Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
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Poem: "Other Options"

This poem is spillover from the July 19, 2016 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from [personal profile] chanter_greenie. It has been sponsored by LJ user Ng_moonmoth. This poem belongs to the series An Army of One.


"Other Options"


When Spalling came in
to their little office to log
the latest trades, V was there
reading messages from Astin.

Xyr paperwork was
on another screen with
the O line highlighted.

"Thinking about ... other options
again?" Spalling asked V.

"I am," V said. "I have
an established identity, but
much of it does not fit me well.
An alternative has its appeal,
but also certain costs."

"I can see why," Spalling said.
"Even with Astin in the Lacuna, you'd
be the only other-gendered person here.
It's not fun, being a minority of one."

"Astin is no longer that," said V,
pointing to another screen showing
a different set of paperwork. "Sphinx
has declared Other as well, and
uses the pronouns ey, eir, em."

"You sound like you're giving it
serious consideration as well,"
Spalling said. "It's good to think
through things like this, rather
than jump to conclusions."

"I have not yet reached a decision,"
V said. "There are many variables
to account for, many pros and cons
to weigh before choosing."

"Why don't you talk to Astin
about this?" Spalling suggested.
"Xe has gone through it already."

"It will not be the same for me," V said.
"I like Astin, but we're very different people."

Spalling shrugged. "So what?"
he said. "My old drill sergeant
used to say that nobody ever
ran the same obstacle course,
because it feels different to
each person going through."

"I will write to Astin," said V,
"and also to this Sphinx."

"That's the spirit!" Spalling said.
"Even if it's not exactly the same
for them, they may have ideas
that will help you decide."

"That would be useful," V agreed.

"Besides, there's one benefit that
you get just for looking at other options,
whether or not you choose to change
your paperwork," Spalling said.

"What's that?" V asked.

"The choice itself," Spalling said.
"Whatever you decide, your gender
will be your choice from now onward,
regardless of what your paperwork says."

"That," V said. "That helps."

* * *

Notes:

Sphinx is a codeworker of Other gender who uses the Elverson pronouns ey, eir, eirs, em, emself.

Sex and gender are complex issues. People are prone to argue over whether these are choices. Given a large amount of data with different clusters of points, a logical conclusion is that some people have far more choice in this regard than others. It is certainly true that we have more choice now than our ancestors did, due to the advent of options like sexual realignment surgery and hormone therapy. It is probable that the future will bring additional options which we do not enjoy today -- and our descendants will probably still be arguing over whether those are choices.
Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, gender studies, poem, poetry, reading, science fiction, weblit, writing
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  • 6 comments
rhodielady_47

rhodielady_47

July 27 2016, 00:47:48 UTC 4 years ago

Good poem--Spalling gives good insights.
:^)
ysabetwordsmith

Thank you!

ysabetwordsmith

July 27 2016, 01:45:49 UTC 4 years ago

I'm glad this worked for you. I like Spalling too. :D
ng_moonmoth

Such a well-chosen handle

ng_moonmoth

July 27 2016, 01:25:16 UTC 4 years ago

What could be a better fit for an other-gendered codeworker than someone with the head of a woman and the body of a lion, who speaks in riddles?

I face my own choice every morning, when I must locate the balance point between the external stress going out as myself brings, and the internal stress adopting a more normative expression imposes on me. Reading about people who have a broader range of options with less stressful consequences is heartening. Well done!
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Such a well-chosen handle

ysabetwordsmith

July 27 2016, 01:45:31 UTC 4 years ago

>> What could be a better fit for an other-gendered codeworker than someone with the head of a woman and the body of a lion, who speaks in riddles? <<

:D Yay! I suspect that it was at least partly chosen by coworkers who felt confused, but the joke's on them, because it really does fit.

>> I face my own choice every morning, when I must locate the balance point between the external stress going out as myself brings, and the internal stress adopting a more normative expression imposes on me. Reading about people who have a broader range of options with less stressful consequences is heartening. Well done! <<

I'm glad I could help. Yeah, navigating other people's expectations is a pain.

Over time, I'm encountering more characters who are either bifocal or fluid in gender. Salvo does it too, that's in a poem I'm currently writing.
technoshaman

Re: Such a well-chosen handle

technoshaman

July 27 2016, 03:12:37 UTC 4 years ago

Oooooh.

Though the main Chiara/Cuoio line holds more interest for me, Salvo - and C&C's reactions - are still... I wanna see what they come up with next. It's just *refreshing* when NT people don't freak right the frack out when somebody shows a part of themselves that is *actually genderfluid*... I mean here in the Lacuna it's kinda like Ed Murray ending up Mayor of Seattle... "So he's legally married to a guy... okay, what's his politics?" but T-America is still enough like L-America that you almost expected Cuoio to need calming down, but he's all, "Okay, so you need a nice dress? Let's go shopping."

YEAH.

This is what I like about the universes you've created. If it can be imagined, eventually, with enough effort, it can be made real.... this is hope.
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Such a well-chosen handle

ysabetwordsmith

July 27 2016, 09:09:42 UTC 4 years ago

>> Though the main Chiara/Cuoio line holds more interest for me, <<

Prompt as you see fit.

>> Salvo - and C&C's reactions - are still... I wanna see what they come up with next. <<

:D I'm working on that.

>> It's just *refreshing* when NT people don't freak right the frack out when somebody shows a part of themselves that is *actually genderfluid*... <<

Agreed. \o/

>> I mean here in the Lacuna it's kinda like Ed Murray ending up Mayor of Seattle... "So he's legally married to a guy... okay, what's his politics?" <<

Good response.

>> but T-America is still enough like L-America that you almost expected Cuoio to need calming down, but he's all, "Okay, so you need a nice dress? Let's go shopping." <<

That's actually T-Italy, but the same concept applies. One thing about Cuoio is that he gets very attached to people, especially now after having lost everyone he had before. Another is that he's a lot more flexible than he had opportunities to explore previously. He seems to think about this before reacting. Well, usually. Chiara still had to sweettalk him into the benefits of bedroom communication.

>> YEAH. <<

:D

>> This is what I like about the universes you've created. If it can be imagined, eventually, with enough effort, it can be made real.... this is hope. <<

Thank you! I may not be able to fix everything, but I am pretty good at describing a functional society when I see one, and identifying why it works better. If nothing else, people now have an example of how to handle discovering that someone cross-dresses.