveau prénom, Matt*, et d’utiliser les pronoms il/lui/le pour l’appeler. Quasiment tout le monde s’est adapté et l’appelle Matt, mais certains garçons ne l’acceptent pas et continuent de l’appeler Suzy. Ils font des blagues idiotes, comme s’appeler Julie et Juliette, ou disent que je suis sa copine. Mes amies et moi leur crions dessus et les tapons sur la tête avec nos cahiers, nos carnets ou nos clés. En général, après ça ils arrêtent.
Matt utilise toujours les toilettes des filles parce que « chez les garçons, ça pue ». Parfois des filles lui demandent pourquoi il est là; je trouve ça plutôt amusant.
Si vous avez un/une ami(e) dans cette situation, montrez leur tout votre soutien!
Peut-être que vous serez un peu perdue ou agacée, mais faites de votre mieux pour les mettre à l’aise et utiliser les bons pronoms. La plus petite et inoffensive des remarques qui pourrait leur faire croire que vous ne soutenez pas leur transition pourrait être très blessante pour eux.
Enfin, ne vous moquez surtout pas d’eux parce que leur confiance en eux n’est probablement pas très grande en ce moment.
*Les noms ont été changés.
My Friend Suzy/Matt
My name is Reva, I’m 12 and I live in Paris.
My best friend and classmate, Suzy*, feels she is a boy. She has cut her hair short and hides her chest under large clothes. I’m fine with that and I fully support her, or maybe should I say him.
Together, we asked our classmates and the school staff to stop using her original name, her dead name, and call her, or him rather, Matt*, and use the male pronouns. Pretty much everyone has stopped using the dead name Suzy, and very few people make fun of Matt. However, there are a few boys that don’t accept him and still call him a girl. Me and my friends, mostly girls, yell at them and smash our school books on their heads. They make stupid jokes, like call themselves Julie and Juliette, or say that I’m his crush.
Matt still uses the girls’ bathroom - because « at the boys’ it’s smelly » - so sometimes other people get confused; I find it actually pretty funny.
If you have friends in a similar situation, support them!
It might be confusing at first, but do your best to use the right gender pronouns and make them feel comfortable, because it can be very hard. The slightest thing you say that sounds like you don’t think they should transition can be very painful. Finally, don’t make fun of them, even if you find it funny. Their self-esteem is probably not that high right now.
*Names have been changed
