BBC Torchwood Podcast

get it while the getting's good! It's pretty cool. :-) 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/bigbang/torchwood.shtml

on the word 'tranny'

For a very long time, I've been really uncomfortable with the word 'tranny'. I've had a hard time articulating why. Here's an article that does so brilliantly: http://www.bilerico.com/2008/09/is_tranny_offensive.php 

Basically, the word is equivalent to 'she-male'. That captures it exactly. And that heritage also explains why when I hear a number of young trans guys (meaning, not long in trans community and/or young in number of years lived) using the word to describe themselves ("I'm a cranky tranny today") or others, I cringe. They don't have any experience of the word before the last five years, so they don't share the connotations. I on the other hand do recall seeing/hearing that word used to describe trans women in non-complementary (and generally dehumanizing) ways.

And yet it's also not quite that simple. For those who don't have the historical connection, it's just an easy-to-use word that gets a lot of information across; and a main piece of what it gets across is that the speaker (as in the guy speaking above) doesn't ID as a cis-gender person; that being trans is part of how they see themselves. And that I certainly can't and wouldn't want to argue with.

If anything, I think the new usage of the word is a useful addition to the transgender post-modern world (or whatever ya wanna call it). Yea for ease with and celebration of a trans identity! I am uncertain if it would be a kind/useful/friend thing to bring up the history to these new trans guys.  

Of course, I also think some of us use that word to mean 'not enough'; "I'm just a tranny, and therefore by definition my sexual equipment isn't good enough". It's really tough to deal with that point of view. I'm old enough to still find it in myself. I'm working to see it as "I am more aware of all the options I have! How cool!' instead. But it ain't always easy.

As a final note, there an awful lot of people with trans experience who do not have trans as part of their identity, or for whom it is a very small part. The 'old guard' if you will (LOL).  

Somehow, I never have clean conclusions when I post about trans stuff.