U. of Washington Staff Member: Don’t Apologize for ‘Misgendering’

A staff member at the University of Washington departed from progressive orthodoxy recently when he argued that Americans shouldn’t apologize if they address someone by something other than their chosen pronouns.

According to a report by The College Fix, a staff member at the University of Washington in charge of LGBTQ issues claims that people shouldn’t apologize for misgendering a trans person.

Sean Johnson, the program coordinator at the University of Washington Medicine’s Transgender and Gender Non-Binary Care Program, told his employees that they shouldn’t jump to apologize if they misgender someone.

To be clear, Johnson encourages everyone to embrace a transgender person’s chosen identity. However, he does not believe that people should be condemned for making mistakes.

An article in a University of Washington publication explained Johnson’s perspective on accidentally using the wrong pronouns.

If you learn you’ve misgendered someone or if someone calls you out directly, the best thing to do is thank them for correcting you and move on while making a mental note not to mess up next time.

You might feel inclined to apologize, but Johnson says that isn’t necessary and can feel like you’re trying to push the other person to let you off the hook.

“If you say, ‘I’m sorry I messed up,’ you’re putting it on the other person to support you in trying to work all this out,” he explains.

So stick with a simple “Oops, my bad, thanks for letting me know,” and drop it.

Breitbart News reported in November that a presenter at San Diego State University told students that misgendering a transgender person is just like “being stabbed.”