Is it okay for people to say "tranny"

Depends on the person. Some people find it another way to say transgender. Some find it derogatory. Personally, I find it derogatory unless one uses it for themself.

 

Most people consider "tranny" a derogatory term or slur for a transgender person. It's like calling a gay person a "fag" or a Mexican a "spic". Even if you're saying nice things about them, it's still offensive.

Do you get uncomfortable when she says it? If you do, you should tell her. She might not realize it's offensive. Many people of an older generation don't realize that what they say is hurtful because it wasn't hurtful when they were growing up. You don't have to make a big deal out of it, you could just say "Hey, [Dad's Partner's Name]? You use the word 'tranny' a lot. Isn't that kind of offensive?" And see where that goes.

 

Usually the term is considered to be offensive or derogatory.

 

Yeah I agree.

 

Tranny is connotative of an exploitative aspect of pornography and prostitution and is degrading because of it's background.

 

My dad's a mechanic, so whenever I hear "tranny" I always think they're talking about a transmission.

I'm not trans, so my opinion doesn't really hold much weight, but I'm not fond of the term. Like Kasey said, it has a less-than-stellar history.

 

The only reason it is ok to say Tranny is when you are referring g to a car transmission.

 

No it's not ok. I don't care whether the people using it are lgbt friendly or not. It's derogatory.

Personally, I don't understand the whole concept of people taking derogatory terms and using them to describe themselves like gays calling each other fags or whatever.

If anyone uses that term around me, I will quickly tell them I find it offensive and ask them politely not to use that word in my presence. If they continue, I'll just point blank refuse to acknowledge them.

It's like calling Asian people Pakis or gays puffs. Fortunately, I don't hear so much of that these days, probably because it was more commonly used among my older relatives. And then my mum goes on about how I should respect the elder generations. :rolle: Funny how nobody corrects the elderly for their lack of respect for other races and the lgbt community.

 

Tranny is offensive.


Like, if a gay person calls themselves a fag, it can slide.
If someone who is black calls themselves a nigger, it can fly.

However unless talking of yourself it is offensive.
A few notable examples of offensive words/terms:

Tranny, ladyboy, shemale, heshe/shehe, trap.

Most are pornography terms.

 

What everyone else said. It's an exploitative term, and is pretty offensive.

 

Personally, as my means of dealing with derogatory words, I feel that when I use it for myself (in a joking manner) I am in some ways taking power away from a person who would use it to offend me. I am more offended at being called a girl than being called a tranny. But that's me. Other people have much more traumatic experiences with the word and so it can be much more hurtful to others. For that reason I discourage other cis people from using it unless your trans friend has said they don't care but that would be between you and that person and you fully understand the weight it carries.

I will not use it outside of my friend circle because 1. I don't know if the cis people around me understand that it's a heavy word that can't be tossed around thoughtlessly and I don't want someone to think that because I'm not offended, everyone else shouldn't be and 2. I may be in the presence of someone who will be hurt by it and their feelings are more important than my dark sense of humor.

 

I've seen the word on pornographic websites and I'm always shocked because I thought/knew it was an offensive word.

 

It's pretty offensive, also reminds me of porn and fetishization for trans women's bodies

 

Exactly. This is where the vernacular comes from. It's a degrading term referencing transgender people as sexual objects.

I pair the word tranny with chasers, people who distinctly try to find transgender people not out of wanting to know them but as a fetish.

---------- Post added 26th Dec 2014 at 06:08 PM ----------

Exactly what I said.

 

No, it's almost always used in a derogatory way. When I hear people say it I always tell them not to.

 

it's a derogatory term, but in this case, ignorance may be an excuse. that is, until you tell him, "hey, you know that is a mean thing to say. you could hurt someone if you keep saying that." and if it is just a generational thing, he might stop. and if he doesn't stop, then you know he's doing it on purpose. my father used to use a racial derogatory term, and when I had kids I told him to stop, that I didn't want my kids learning that from him. He never used the term in front of them or me for the rest of his life.

 

I do think context is important... someone using the term and not knowing its literal definition, needs to be brought up to speed on the difference between Halloween revelers, transvestites, drag-queens, drag etc. and truly transgendered people. Transgendered people have earned the right to insist that society gets this definition correct!

I use this term very rarely and only amongst LGBTQ friends that I know well. Those that will know I'm not careless or malicious. Having said that, I might reconsider even using the word jokingly!

Do any of you believe it should never be used due to its historically loaded nature!?