Choose Your Own Adventure - Gender Edition
I've written a short little choose your own adventure program based on my experiences with presentation choice and outfit expression. Please do report any bugs to me. Thank you (:
CW: mentions of misgendering / negative implications towards pronoun correcting
UPDATE: I missed a choice and am currently updating it! It's still playable but there might be a few semantic bugs along the way.
Hi Emily, I tried out your choose your own adventure program, and the software was very easy to use. As for the experiences reflected in the CYOA, I kept going through, trying a lot of different scenarios (using the binder, correcting people) and it was very disheartening to not be very pleased with the result at the end. Something that was especially annoyed was after you corrected the teacher, they had the ignorant and tone-deaf response that everyone should be referred to as (they/them). It's very disappointing to have the feeling that hopefully it will get better and you will be called your correct pronouns and/or name. Throughout the CYOA, I kept wanting to give up, and that's what I ended up doing in the end. I didn't like feeling that I "lost" but it was also tiring to know that pretty much whatever path I would take, I wouldn't get the result that I wanted.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really cool program! It reminded me a lot of the "In the Dream House" excerpt, where it felt like no matter which option you chose it didn't quite go the way you wanted it to. Also the questioning of whether you should have done something differently and coming back to the pin and binder reminded me of that excerpt. You conveyed the frustration and anxiety that comes with using pronouns outside of the binary really well. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI love your program! I can tell you put a lot of thought into it, and it's so cool that you built it yourself. I really enjoyed the perspective of it. I had a similar experience to Kathryn, where I kept routing back to correcting people on my pronouns. It was really frustrating, and I think you showed that experience well, even through a program. Great work!
ReplyDeleteHey Emily! I really liked your program it's really neat and gives the "In the Dream House" reading we read a more digital and relatable feeling, like something specifically designed for teenagers and students. This was the first time I had asked myself some of these questions and I surprised myself a bit with the answers that popped into my mind first. It was a little sad and disappointing when it kept going back to having to correct other people on your pronouns. Great post!
ReplyDeleteEmily, Your program is really cool! I enjoyed playing it and exploring the different options that you included in it. When it came to the parts about having to correct people about your pronouns, I felt that I kept running into a wall because there were all these signs that were being given that would help them to use your pronouns, they didn't end up working and it made me a bit sad. I feel like the program helped me to see how you go about your day and how you navigate your gender expression.
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