I absolutely do not mind if someone with a platform of communication of their own, be it blog or web site or whatever, reblogs one of my posts. In fact, I’m flattered when folks in the blog-o-sphere (if I can borrow that term from Matt Kailey) find something I’ve written to be worthy enough for republishing on their blog.
However, there are different ways to reblog, and some are better than others. Reblogging has a certain etiquette all its own which can vary depending on what’s being reblogged and who wrote the original post.
I saw a number of different types of reblogging after I posted “14 Reasons Why It’s Not Okay to Out Someone as Trans.” As I watched my post pop up on other blogs and sites, I found myself cringing at times when reblogging etiquette went by the wayside. (And I have to say that mostly came from a number of the reblogs on Tumblr. More on that below.)
With that in mind, going forward (or even going backward to revise a previously reblogged post), I would ask anyone who reblogs from American Trans Man to please follow these simple guidelines…
This post was originally published May 4, 2011.
14 Reasons Why It’s Not Okay to Out Someone as Trans – A Public Service Announcement From Your Friendly, Neighborhood Trans Person
He quickly corrected himself and moved on with whatever he had been saying, but for me, the damage had been done.
That one little pronoun ripped away my confidence and left me stunned and confused. Although it still happens once in a while, being seen as female has been a rare occurrence for me over the past six months, so I asked myself why this person whom I had just met would confuse me with a woman? Was it obvious that I was trans? Was I kidding myself, walking around in the world thinking that I no longer appeared female to most people?
Unsure as to whether the guy had read me as female/trans all on his own or whether someone had told him, I took my friend aside and asked him. He seemed genuinely confused as to why I would have an issue with his disclosure of my trans status when he has been one of my most thoughtful, supportive friends and he was trying to be helpful.
This situation has me thinking that just because a person might be a relative, friend or ally of the trans community, or even a trans person themselves, that doesn’t mean that they know and understand the possible consequences that could result from disclosing someone’s trans status, so I am offering some information here that I hope will be helpful regarding this topic.
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