*me, answering a girlchild who asked:* yes, that [wild animal] is a girl! Actually, about half the animals you see outside are girls!
*Parents, getting visibly uncomfortable*
*boychildren, continuing to refer to the animal as a he despite my continued emphasized use of she pronoun*
*trans/gendie coworker, getting emotional as he realizes he is just as bad as the rest of the men in calling every animal a he*
*senior staff, annoyed at me for being better at our job than him*
*supervisor, watching me carefully to make sure I am not "rocking the boat" *
*girlchildren, excitedly asking me more questions*: how can you tell she is a girl? Does it taste good when she eats [food]? Is she strong? Does she live in [habitat]? I want to be a marine biologist when I grow up and study only girl animals! Is she a mom? Can I pet her? Does she sleep? Does she dream?
Does she know there is more for her out there? Does she know the world of men can easily be escaped by simply loving wildlife? Does she see herself in nature? Has she killed the mystic man in her mind? Does she know religion, even female-centered religion, was invented to erase the natural world? Does she know she is inherently a part of this world? Does she sleep? Does she dream?