My Esteemed Colleague

Veiled transphobia at work, feeling unsafe and not sure what to do Hey! I tried posting in a different sub as well but I think it didn't go through because of my throwaway account. I'm using a throw away because my real one ties to my work. I hope it works here, I could really use some advice. I'm in a weird situation. A new colleague joined and he refuses to use my pronouns or even my name. Instead, he refers to me as "my esteemed colleague". I confronted him politely and just said something like "you are my colleague and I hold you in esteem hence my esteemed colleague". It's bs, I can tell he's just a transphobic pos he calls others by their names. I'm the only trans woman in the office and it's really making me uncomfortable. I even spoke to HR about this but they said they can't do anything because "my esteemed colleague" is apparently not discriminatory. It's genuinely uncomfortable working with him because of this. It really gives me the creeps and makes me feel dehumanised.

A screenshot of a Reddit post from a transgender woman describing a colleague who refuses to use her name or pronouns and instead calls her “my esteemed colleague.” The joke is the exaggeratedly formal phrase and the poster’s mock-legal defense of it, making the alleged transphobia sound absurdly indirect. It is used as an ironic reaction to pedantic, passive-aggressive, or technically non-discriminatory wording. EN: A screenshot of a Reddit post from a transgender woman describing a colleague who refuses to use her name or pronouns and instead calls her “my esteemed colleague.” The joke is the exaggeratedly formal phrase and the poster’s mock-legal defense of it, making the alleged transphobia sound absurdly indirect. It is used as an ironic reaction to pedantic, passive-aggressive, or technically non-discriminatory wording.

• @eternalclassic / 43169 2023-12-11