I spotted this sign just a few weeks ago. It feels extraordinary in this time when the issue of gender grows ever more individual and personal that the concept of gender divides still exist. Thankfully the Pussyhat protestors already reclaimed pink as a power colour, but the either/or debate should surely be over.

But even he/she/them doesn’t suffice in the current climate. I’m on the brink of inventing a new pronoun that will cover all genders and fractals of genders – perhaps dot. As in: ‘Judy writes fiction, Dot has been published widely…”

Use this shift in awareness as your tale’s starting point. Just for fun, write your protagonist  with one gender in mind, and then swap to another. How does this deepen your own understanding of their character?

If you write or create something prompted by this, please send an email to judydarley(at)iCloud.com to let me know. With your permission, I’ll publish it on SkyLightRain.com.