'Tranny' as an offensive term

Yeah, it is... I'm curious to know when you've ever heard it used and it WASN'T meant insultingly...and please for the love of everything don't say a porn website...

 

Basically this. I've never heard it used in a non-insulting manner, so I treat it as an offensive term.

 

Think of it like this, if I started calling you a Bum-boy or whatever the australian equivalent slang is, would you think it respectful?

I AM transsexual in terms of that I am a girl and a boys body, but that's not who I am. I'm a girl, a woman, whatever. If you MUST reference it at all, I'm trans or transgender or transsexual at a push, but a tranny?

I'm struggling to think of how I might use that in a sentence and it NOT sound at least a little insulting.

EDIT: For the record, I want to add here that while I am a little cross in this post, I'm not cross at you! I'd rather you asked than just assumed it was fine

 

Yeah tranny is a slur, it's just that some trans* people have reclaimed it.

 

Growing up I heard the word "tranny" a lot...it was used as nickname for an automobile transmission.

"Tranny" has an obvious origin as a shortened form of "transgender/transsexual".

I don't think one can argue it's on the same level as "faggot" (which has as its origin a bundle of sticks used to burn gay people to death) or the n-word. It doesn't have a long dark history of being an inherently hateful and derogatory word as its origin.

Shortened nicknames can be certainly be used maliciously (and "tranny" often is), but they can be used endearingly too.

I think it's more comparable to calling a gay person a "homo", which is a shortened nickname for "homosexual". Calling someone a "homo" was a common playground insult growing up, and in most cases it is used maliciously, to dehumanize someone, like "tranny".

If someone called me a "homo" on the street, I would be offended, and rightfully so. If someone calls a trans* person a "tranny" on the street, they would be offended, and rightfully so.

If another queer person called me "homo", on the other hand, I would take it endearingly and humorously. (In fact I'm personally perfectly okay with being called a "faggot" by another queer person, when used in an endearing or humorous way.)

So you have some cases, like Ru Paul (a celebrity who is part of the trans* community umbrella), who uses the word "tranny" endearingly and humorously, rather than offensively.

 

Unless you're talking about your vehicle's transmission, then it's probably not OK.

I say probably because some in the trans* community apparently have owned that word, same as some African Americans have taken control over the n-word as a form of endearment/or whatnot (if I were to sing certain rap songs in public, I'd have a lot of silence , good thing I don't have any in my iPhone.)

So, in general, the rule is that unless you belong to the particular class of people, in this case the T of LGBT, only people who identify as such can use it without social stigma or offense, though even then, your mileage may vary; even if you belong to the L, G, or B, it's not acceptable. Of course I've never been to an LGBT event or bar or anything so this is based off of what I've read.

 

"I don't think one can argue it's on the same level as "faggot" (which has as its origin a bundle of sticks used to burn gay people to death) or the n-word. It doesn't have a long dark history of being an inherently hateful and derogatory word as its origin."

In the context of trans people I have literally never in my life heard someone use the word tranny who didn't mean it as something hateful or derogatory! I also don't know where you've got this idea that 'faggot' came from sticks used to burn gays, it certainly did come from a bundle of sticks but as far as I can find the word was in use hundreds of years before anyone even thought to use the terms for gays, let alone burn them. So, if you have a source for that it would be appreciated.

 

The word "faggot" referred to a bundle of sticks to set on fire. These were used commonly to burn sinners and heretics in the Middle Ages. When it began being applied to gays, it is implying that gays are worthy of being burned to death at the stake. Like the n-word, it has a very hateful origin and an extremely negative connotation is built into the word.

As I mentioned, if you had read my post, there are cases where "tranny" is used without the intent to be hateful or derogatory, the most famous example being Ru Paul. "Tranny" is a shortened diminutive nickname from "transgender/transsexual", it is often used to be malicious and insulting, but it doesn't necessarily have the inherently negative origin and connotation built into it. Again the most direct comparison would be "homo", a shortened diminutive nickname from "homosexual", which is often used to be malicious and insulting, but doesn't necessarily have an inherently negative origin and connotation built into. What matters with these words is context and intent.

This is usually the case with shortened, diminutive nicknames. A boy named Joseph could be called "Joey" by a friend in an endearing way, and then called "Joey" by a bully to be dismissive and mocking.

But usually the natural status of diminutives is to be endearing rather than mocking. (In other languages, diminutives are much more common. I studied Russian but then often had a hard time understanding Russians because they would frequently use shortened, diminutive nicknames for everyday things and people.) With "tranny", it is unfortunately currently the other way around, mostly used to be mocking. It's up to individual trans* people whether they would want to reclaim it and make it a positive word.

