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If Trump Can Rename the Gulf of America, Why Can't a Trans Person Adopt a New Pronoun

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As we've reported earlier, the Associated Press is butthurt that it's been barred from Air Force One and the Oval Office for not changing its style guide to refer to the Gulf of America, not the Gulf of Mexico. It may seem petty, but look at all the examples in The Associated Press Stylebook over the pThe Associatedast few years telling its reporters what to say and what to avoid. A couple of years ago, for example, the AP updated its guidelines on the use of “pregnant people” to make it easier to write stories about “people who seek an abortion.” "Except in direct quotations, do not use the terms illegal alien, an illegal, illegals or undocumented," the AP directed. 

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The AP thinks it's the only entity that can control thought by controlling the language, so it's no surprise they're butthurt of the Gulf of America executive order. Even Apple Maps and Google Maps have gotten with the program and updated their apps.

Someone at the Sacramento Bee had a brilliant retort: If Trump can rename a body of water, why can't a transgender person adopt a new name and pronoun?

Andrew Fiala writes:

But according to “ordinary and longstanding use and understanding,” the Gulf of Mexico is the name of the body of water in question. If the president can rename it by fiat, why can’t a person adopt a preferred pronoun or gender category in the same manner? 

Naming is often about power, privilege and control. A biblical myth says that God gave Adam the power to name things along with dominion over the world. He who bestows names also owns and dominates them.

There is a kind of royal or religious prerogative in naming, christening and dubbing. Elaborate ceremonies are required to establish names and titles, and make subsequent changes. We see this in weddings, christenings and other rituals. 

When power shifts, things are often renamed. The renaming is part of the point of acquiring power. The conqueror, after all, has the right to name what he has conquered.

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Fiala is correct — power has shifted. And apparently, the AP thinks it's been conquered.

"A better analogy for trans issues would be changing the Gulf of Mexico to the Sky of Mexico and renaming fish as birds."

We don't recall Trump passing any orders against "deadnaming." You might have to put your actual sex on your driver's license or passport, though.

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As many have pointed out, Trump hasn't demanded that its name be changed to the Desert of America. Whatever you call it, it's a body of water and no one has to pretend otherwise.

Other than that, great analogy.

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