Misgendering as epistemic injustice: A queer STS approach

Abstract

Misgendering is perceived as the use of incorrect pronouns and gender categories when addressing Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) people. This common habit is widely observed in reports, surveys and assessments, where the pressures to comply with a binary understanding of gender are high and alternative options for self-identification are not frequently offered. The present study reads misgendering as a manifestation of epistemic injustice, and uses resources from Science, Technology and Society (STS) Studies in order to highlight the importance of situated perspectives on the matter. After being analysed as a commonplace microaggression, misgendering is conceptualised as an act of structural hermeneutical marginalisation that is not usually intentional but product of society’s lack of sensibility towards gender diversity. Finally, a reparative approach against misgendering is offered through the Gender Fair Language model, which involves relational and situated contributions in order to prevent already marginalised people and experiences from being further excluded.

Silencing Tactics

“…This paper builds on previous arguments about the relevance of epistemic injustice to misgendering (Argyriou, 2021), and situates this work in an empirical case. This paper also builds upon work done to understand the safety concerns of women in online knowledge sharing platforms (Menking et al, 2019), and extends this work to diverse gender identities.…”

“…Misgendering -or referring to someone in a way that does not respect their gender identity -is a common form of harassment that trans and nonbinary people experience online and offline. Misgendering is experienced chiefly through language and testimony, and can often be a result of linguistic conventions at a structural level (Argyriou, 2021). Being misgendered causes trans and nonbinary people to feel stigma, and previous research has suggested that this stigma is experienced most frequently by people who identify as genderqueer (McLemore, 2015).…”