 

If you're not a transwoman, you shouldn't have even said that word in your post. It's a transmisogynistic slur, which can only be reclaimed by the people it victimises.

 

I disagree. Its the one situation in which that kind of word is acceptable, when its used for educational or discussion purposes. I won't stand for censorship of any kind; words are insulting when directed at people. It becomes absolutely ridiculous when someone is no longer allowed to say "[name] called my friend a tranny". That kind of use is neither reclaiming or insulting.

 

So because it's a shortened version of an acceptable term which you still wouldn't necessarily use outside of the right context, it's less offensive than faggot?

As I said, a source would be nice, because from my reading around faggots were indeed bundles of sticks, but as best I can see used to burn religious heretics, not specifically gay people. The word then moved on to being used for all kinds of things and didn;t find use on males until the 1900's. So as I said before, I find it difficult to see from this how one is more or less offensive than the other.

I must admit my ignorance here as I haven't the faintest idea who Ru Paul is. A quick good search tells me they are a drag queen. I don't know exactly how that makes the word tranny any better so you may have to explain that one to me.
Perhaps they use the word themselves, I don't know? Perhaps other people affectionately use it to refer to them? Either way, just because it CAN happen doesn't mean it isn't very offensive. You don't go around affectionately calling people 'the n-word' just because you've heard one guy say it affectionately to someone else.

Nick-name or otherwise, it is still an unpleasant word. I wouldn't appreciate someone calling me 'a transgender' or 'transsexual' unless a very specific set of questions came up, because frankly as I stated before, I'm not one of those, I'm a woman. Trans isn't some label that I like to flash around, it's certainly not something I want to be referred to as. So by that count, even the longer version can be considered offensive because it is a completely unwanted label!

---------- Post added 5th Jan 2014 at 12:41 AM ----------

Absolutely right hex.

 

Censorship isn't me saying you shouldn't use it. Censorship is being banned from using it. It isn't hard to say "T word" rather than the full version. We need to listen to the varying opinions of those hurt by this word, people who are actually victims of transmisogyny. I'm not sure how I feel about it used in quotes, but as I'm DFAB I don't have a useful opinion on this topic.

edit: If ElliaOtaku agrees with you, then that's fine, I'll stand down. I will personally never use such a vile word however, and I'd try to discourage others from doing so, as I've listened to a lot of transwomen talking about this.

 

You're forgetting that there's another side of the coin and the term is used to reference both transwomen and transmen. Yes, it's more commonly used for transwomen, since they're more known about, but it can reference transmen, as well.

Hell. One of the more popular guides on how to dress as a guy for FTMs uses the world tranny to reference himself and FTMs that are starting out. I don't know if this has been changed, but when I looked a few months ago, it was there.

 

No no, you say your piece, we're having a pretty shitty debate if your views are rendered useless by the mere fact that more than one person disagrees.

It is a horrible word, and if he had have come on and said "So, a question to all you trannies...how do you feel about being called a tranny?" I'd be right on side with you! But as it stands, I see no reason why when asking a question so as to avoid insult the word should be used. I know the word exists, but I would rather someone asked 'Is tranny an offensive term' and accepted whatever answer we give than they avoid saying it at all.

 

It's a shame someone DFAB used the word to reference himself. From my experience and reading, it's a word used to hurt transwomen, but I'm sorry if you've had those experiences.

I'd hope that and DFAB and cis white person who says "N word" rather than the full version will see the comparison and consider the adoption of "T word" rather than the full version.

 

I once heard a hate rap song targeting a Trans person and using the word "tranny" a whole bloody lot. It was the worst thing I have ever heard and it made Christ Brown sound decent in comparison. So yes, it's a awful word used by awful people to be awful. Very awful.

 

It's fine, I'm trying to tread carefully because I don't experience transmisogyny. I'd be angered if a cis person thought their views were as valid as mine about trans* issues, and I'd be angered if a straight person thought their views were as valid as mine about non-straight issues.

He realises it might be a slur by asking the question, I would have hoped he'd have said something like "So to Trans/Transsexual people out there, is t*****/the t word/etc an offensive word?" rather than what he actually said, but if you're fine with it, then I have no room to argue with you on your experiences with the word, when you're one of the people the word hurts. (...I hope that makes sense.)

 

You're assuming that I'm offended by the word. I'm not. If I'm offended by something, I'm going to say so. Quite honestly, I find the whole "[letter] word" thing a bit...Juvenile. It makes me think of children on the playground going "Did you hear such and such said the S word?"