The term "ladyboy"

No, ladyboy is a term used to refer to trans women. And wrongfully so, akin to the words "shemale" and "tranny".

 

disgusting slur for transwoman. it's also infantilizing in the sense of boy. the only time I see it used are by transphobes and on porn sites.

 

Exactly. It's a term from the porn/adult entertainment industry, and is often seen as offensive.

 

Derogatory term for Asian trans women in particular. Same for she male and tranny.

Usually precedes the word "porn".

 

I agree with the others, It's usually directed at trans women, and is a highly offensive slur. Sad that some people can't see them as more than sex objects

 

I've heard it used on Thai trans women, but not usually in a transphobic context. No, it's just benign, unintentional ignorance.

On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most severe of curse words , I'd place it at 7 or 8. (To put things in perspective, it would be around the same level as "tranny" but lower than "shemale". Of course, this scale is subjective...)

 

Its a horrible term.

 

"Ladyboy" is usually used to describe transgirls in Thailand. I mean it's one of the things Thailand is famous for. They're so feminine-looking that a lot of straight male tourists are into it.

I haven't heard the term being used for anything else.

 

For me it brings to mind Thailand in particular. Either Thai Trans women or Thai drag acts (there is a popular touring troupe of crossdressing Thai men called "The Ladyboys of Bangkok"). I think its more a term used to describe performers in the entertainment industry (be it pageants, shows, karaoke, bars, escorts etc) but has spread towards Thai transwomen in general which is obviously not helpful.

The lack of distinction is probably from the fact that in Thailand the term "Kathoey" can refer to both transwomen and effeminate gay men alike. They are kind of seen as one and the same.

 

The first time I heard the term ladyboy was when it was the name of a documentary series made by a big British TV company....ITV or BBC maybe. I can't remember.

Anyways, it was about Trans* women, mostly Thai ladies, and their husbands, mostly British or American. I was surprised that they used it when I got older and realised it was mostly a derogatory term.

 

Used primarily for Asian trans, paticularly in Singapore and the Phillipines.

 

Yeah, what everyone else said. It's derogatory towards Asians trans and it's not a nice term to use :S.

 

It's very offensive, It's on my list of words never to call a trans person.

 

one of the many words that causes me to cringe whenever i see it on porn sites. you could fill a dictionary with the offensive words used to describe trans people. ugh

 

This reminds me of Japan's "Newhalf". Particularly a good 20 years ago, they were considered gay men who took being feminine "to the next level". Crossdressers and trans women were both called Newhalf.

Obviously this isn't true.. Trans girls are girls and feminine men are guys and they shouldn't be grouped together.

 

I remember seeing these programs not so long ago, on the Pick channel I think. I was also surprised they used the name Ladyboys for a series that was supposedly positive towards trans women. I didn't watch much of it but the only time I heard it being addressed was when one of the women said she actually hates the term because she was: 'A lady. Not a boy.'

 

As far as I know, the term did originate in SE Asia. But, since it came from non-english speakers, we don't know exactly what the original intent and translation was. What we do know is how the term has morphed in more recent years. I would be interesting to see exactly how it started.

 

This term also makes trans women look like fetishes .:dry: