Guest Post: The T Word

I have read a lot on this topic, and my partner Phil wanted to write a piece of his own after one of our discussions. For additional context, I would also recommend reading Kate Bornstein’s piece, “Who You Calling a Tranny?“, first published in 2009, and this rebuttal by Quinnae Moongazer from 2010, “An Open Letter to Kate Bornstein“. It is certainly a complex topic, and a debate that has been going on for a while. I welcome anyone wanting to write on terminology and consent, or language and consent, to drop me a line! 

So I’ve been seeing a lot of back-and-forth discussion about the use of the word “tranny” lately, and debates as to whether or not it is problematic, and I really wanted to analyze that a bit.

I’ll give a disclaimer before I begin – I am a cisgender white male and as a result have a lot of privilege that certainly influences my thinking. Sure, I’m pretty pansexual, or at the very least bisexual, but I can’t claim to have gone through the hardships that a lot of my fellow LGBT community members of all stripes have. That said, let’s take a look at this issue.

I can’t claim to have never used the word “tranny” before, mostly before I knew people who were members of the trans community and began to understand the negativity that often surrounds that word and really makes it the slur that many feel it is. I, like many people, never meant any harm in it, I just thought it was an acceptable label, as it was the main word I’d heard used to refer to any trans-identified people.

I know for a fact that there are absolutely transgender people who have no problem with, and perhaps even prefer the label “tranny” but in my limited observation, they seem to be dramatically in the minority.

The loudest voices I see in the modern day advocating for the use of the word “tranny” seem to be those within the drag community, who have used it as a personal label for years. This, to me, is at least mildly problematic. These voices seem to be championed by RuPaul as of late, and I think RuPaul is a great example of WHY this is so problematic in this circumstance.

I have really really mixed feelings about telling a group of people “Hey, that word you use as a proud personal identifier is inappropriate because it offends me!” At the same time, if your reaction to being told that a label you use is offensive is to effectively reply with “Well I’ve been using it for decades, so fuck off” that is also problematic.

Ru themself specifically pointed out:

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And I think that’s worth taking a look at. Correct me if I’m wrong (please!) but it seems to me that the drag community has used the word “tranny” for it’s shock/humor value. That may have been acceptable in the past, but in the modern day it’s basically alluding to there being something shocking and/or humorous about BEING trans, which is, I think, why so many people are finding it so damn offensive.

This really is the most important point I want to make here, so let me repeat that – to all outward appearances, as Ru put it the “intention behind the word” by the drag community seems to be rooted in the shock and humor value it adds to their acts, which implies there is something shocking and/or humorous about being trans, and that is pretty clearly an offensive stance to take.

I am trying very hard to understand and accept this on both sides. Like I said, if the drag community wants so hard to use this label, I’m not sure if it’s right to tell them that it’s not acceptable. On the other side, if the TRANS community is saying the use of that word is offensive at all, I don’t think it’s right to tell them that they’re wrong to think that way.

This may be Ru’s intention, but this is also where I see them failing. I think the biggest problem with this whole thing is awareness. If Ru, and the drag communities reaction to this whole thing was more along the lines of “I understand your position, but it is a word we are strongly attached to. How can we make this right so we can continue using the word as we have been, but make it less offensive to you?” then things might be a bit different.

Telling a marginalized group though, that “this is how it’s been for decades, so deal with it” just does not seem to be a position that is coming “from a place of love.”