All Nonfiction
- Bullying
- Books
- Academic
- Author Interviews
- Celebrity interviews
- College Articles
- College Essays
- Educator of the Year
- Heroes
- Interviews
- Memoir
- Personal Experience
- Sports
- Travel & Culture
All Opinions
- Bullying
- Current Events / Politics
- Discrimination
- Drugs / Alcohol / Smoking
- Entertainment / Celebrities
- Environment
- Love / Relationships
- Movies / Music / TV
- Pop Culture / Trends
- School / College
- Social Issues / Civics
- Spirituality / Religion
- Sports / Hobbies
All Hot Topics
- Bullying
- Community Service
- Environment
- Health
- Letters to the Editor
- Pride & Prejudice
- What Matters
- Back
Summer Guide
- Program Links
- Program Reviews
- Back
College Guide
- College Links
- College Reviews
- College Essays
- College Articles
- Back
My Name
Don’t ask me what my “real” name is
You already know my name.
Do not reword it and ask me for my dead name
It’s dead for a reason.
Do not whisper to others the name I buried years ago
It is simply not your business.
If you ask me for that rotting word
Expect a face of disgust and hurt.
You do not get to ask that of me.
It is one thing if it is for legal reasons,
But to whisper to others that word for the sake of simply doing so
That is inexcusable.
After you do such a thing and receive a reaction appropriate to your rudeness
Do not turn to others and act like you did nothing wrong.
You wouldn’t know the hurt of that word.
You wouldn’t know how it feels to hear something you buried muttered
As you walk past.
One thing you do know is that it is not a topic that requires your intrusion.
It is something that I keep hidden away from the world.
You do not have the right to dig it up and resurrect it
Then turn away as if you were not in the wrong.
Do not ask me for my real name.
You know my name.
Similar Articles
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
This article has 0 comments.
This is a common experience among the LGTBQ+ community. This happens so much to me and I thought I'd finally write about it. I am Agender, but many genderqueer people change their names. Some and most minors do not have the support of their family so they cannot change their legal names, but it is their dead name nonetheless. This piece is about peers constantly asking what a person's dead name is. Sometimes, the person even knows it and decides to make a scene. Usually something along the lines of "Oh hey (name) isn't your real name (dead name)?"