I just came across one of my old essays [I called them "Thots"] on #Personhood, written on February 3, 1982.
"I look at myself and what do I see? I see a person. Not a girl, not a woman, not a homo sapien, not a citizen, not a statistic. Just a person.
I am wearing dark blue knit stockings, slightly faded jeans, a plaid shirt, and an old denim vest; and somehow, these things are part of me. I am not just wearing them -- they are an extension of my persona. Persona. Personality. Not girl-ality, woman-ality, homo sapien-ality, but PERSON-ality. Ah, at least someone out there agrees that I am a person and things that pertain to me are person-related. I like that.
When I 'am' a person, there is no pressure for me to think or behave a certain way. I can just be me -- relaxed, comfortable, happy. I also feel that my style of dress sometimes reflects this person-ness. At least it does as I am writing this [still true].
Also, being a person, I can also be whatever else I feel like being. I can be a feminine person, a masculine person, an eccentric person, a nice person, etc. The possibilities are endless.
Which would you rather be? A fixed label or a flexible person?"
cc: @autistics