T O P

  • By -

AutoModerator

Thank you for your post, if this is a question please check to see if any of the links below answer your question. If none of these links help answer your question and you are **_not_** within the LGBT+ community, questioning your identity in any way, or asking in support of either a relative or friend, please ask your question over in /r/AskLGBT. Remember that this is a safe space for LGBT+ and questioning individuals, so we want to make sure that this place is dedicated to them. Thank you for understanding. This automod rule is currently a work in progress. If you notice any issues, would like to add to the list of resources, or have any feedback in general, [please do so here](https://www.reddit.com/r/lgbt/comments/rdazzp/almost_new_year_changes/) or by [sending us a message](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/lgbt&subject=Feedback%20on%20the%20new%20automod%20rule). Also, please note that if you are a part of this community, or you're questioning if you might be a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and you are seeing this message, this is **_not a bad thing_**, this is only here to help, so please continue to ask questions and participate in the community. Thank you! Here's a link about trans people in sports: - https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/shades-of-gray-sex-gender-and-fairness-in-sport/ A link on FAQs and one on some basics about transgender people: - https://transequality.org/issues/resources/frequently-asked-questions-about-transgender-people - https://transequality.org/issues/resources/understanding-transgender-people-the-basics Some information on LGBT+ people: - https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/quick-facts/lgbt-faqs/ Some basic terminology: - https://www.hrc.org/resources/glossary-of-terms Neopronouns: - https://www.mypronouns.org/neopronouns Biromantic Lesbians: - [LGBTQ And All](https://www.lgbtqandall.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-biromantic/) Bisexual Identities: - https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/article/understanding-bisexuality Differences between Bisexual and Pansexual: - [Resource from WebMD](https://www.webmd.com/sex/pansexuality-what-it-means#:~:text=Pansexual%20vs.%20Bisexual,more%20commonly%20recognized.) We're looking for new volunteers to join the r/lgbt moderator team. If you want to help keep r/lgbt as a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community on reddit please see here for more info: https://www.reddit.com/r/lgbt/comments/swgthr/were_looking_for_more_moderators_to_help_keep/ *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/lgbt) if you have any questions or concerns.*


Krynja

Those sound like they are terms from the '80s


BeNiceLynnie

I think it was the self-identification term in the '80s (maybe '70s?) for what we'd now call a non-medical trans person But I'm no expert and gender identity labels from that era are famously difficult to translate into modern vocabulary


Krynja

It was also a job description at the time. I remember seeing a program where a person was doing their real life trial. And during their real life trial she was working as a "female impersonator"


BeNiceLynnie

I don't know what a Real Life Trial is


Krynja

Before the doctors would write off on HRT or any surgeries you had to live as your preferred gender for a period of time. Usually one or two years.


random_invisible

Yeah, you had to prove you could pass before they'd give you anything


Krynja

Classic gatekeeping


sapphic_gworlboss

you're only trans if you can prove you are :"))


BeNiceLynnie

Thank you, I knew that was a thing but didn't know that's what it was called


Mediocre_Vulcan

I think they just mean it wasn’t fictional?


Aldaron23

I don't even know how they thought they were going to prove that. I was very confident at my trial, telling them truthfully I've outed myself and since go by a male name and live "as a man" for over a year now, which was enough. It just occured to me after I left: but what if I wasn't? Were you following me around? What could have been moments, where I didn't "live as a man"? For a second I wanted to go back and ask the doc: "But habe *you* been living as man during the past year!!??" XD


upper_camel_case

Yeah, even from before that. Like possibly a century before that. These terms are ancient


ParadoxicalFrog

Last time I checked, "female impersonator" and "male impersonator" were euphemistic terms for drag queens and kings... so they're giving you the option to identify as a drag performer? People used to sometimes identify as full-time drag queens before modern terminology became widespread, but this seems kind of... hinky.


Labecaque

I wouldn't mind seeing [more of this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uSqH31b1ao) in the woods :D


Ok-Heart375

Love them!


Fizgig22

I knew it was Pattie before even clicking the link! Love her!


