The headline from a recent Rex Wockner PrideSource post screams “Transsexual becomes mayor of Cambridge”.
What would you think of this headline: “Gay becomes mayor of Cambridge”? Now, I know that “Lesbian becomes mayor of Cambridge” does work, but that’s because being a lesbian denotes sex automatically.
At the very least, I wish he’d have written it as Transsexual woman, or Trans-woman. It’s frustrating to transition, go through all that it entails, only to be objectified and thrown in some “oddity of the day” category.
Maybe it’s just me. Some of this is definitely personal. A friend told me recently that “you’re at the top of a short list of the most important trannies in the blogoverse!” I don’t really want that. I want to be known as a PERSON, not an OBJECT. I want to be known as a writer and a blogger, not as a “tranny” or ” transsexual.” I want people to see me as a person, not a constructed THING. To me, when someone doesn’t denote man or woman, it’s like a slap in the face. You’re not a woman, you’re a TRANSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEXUAL! At least that’s how it feels to me.
Discuss?
- Excited
- Fascinated
- Amused
- Bored
- Sad
- Angry
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Marti,
It is kind of a mixed blessing, isn’t it? It’s nice to see that transsexual folk are elected to positions of governmental authority in some places, a thing which would have been unthinkable just a decade or two ago.
But on the other hand, each of us is so much more than “a transsexual.” I don’t spend most of my day thinking about that part of my life. (Well, it depends on the day, i suppose.)
This progress will happen in stages. It’s still salient when a transsexual person wins an election. In 20-30 years? Perhaps it won’t be, in which case it won’t be the headline.
Marti,
It is kind of a mixed blessing, isn’t it? It’s nice to see that transsexual folk are elected to positions of governmental authority in some places, a thing which would have been unthinkable just a decade or two ago.
But on the other hand, each of us is so much more than “a transsexual.” I don’t spend most of my day thinking about that part of my life. (Well, it depends on the day, i suppose.)
This progress will happen in stages. It’s still salient when a transsexual person wins an election. In 20-30 years? Perhaps it won’t be, in which case it won’t be the headline.
I agree with Marti, transsexual is an adjective, not a noun. And when society and the media uses it as a noun, they stop treating us like people, and start treating us like objects.
IMO, it is possible to respectfully use transsexual as a noun. Perhaps the PrideSource post was an example of that.
However, until the dominant culture and media changes to the point that everyone acknowledges that transsexuals are people (with the same rights as everyone else) and not things, I think everyone should stop using transsexual as a noun. It’s not [i]that[/i] hard once you think about it.