Q&A: “I had someone who was a POC tell me [maverique] was appropriative of POC cultures…”
anonymous said:
This is probably a complex issue, so apologies in advance if I have to send multiple asks, but I’m white l, and recently I have been identifying as Maverique, it is the best way I’ve found to describe my gender and it sits very well for me, but I had someone who was a POC tell me it was appropriative of POC cultures and was basically just ‘white people taking it and making it okay to id as a third gender’ and, while I disagreed with them and it was very upsetting, (pt 1)
I know it is not my place to argue with them over what is and isn’t cultural appropriation. I’m not really sure what to do, because they told me it would be racist of me to continue id’ing as maverique and that I should use neutrois or something similar instead, but neutral terms aren’t really accurate for how my gender feels, and it’s not a absence of gender like agender is. (pt 2)
I’d figured I’d come to you, since you coined maverique and all, but in general i’d just appreciate another perspective on this issue? Because maverique is the best way for me to describe my gender, but I feel like it would be racist for me to ignore that I have been told it’s cultural appropriation for me to id that way. (pt 3/fin)
oh, anon…. i’m very sorry to say that you are but the latest of many who have found themself in this situation that you’re in. it is a complex issue, although not necessary in the way that others are presenting it as. this claim that white people identifying as maverique is appropriation of “POC cultures”, with inevitable references to “third gender”, is a common one. it is a claim that people have made since the day i coined the word “maverique”; it is a claim that in fact goes well beyond maverique– having most likely always been a thing within non-binary communities, used time and time again against any and every term / identity that has sought to distinguish itself from any and all connections to the gender binary.
this claim / accusation is so prevalent that i have already written a number of posts about my stance on this, both in regards to maveriques and in general:
※ anon: maverique kind of reminds me of third gender.
※ me: …yeah, no.※ me: …yeah, no.
in short, identifying as maverique as a white person is not appropriation and anyone who disagrees can come fight me. no, seriously. they are entitled to have opinions that differ from mine, of course, but that does not entitle them to police someone else based on their opinions. the next time someone questions your gender identity or accuses you of appropriating “POC cultures” by identifying as maverique, by all means do reference or refer them to any of my posts. better yet, literally point them my way because i am more than happy to disagree with them on your behalf as well as my own and i couldn’t care less whether they’re white themself or not. when it comes to maverique specifically, i am beyond Tired of people spreading misinformation,trying to talk over me or use my race as a means of justifying usage of one word over another.
actually, i extend the above to anyone who finds themself in a similar situation as anon, be it in regards to maverique or aporagender, etc. while i am beyond Tired of dealing with this issue, i also have zero fucks to give anymore and will rehash my feels (and links) at whoever happens to be on the receiving end of them. also, ain’t gonna lie, for whatever reason i hold out hope that eventually someone will actually have an original opinion on this topic rather than simply repurposing the same old arguments all the time.