RangerBumble

She spoke at the Oregon Governors Conference on Tourism this year


Milky_way_cookie_fan

Damn didn't realize that was a video almost blasted my class with sound


Stormwrath52

"A real life homosexual" is so iconic


UpsidownZZ

People in the comments were talking about boycotting the brand and one dude was like "uhh, who will I buy jackets from now?" lmao.


Sionsickle006

That was hilarious thank you for sharing that!


Celairiel16

I loved the skiing one she out this winter!


bigspersonal

At alyeska! ❤️


Celairiel16

I didn't know where it was, but I probably watched it 10 times.


bigspersonal

Oh wait no I think at Mt Bachelor


WeedFinderGeneral

Lol, I'm reading that like it's some sort of HP Lovecraft cryptid monster. Like "Listen dude, I don't know what 'Dave' is, but I just saw it eat a whole coffee mug in the break room".


VAL9THOU

Go in with an androgynous name without giving a gender and watch their heads explode


Sionsickle006

Reminded me of the old snl skit "Pat" lol


Proper-Equivalent300

Who did they date? Kris No, no, no! Before that! Terry (Always thought none of their business but pat will always win)


photogrammetery

The US Forest Service meeting someone named Stick:


Micke_113

A person with an unknown gender enters the interogation room -what is your name? Says the interogator -Alex


BurnTheOil

I picked my name because it’s feminine in spelling but neutral in pronunciation (Raye, from the singer). Last year I went to an interview and the first thing out of the interviewers mouth was “with the name we were expecting a woman (I’m r/mtfbutch). I shrugged, but chuckled quietly. I got the job, and a few months in I came out her (my now boss) and explained everything here to her. She turned out to be cool about it, and asked questions to better understand. She’s a great boss.


DustierAndRustier

They’d be put down as “unknown gender”.


Sionsickle006

I'm a trans male. Not a male impersonator so I'm picking male. The others don't make any sense


sj_srta

I could probably go with male impersonator but that's only because I'm a trans woman who isn't out at work lol (but seriously it sucks and those options suck too)


Sionsickle006

That's a great take for your situation! XD But yea...who they heck was in charge of the application pronoun situation? It's wild


Fizgig22

Right! I'm trying to get to the bottom of it to see if it can be changed or not.


mondrianna

It likely can be changed but it’s some long beurocratic process. At the very least, bringing it to people’s attention is a really important first step in order to see real action and change


AchingAmy

Yeah those are definitely transphobic


AspieEgg

I'm going through immigration to Canada and I've had to fill out the same forms for the FBI to get a certificate that says I'm not a criminal in the USA. I ended up looking up what the gender markers mean. The same forms are used by police and the FBI to do research on criminals. So the police officer who got the fingerprints would fill it out with one of those options. When used for regular background checks, only male or female are meant to be marked. Nobody would mark "male impersonator" or "female name no gender given" on their own form. It's meant for the police use to use in investigations. It's a bit limiting as far as gender goes, but I don't think it's intended to be transphobic. They may also just be older terms that nobody saw the need to update on a document that isn't used by the public much. I was told the best thing to mark is the gender that matches your government ID.


ThingFromTheEther

So male impersonator and female impersonator would be used to identify an individual as a criminal using cross dressing to evade the police?? Is that correct?


AspieEgg

Yes, that is how I interpret it. It should also be noted that the actual form that is to be filled out just has a box that says "Sex" with a single letter space to be filled out. It's in the instructions page that indicates that you should use M for male, F for female, G for male impersonator, N for female impersonator, Y for male name, Z for female name or X for unknown. The fingerprinting card in question is the FD-258, the standard fingerprinting card for police departments in the USA.


Fizgig22

Thanks for your insights on this - the options make a little (not a lot) more sense if someone else is trying to identify a person who may be "evading the law." In this context they were options in a drop down list that a new employee had to choose from.


