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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gradine" data-source="post: 7439454" data-attributes="member: 57112">Coming in late and there's a few points I wanted to address:1) The big one is that representation matters. I don't remember who said it, but to paraphrase an earlier post "Reach where you're most able to reach." 5e has already done a great job of opening the door the gender fluidity in the PHB; this simply creates a more concrete idea and tying it to the androgynous-ness of Corellon and the mutability that's being established with the 5e elvish mythos. Makes perfect sense, and if I ran in FR I would definitely use it.2) "Trans" is the generally accepted "umbrella" term for all manner of gender- and sex-nonconforming identities, but it would be a mistake to suggest that everyone within that community appreciates the term, and there's actually quite a bit of strife within and between gender- and sex-nonconforming identities; ie; folx complaining about "gender reassignment" surgery as capitulating to a gender binary, transsexual-identified individuals equating drag performances to blackface, intersex erasure, etc. While there is a compelling reason for the use of "trans" as a catch-all umbrella term, just be aware that not all that would be classified within that umbrella would appreciate the term. Speaking of which...3) "Queer" as a reclaimed word tends to have its roots in intersectional identity analysis, particularly with regards to race and class stratification (I've heard that San Fransisco is gay and Oakland is queer, for instance). While not universal, I've noticed that those who adopt "queer" as a moniker tend to care less about "normalization" or other tactics that they'd consider "assimilation", and rather more about expressing one's identity without regards to what others individually or society as a whole thinks, which is why "genderqueer" might be an identity used by people who may not necessarily agree that society treating being gender nonconforming as nothing particularly special or out of the ordinary is a worthy goal. "Queer" also tends to coincide much more with more radical political causes as well. As a result, you can kind of see why many in the LGBTQIA community (particularly the folx who stop at the "T", if they even make it that far) might not mesh as well with anyone using the term "queer" as a part of the identity. For another point of departure, ask a person who identifies as primarily as "queer" how big a deal marriage equality is.4) The main point to all of this is that there's a lot of diversity itself within the LGBTQIA, such that quibbling semantics over terminology or lexicon doesn't really do anybody any justice. I've found that the most successful (or at least most respectful) way to go is to respect everyone's preferences and identities individually and not make large sweeping generalizations as a whole. "Don't yuck my yum," as it were. I assume there are many gamers who might identify as "trans" that think the Gift of Corellon is awesome or amazing; I also assume there are those that roll their eyes at it. Neither is particularly right or wrong in the larger sense of those terms, but the fact that it would appeal to some marginalized gamers is alone worth it, in my book.</blockquote>

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