Poll of the Day > Would you kindly answer 3 questions based on this scenario

(+) Yeah! (+)

Scenario:
Chad knows nothing about Brad.
Chad and Brad both know Susan.
Before an introduction Susan tells Chad that Brad is transgender.
Chad thinks that he would extend a courtesy to Brad by treating him according to his preferred gender.
Brad is insulted and Susan is shocked by Chad's behavior.

A failure of communication took place somewhere within this scenario.

Question 1:
Where did the failure of communication take place?

Question 2:
Who is responsible for the failure of communication?

Question 3:
If Susan is also transgender does that change the dynamic of the scenario?

Inspired by discussion in this topic:
earthworm jim creator insults transgender writer on twitter
https://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/3-poll-of-the-day/75638296
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The true answer is both Susan and Brad who may or may not be the same person are whiny millennials trying to build victim cred since victim currency is at an all time high.
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Q1. You shouldn't treat people by gender but just as people.

Q2. Susan brought gender into it and Chad acted upon it. Brad should also stop being a little bitch. It's everyone's fault.

Q3. No. Refer to Q1 for thoughts.
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Q1: If you are going to make a big deal of someones gender preference, you might also want to mention how they want to be addressed, otherwise don't bring it up at all.
Q2: Based on the information supplied, Susan. As for the fallout, Susan and Brad-Susan should explain the conversation she had in advance with Chad, thus explaining his actions and Brad should chill out, that's going to happen more than once because it turns out ppl aren't psychic.
Q3: No, if anything she should have known better from personal experience on how to handle this as she would be more sensitive to it from personal experience.

To anyone about to complain about Chad, keep in mind he did the thing that he understood to be respectful based on the information he was given by someone that knew Brad. The only reason there was a problem is because it seems like everyone needs to come with their trigger warnings printed on their t-shirt these days because ppl aren't psychic.
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Lokarin posted...

The true answer is both Susan and Brad who may or may not be the same person are whiny millennials trying to build victim cred since victim currency is at an all time high.

I don't have that on my answer sheet, but I will accept it as correct none the less.
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Susan should not out Brad. That's basically it, unless Brad looks like a woman and gets butthurt easily. Then it's just being prepared.
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Susan should've been clear on MtF/FtM status.
Susan is responsible.
Who Susan is is irrelevant.

Brad should stop whinging, particularly when everybody meant well.
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TheCyborgNinja posted...

Susan should not out Brad.

Would it be better if Chad was left uncertain and accidentally mispoke or was walking on eggshells?

Susan wants both friends to get along so she's going to keep everyone in the know so everything stays amicable.
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SKARDAVNELNATE posted...

Where did the failure of communication take place?

I am assuming brad was born a girl and now presents as a guy, and chad is treating him like a girl because he thinks brad is a guy transitioning into a girl.

SKARDAVNELNATE posted...

Who is responsible for the failure of communication?

Susan, it wasn't her information to share. Brad is brad, doesn't matter if he is trans.

SKARDAVNELNATE posted...

If Susan is also transgender does that change the dynamic of the scenario?

No, it still wasn't her place to share that info.
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Okay, this topic is dead so I will give my thoughts on why it was created.

In the previous topic I described how in effective communication the gender of an individual is agreed upon by two observers. In this example the gender of Brad is observed by Susan and Chad. If Susan and Chad agree on Brad's observable gender then Brad's preferred gender is counter to observation.

Brad = A
Observation = B
Preference = C

A = B =/= C

However, Susan could have been using Brad's preferred gender and changing Chad's initial impression.

A =/= B = C

Brad could have also applied the logic for either case to the wrong one.

A = B = C
- or -
A =/= B =/= C
Thus, A = C

I was expecting at least one comment that the failure of communication was mine in giving a vague description of the scenario. Being vague here means the reader has to fill in details by making assumptions just as Chad has to.

One of those assumptions is that each character acted in good faith to make this introduction comfortable for the others involved. For Chad that means complying with what he thinks is Brad's preference. For Susan that means conveying Brad's preference to Chad. And for Brad that means not making their gender an issue right away. However that doesn't mean any of these assumptions are true and either character could be interpreted differently. Chad might not be so courteous despite what he had intended. Susan might not be so supportive of Brad's preferences. And Brad might not be so patient with others.

There are other avenues for answering the questions but in my mind they're about what Susan said to Chad, and how he acted on this information. Brad could be either a given or preferred name. Their name could align with, or be counter to, the the preferred gender of the individual. In speaking about Brad, Susan could have used either preferred or observable descriptors.

It is up to the reader to determine which is the most effective means of conveying ideas about Brad. Based on this Chad could have been expected to follow Susan's lead in how to address Brad, or how Susan addresses Brad could change when Brad is present. For this scenario either of these assumptions ultimately turns out to be wrong. To me the failure of communication is because someone did not follow the the premise of agreed upon observation. The assumptions made up to this point would determine who that was.

In the 3rd question I wanted to know if people thought this would change one of the earlier assumptions. This might make Susan more likely to use Brad's preference, or experience might have informed Susan to avoid doing so. Knowing this might change Chad's understanding of how Susan conveys information about gender.
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SKARDAVNELNATE posted...

Question 1:
Where did the failure of communication take place?

Between Susan and Brad.

SKARDAVNELNATE posted...

Question 2:
Who is responsible for the failure of communication?

Brad should have said if the information given to Susan was in confidence or not.

SKARDAVNELNATE posted...

Question 3:
If Susan is also transgender does that change the dynamic of the scenario?

Nope. Different people feel different about different things regardless of if their gender is the same.
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