A name is an incredibly powerful thing. It affects how we feel about ourselves, how others see us, and how we make our way through the world. If you go into a job interview and make a great impression, but your name reminds the hiring manager of their evil stepmother, then you might just lose out to an equally qualified candidate with a neutral name. Even if it’s not conscious on the hiring manager’s part, these subconscious associations have an effect on how we see other people. This is why some of us choose to go by variations on our given names, nicknames, or different names altogether. Everyone has a different reason why they’ve chosen a name, but what’s important is that we all respect it. 

In this story, though, one family member didn’t even respect someone’s given name. Instead, they had all sorts of expectations about what their name should be based on biased prejudices about their identity.