AspieEgg

These forms can be filled out digitally and even done with digital fingerprints printed on the card. It’s likely that the fingerprinting company just copied the options into the software they use to print the cards. It seems like a pretty big oversight to allow the applicant to self select things like “impersonator” or “female name no gender given” though. When I had them done digitally, the fingerprinting technician just filled in the info based on my passport. 


mondrianna

Even for people evading the law it makes no sense imo. It’s already placing too much assumption on sex being inherently tied to gender presentation, and it doesn’t do anything meaningful to actually identify suspects. Aside from law enforcement being fundamentally white supremacist (therefore fundamentally transphobic because transphobia stems from white supremacy) it’s really silly to dismiss transphobia as “well it’s just how the system works.” Like yeah, that’s the point the system itself is transphobic.


mondrianna

It can be something police use in investigations and still be transphobic. Police use predictive policing algorithms in investigations and those are still racist.


NPC_Behavior

Yep, this. I would almost guarantee it being used in mostly or entirely transphobic ways too given the history of police and their relationship to the trans community.


Exilicauda

That's weird ive only heard of drag queens being called female impersonators (by themselves). Literally never heard it in any other context


Mr7000000

It's important for the forest service to know if you're a drag queen when applying to work for them. This is because if they run a background check and see your occupation listed as "slaying," they might mistake you for Geoff the Slayer unless they're aware you do drag. /j


the_sh0ckmaster

Are these meant to be third person descriptions, as in "suspect is unknown gender"? Or something one is expected to select for oneself? In either case yes, they definitely do frame it as "man pretending to be a woman" and vice versa. It's not even clear if "male impersonator" is (in their mind) someone pretending to *be* a man, or a male who *is* impersonating another gender?


Fizgig22

In this context, it was a dropdown list that someone was self-selecting as a new employee.


the_sh0ckmaster

Oh in that case it's 200% transphobia. And even in that context, what kind of impersonator *admits on a government form that they're an impersonator?* Spy, filling out their immigration papers: "Profession? ...spy. \[pause\] Wait, shit."


Even_Information9981

Unknown could be a valid option for the field, just not that use in self selection. It could be a mandatory field in general, and block progress if they were submitting prints with only partial information. Not good to show for self selection though


pastelpocalypse

oh thats so weird! i think female/male impersonator were commonly used terms for drag queens/kings in the 70s? somewhere around that time. and because of the widespread transphobia of that time period i would guess it was used indiscriminately for all trans people. but i wonder why they're using it here. its definitely super transphobic to use that terminology in this day and age. i guess its possible they're still using an old list with archaic language? but someone definitely should have changed it.


TeaBags0614

“Impersonator” sounds so unnecessarily aggressive


sarcastic-librarian

very sus


burritoman88

Wtf US Forest Service?


Fizgig22

The site itself is a third-party, but I've brought it to the attention of some colleagues within the USFS. It sounds like the third party contractor is also used for other government positions as well.


swagmieser_666

impersonator? that’s feels very transphobic


_Knucklehead_Ninja

Impersonating sounds like a spy… # INTRUDER ALERT, A RED SPY IS IN THE BASE!


Luke797_YT

A red spy is in the base??!


GoggleBobble420

They’re almost certainly transphobic. However, as someone who is mostly in the closet I kinda like the idea of calling myself a male impersonator. It makes me feel like an undercover trans person. Like, call me Agent E


dkrw

yes feels very much transphobic but i do kind of like unknown gender cause tf do i know


animexamber

They’re really transphobic. Why not just have Male, Female, Trans Male, Trans Female and Other? “Impersonator” sounds so rude..


flying_dogs_bc

Woah


moar_bubbline

Tonight, on moar_bubbline’s Gender: Unknown! No but seriously, I’m a trans woman, I’m picking female. Wtf is up with some of these options?


srslytho1979

I had a job where these were the options when I got my ID as well. It’s some antiquated federal thing that they really should fix.


DistractedScholar34

"Female impersonator", "male impersonator" I'm sorry, WHAT? What in the early 1900's cisnormativity is this?


