@Maenad yeah pronouns obviously have a huge effect. honestly this experience has made me realize *how little* pronouns get used in common speech when the person in question is present. whenever I hear "she" i get this little burst of euphoria, and whenever I hear "he" i feel like shit. but neither are particularly common.
honestly i just hope that people are gendering me correctly when i'm not around, but there's nothing i can do about that.