Firstly, this video by TS Madison is severely NSFW, but she preaches many truths as someone trans who isn’t buying the anti-RuPaul schtick. She tells it like it is, that those who are moaning about this word or that are entitled, rich, usually white, middle class. And quite often they complain about being invisible (on highly visible platforms created by the likes of RuPaul, TS Madison, Sylvia Rivera and all their previous generations of sisters and brothers) while making those who don’t fit their mould invisible – the sex workers, other races, the freaks and queers.
And something I’ve said online many times, I’m really suspicious of those who ‘speak’ for a community, whoever they are, as if there was some vote and they were made Queen. Nope, never happened. I’ve actually read comments online where some MTF trans* are claiming that only THEY can get offended or use ‘tranny’ as if it’s some badge of honour insult, because only THEY can be victims only they in trans* or the LGBTQ have the pain and horror, no-one else. So, FTM, transvestites and drag queens and everyone else doesn’t count, huh? SMH. Reminds me of the strange reaction to Panty Bliss, when people decide they and only they can take offence and vouch for it, that leads to right-wingers calling a drag queen ‘homophobic’. Riiiiiight. You can’t own a word, especially one that means as much ‘transvestite’ as ‘transexual’ or ‘transgender’. And policing it won’t stop the hate crimes, at all.
Pure entitlement. I’ve always suspected a few of the MTF/gender queer have taken their previously male privilege with them into their new (or non) gender. (If not: why so few FTM or other non-binary genderqueer in this argument? Even Buck Angel thinks this is silly, especially ‘cisgender’ which I’ve never liked). Understanding or a privilege-shift even among minority groups as we sadly know isn’t automatic, see the misogynistic gay men for that one.
I don’t use ‘tranny’ anymore, even though the shift is fairly recent, previous generations still use it, and you don’t have to go too far back to find that it wasn’t deemed offensive or more of a internal community in-joke/pet name slur in the way gay men use faggot to each other now (see Trannyshack’s recent name change and Heklina’s post for one). And it’s sad that the drag queens, genderfreaks, queers and trans* used to stand side by side, in fact the dividing lines were and I suspect still are very blurred.
I’d be happy to expunge the word forever, and all the others if it meant that some take back their part in the community, but I suspect that won’t happen. This is why the upset over RuPaul, just like there are RadFem separatists like Julie Bindel who want the trans* out of the LGBTQ, there seems to be people in the trans* community who want the same…or are basically making it happen by pushing division between the rest of the community and them, as part of a historic issue (some parts of the community have always look down on drag queens and those who don’t fit ‘their’ ideas). But the bitter keyboard warrior types don’t get involved, aren’t visible, seem to criticise but not give positive support where due – that’s why I suspect the kickback over RuPaul.
In my mind, you only get the right to criticise a society or community by what you put in beforehand. If it’s obvious you’ve dropped out of that society, or want no part of it, quite rightly people will ask ‘Why are you bothered? You won’t take part? You personally don’t care about the community so why should it be all about *you*, why should we care about you in return?’. It’s a good question – I do feel this is symptomatic of Thatcher’s grandchildren, that millennials don’t understand what the social contract even was, as the neo-liberals broke it many years before they were born. They think the previous generations entitlement and neo-liberal Randian individualism (I can moan, whine, take but not give, not involve myself) is normal.
Also I hate to use the humour argument, because I know humour can hurt (gay jokes, rape jokes, racial jokes etc – had quite a few of the former) and it’s quite often the first defence of the defenceless, but I see no joy in those opposing RuPaul and others. I hope that isn’t true, but reading the Open Letter against Andrea James & Calpernia Addams’s support of RuPaul (i.e trans vs trans) I start to lose the will to live, and hope these people laugh on occasion, because it seems so, well, dour, colourless, serious, depressing. I’d understand if it was, say over the depressing attack of the two in Atlanta (oh sorry, that’s too ‘street’ for them), or killings of transpeople, but against their own over words? Have they forgotten that we win the argument through humour, love, and joy? Also anything that describes being called ‘hecklers’ and ‘shut-ins’ as an ‘Attack’ then want to shitcan the careers of those writers* has had a very sheltered and probably privileged life.
(* if you want to do this, posting an open letter with lots of names will not do this, nor outraged comments or social media buzz. Editors rub their hands with glee over such ‘outrage’ unless it’s obviously hate speech – which given these people are talking about their own community it can’t be – it just plays into the news cycle. Ignoring them works far better.)
I don’t think many gay men decided in 2014 to hate on the trans* community – again there is no consensus, this is a dysfunctional family, but again even amongst those who try and support all LGBTQ, you get ‘what’s your problem’ and accusations of transphobia when you question those trying to divide the LGBTQ. It’s tiring, and I find myself wishing – against my socialist principles of united we stand – that those noisy rude types would indeed go away and form their own splinter wing because they distract from the real dangers from outside the community. They do no-one any favours, not least their own part of the community – but they see it as their Goddess given right to alienate as much people as possible which leads to more unhappiness on both sides. It’s kind of a confirmation bias – ‘I’m going to act like an Emo wounded victim and lash out and upset everyone, even allies and friends. Oh they now hate me, so I’m right, they ARE ‘phobic!’. Twisted, but sadly in many cases true, in all parts of the LGBTQ and beyond. *sigh*
And I hesitate to even post this, not because I think anything here is ‘phobic or wrong, but the possible draining comments from ‘professional’ activists, the MRA fedoras of the right-on world, who think their speech trumps all others even within their own community. Sorry to tell you dear, it does not.
I’m not saying I totally agree with RuPaul, I thought the Female/Shemale section was definitely at best crass (but as Andrea James quite rightly pointed out, drag queens are supposed to be transgressive, like a court jester of old), but the other uses, well isn’t there something better to be fighting about? I would have thought the rise of the far-right and American and British Tea Parties who would probably love to put us all in a gas oven are more pressing, rather than internecine internal liberal semantic squabbles as Rome Burns. But the hashtag activists nearly always trade in the banal, pop culture, the less important but noisy. I wish they got as much annoyed about war, fascism, public transport or green issues as they do a few words, no sign of that though. I suspect for them it’s easier to fight their own, rather than face the rather more brutal opposition.
It’s like the 1990’s never happened…oh I forgot, this ‘radical’ hashtag generation doesn’t seem to know even their own history (they glaze over if you mention LGBTQ history, and seem by their actions happy to repeat it), even though quite a lot of it now is on Wikipedia and Google… :-/
Leave a Comment! Be nice….