Seeksp

My 1st thought in reading the post was that Villsack has a thing about drag but it's definitely - at best - fucked up wording but I think we all know it's much worse.


snowqueen47_

“impersonator”?? that’s transphobic as fuck


Decent_Ingenuity5413

Male / Female impersonator sounds like the option for skin walkers


SquidleyStudios

Yeah idk the context behind "male impersonator" and "female impersonator" but they sure sound transphobic to me, it's definitely not up to date with respectful language at the very least


timvov

I’m failing to think of any way the impersonator ones could not be transphobic….as a biometric for background check especially


corvus_da

What the actual fuck


sla_vei_37

I am going to go against most people here and say it probably an old document that never got updated. I don't think there is a lot of people working or wanting to work for the forest department, so I would say it is not unlikely they still use the same forms from 50 years ago. I could be totally wrong tho.


Fizgig22

The USFS employs around 30k people full time and that can increase by 50% for seasonal workers each year. The form is from a third-party fingerprinting/background check service that other federal agencies also use.


Freakears

The “male/female impersonator” terms sound transphobic as hell. A bit less so but still transphobic are the “name no gender given” options. To say nothing of the binary nature of all of these.


GoatsWithWigs

As a femboy, I GUESS female impersonator would fit me, but it shouldn't be conflated with being trans. Very strange to ask if someone is an "impersonator"


shakethedisease666

the term "impersonator"...... I got called a "male impersonator" AND "woman impersonator" several times in the past few years. I hate the term personally, makes my existence feel like a joke.


mylesaway2017

male/female impersonator is not a gender.


superfastscyphozoa

Yeah I got a male name but unfortunately my parents didn’t give me a gender. Kind of sucks but that’s just the way it is


TheArmitage

Agree with the other commenter that "impersonator" refers to drag, not trans folks. That said, I'm pretty sure Forest Service uses Fieldprint. What was this check for? Do you have a copy of the form?


Fizgig22

It was a background check/fingerprinting - I don't have the form (it was also done online), it was a colleague who recently switched jobs and brought this to my attention.


TheArmitage

Found the original source for this language! It's from a biometric database built by the FBI, and a few placed match it to take advantage of the database. (The contractor US Forest Service uses that does this is apparently Biometrics4ALL, ironically.) The original source document (which is about 20 years old) does in fact confirm this is referring to drag.


CentSG2

It seems very dated rather than actively malicious. I work with medical data for a living, and the database I primarily use called its race variable “color” until something like 2005. It’s impressive what kinda behind the scenes shit falls through the cracks.


karigan_g

they went from don’t ask don’t tell to ‘tell us if you’re a crossdresser of drag artist’ eta: oh I just saw ‘forest services’ instead of the armed services I thought I saw lmao. forgive me I just woke up


commercial-frog

my guess is that they were progressive in the '80s or smth when they wrote the forms and no one has bothered to change them


WesternFenceLizard

As FTM, I’m pressing that “male” button. I’m not sorry that your data is now fucked.


thatAintBro_

yeah the “impersonator” parts are weird af


Adogaja

Um... impersonator sounds a little...


AdThat328

Female and male impersonator can be a job title...but...gender? 


smallest_potato

I would just say male at that point as a trans man (if I didn't nope out all together). That's really fucking uncomfortable.


wander-to-wonder

What do they list if someone has a gender neutral name?


JamieBiel

Being generous to a fault, it could be that they set up gender options forty years ago and now they are stuck with the terms, but have to use them to show they are complying with hiring policies.


trainercatlady

Wtf


BucketListM

I mean, worst comes to worst? Ask your boss/whoever hired you "what do these mEAN???"


gothiclg

This screams “straight people doing their best to be inclusive without completely understanding the community they intend to include”. I get we’re not aliens or anything but some people do try to get it and struggle


antlermagick

nah, 'impersonator' feels like a very deliberate term to me. it's transphobic, either on purpose or copied from something else


gothiclg

The word impersonator tells me one of two things: the person who wrote the form is over 60 or they were looking to make it easier to understand by older people. My great grandfather liked to dress in drag to entertain kids and annoy my great grandmother, every family member that remembers his drag queen era would call him a female impersonator and not a drag queen. Language changes but it doesn’t mean it’s offensive


keirarine

That’s fucked up tbh


kyon_designer

Male and female impersonator sound very odd. I do like "unknown gender" though, sounds like a legendary pokemon.


