He Refers To Cats And Dogs As “They” Instead Of “He” Or “She,” But His Supervisor Has A Problem With It
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If you didn’t know the gender of a cat or dog, what would you say? Would you simply pick a gender, refer to the animal as “it” or refer to the animal as “they”?
In this story, a vet tech is often in this situation, and he chooses to refer to the animals as “they.” This phrasing really seems to bother some of the people he works with including his supervisor.
Now, he’s wondering if he really is doing something wrong or if he’s simply overreacting.
Let’s read all about it.
AIO for my coworker correcting me about a dogs gender?
Context. I am a male, gay vet tech in California. We work with cats and dogs mostly.
Because of the nature of my position I work with virtual technicians who operate our advanced imaging machines, and most of my duty is monitoring anesthesia for patients while being imaged.
To ensure both my own and my patients safety we stay in contact with these technicians through text message mostly, because I can’t be in the room during scanning.
The supervisor shared a concern.
A couple weeks ago my supervisor and I were having an ordinary sit down check in since I am new to the position, and before we wrapped up, she admitted it was uncomfortable to bring up, and that we were very lucky to work in an area with such good inclusivity and acceptance, but it’s been mentioned that I frequently call patients they rather than he or she.
Given the preface it lead me to believe that someone was correctly assuming that I was gay, and then incorrectly assuming I was trying to give animals the autonomy by calling them “they” as to not misgender them.
I let my supervisor know that was silly and laughable and not at all what was going through my head if a call a cat or dog they.
Here’s a recent example of something that bothered him.
Brings me to the last shift I worked.
I was texting with a technician who happens to physically work in the hospital once a week, just not on a day I am in, so I have only briefly met them in passing. I text the technician that I wanted to step in the room to “reduce their inhalant”.
She immediately text back “His inhalant.” Followed by an actual response. Not to mention literally two text later after correct me she says “the neck is crooked” and not his neck.
Am I overreacting in assuming she’s correcting me because she thinks I’m trying to avoid misgendering a dog? And am I overreacting by being bothered by that?
Is it a big deal to call a cat or dog “they”? Let’s see how Reddit responded.
This person would’ve been petty.
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Another person suggests looking for a different job.
Here’s another vote for finding a different job.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a burned-out employee who finds a way to ease his stress with an extended daily lunch.
Another person shares their perspective.
The supervisor is being extra picky and so is the technician. He can either choose to brush it off and not worry about it or look for a different job. Apparently, the people he works with are extra when it comes to be picky.
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