I work for a major retailer near a big city. Recently we hired a new kid named Chuck. Chuck is great. Chuck does their job, shows up on time, and is pleasant to be around. If you’ve ever worked retail you know not many people can check these 3 basic boxes. 

A couple months after being hired Chuck began asking people to not use him, he, bro, sir, etc when we referring to Chuck. Cool, no big deal, I’m down for respecting that sort of thing and I imagine it was super tough to tell someone let alone 30 plus people. Chuck is unsure if they are asexual or possibly even trans but knows they no longer want to be referred to with a male gendered pronoun. 

So this was fine at first but has been becoming more difficult as time has wore on. It’s a daily struggle to drop man, sir, and bro from my phrases and mannerisms. And I feel terrible every time. Chuck just gives me this look until I realize that I’ve done it again, which I then apologize for again, and repeat ad nauseam. 

I’m not alone in this struggle and it’s wearing thin on several others. I’m to the point now where I just kind of avoid Chuck and limit my interactions with Chuck. I’ve even struggled to write this post ensuring not to refer to Chuck with a male pronoun. I like Chuck, but I don’t want to deal with Chuck anymore. I’m also very aware that this is most likely even more difficult for Chuck than it is for everyone else. 

That being said, I’m tired of walking on eggshells around Chuck, it’s exhausting, and I no longer want to work with Chuck. I’m probably the asshole here. 