Noah_the_blorp

There could be a person with a neogender relating to the Pokemon Unknown. They would literally be unknown gender, but they know their gender.


ashetastic666

these most definitely seem weird and outdated


rententchalk

This makes me mad.


Kendall_Raine

So basically you can be male, female, a drag queen/king, or you don't know your gender. Yeah, you're right, those being the only options is kinda weird.


RealJohnMcnab

It sounds like a very old form that hasn't been updated.


bigbellysmalldick

Some straight cis person with zero LGBT friends or family was probably elected to script or word this cuz theyre they're the bi ggest fan of drag race in the locale. /S (kinda}. F,/M impersonator, isn't that what some pro queens call their role as an entertainer sometimes?


Lobomizer

I mean if they're finger printing you and all that they probably found ya doing something you shouldn't like hooking up in the bathroom, could see that terminology being adopted or something for those types of things


Lobomizer

Or wait background checks.... so to work for em.... yeah that's a bit problematic, could see it having just getting copied over from the possible crime fingerprinting if they had that first but otherwise yikes


luxiphr

the fuck


MangOrion2

The Forest Service fired an openly trans employee a while ago over a post with a gun in it (in response to someone posting with a gun threatening trans people) so I'm guessing maybe they're trying to deter other trans people from working for them.


HarmoniaTheConfuzzld

Probably super outdated.


lordkemosabe

I suspect that they are just reallyyyyyy old terms that they can't change for one reason or another. Something to keep in mind with government entities it's that most of them have very little control over the way they do things. Much of governmental bureaucracy is codified and not just the result of individual policy. Transphobic? Maybe. It could be that at the time they would've been progressive terms and now they're stuck with it until someone complains to their congressperson. Unless the words aren't defined by the forest service and are the company's that does the processing, in which case again could just be really old words but probably far easier to change.


Fizgig22

Yeah, the options are defined by the third party service and not USFS.


UnikittyBomber

That's the government. It's had to be as literal as possible, so there are no misunderstandings. Impersonator is quite dry, and does feel transphobic, but it's more so that they know exactly what type of person you are, what PPE you will need, what size/weight you will be likely to carry/handle, how long your endurance is, and what will be necessary if you are injured. Think about it like creating a D&D character - different classes, by default, can carry/handle/equip things specific to their class, but they can often be modded. Reality is similar. Different bodies, by default, do/carry/handle/require different things. That said, any person can be modded. The government just doesn't like mods as it makes ordering, budgeting, and healthcare complicated.


Tastyravioli707

Finally gender options for alternates


No_Number4035

They are trying to be as inclusive as possible 😂


Sensitive_Monitor725

Male/female impersonator sounds like a slur for terminators 💀


Boat_Mountain

impersonator? idk man that seems odd to me


0wlmann

Well, I guess I'm an unknown now 


Jupiter0000000

Sounds definitely transphobic to me


EvilKatie

As an enby drag performer I fit into four groups! • unknown gender • Male impersonator • Female impersonator • female name, no gender given


LilyGranger123

Why do I find the male and female impersonator pathetically funny? Like playing a game of Among Us and you have to figure out who the trans person is.


Mysterious_Credit699

Yeah, they should probably update those to not that, also if I'm gonna be called a "male impersonator" I'm going to feel like an alternate from the Mandela catalog


BBThHvnlyFlwr

Yea.. they do..


IGenuinelyHaveNoClue

In my opinion we should just stop caring about whether you're male or female as a trans person. It seems like it confuses cis people to no limit. Maybe we should just go by the biological names of the body types. That means like "XX", "XY", "XXY" and such. Which would make me as a trans woman, a woman with an XY body type since I was born male(XY).


lilijane17

Do you know what your chromosomes are tho?


IGenuinelyHaveNoClue

What do you mean?


StoverKnows

Congress. Blame Congress. It was likely buried in some bill back during Obama's presidency, or older, and has never been updated.


sesquipedalias

clearly, they forgot dragon and mermaid; otherwise the list is fine


morningglory_catnip

Is there a fill in blank? Just write in “Apache attack helicopter”


HastyGoblins

I'm personally insulted that they don't have fae/faeself, or tv/staticself.