Week Fifteen: Response 15.2
I
n Julia Serano’s essay on the complexity of language,
what are some examples of LGBT-related words shifting between derogatory and
acceptable? Why is the
meaning/sentiment behind a word more important than the word itself?
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ReplyDeleteIn Julia Serano’s essay, she makes the case that language is complex and that words often undergo the “activist language merry-go-round” before being accepted in larger contexts. Some examples of LGBT-related words that Serano cites include the words “tranny”, “gay”, and “lesbian”. Serano goes on to explain that words themselves do not have fixed meanings that are inherently progressive or problematic but rather the intent behind the words are more important. For example, the word “tranny” has gone through many changes throughout history and marked as acceptable or not. The word was originally coined and used warmly among drag queens and transsexual women in the 60’s and 70’s. Serano recounts how tranny was often used very openly among the trans community, noting how she referred to herself as tranny and noting examples such as “The Tranny March”, “Tranny Picnic”, “Tranny Fest film festival”. The word was later co-opted by porn and sex industries to market trans women as sexual objects. Words such as “tranny chaser” and “tranny fetish” were developed to describe attraction to trans people. Serano describes how the word was later used to put down trans women and some cis women for performing or “doing womanhood/femininity badly” (as qtd by Hazel/Cedar). Some members of the trans community attempted to reclaim the word in the 90’s and ‘00s to challenge the compulsory cis assumption, only to be met with backlash including with the help of the invalidating phrase “hot tranny mess” introduced by Project Runway’s Christian Siriano. Currently the term appears to be one that no one should use ever and is highly controversial.
ReplyDeleteBoth the words “gay” and “lesbian” similarly have been used as slurs and self-empowering identities at different times in history. As Serano notes, most words that are respectable now happened out of sheer accidence. There is always conflict and debate around words and some words that are now considered adequate underwent protest and detest from others in the past. The word gay was utilized to mark others as promiscuous, prostitutes, and sexually deviant. The word was later used in disparaging ways to describe something or someone undesirable before becoming a self-proclaiming term. Moreover, the word lesbian was often used by sexologists before it was reclaimed by lesbians. When the word caught on in the mainstream culture, it was then stigmatized and applied to women who were not traditionally feminine and later to describe a genre of porn that was in no way related to lesbian identity. Currently both terms are deemed acceptable and recognized by public culture.
Serano concludes by stating that there are no perfect words that can apply to all members of marginalized groups, rather words that a majority of the population has accepted and used less often in stigmatizing and deprecating ways. Serano reflects how the activist language “merry-go-round” will continue in the trans community because there is still a lot of contention among what language the community should use. Unfortunately, trans identity and bodies are not fully respected or even accepted in our culture and therefore keeps trans-related labels to be viewed with stigma. Serano suggests that instead of eradicating all words that are used to invalidate trans existence, we should question and challenge people when they use the word in derogatory ways. Erasing trans-related words will only cause stigma to attach to other related words; only when cis people stop using the terms in deprecating ways can the language merry-go-round stop.
Natalie Y
Multiple words throughout the years have been cast down as unacceptable to use because of the stigmatized nature they have been used in. The word "gay" has been one that has gone around the Activist Language Merry-go-round multiple times, being a word that was inappropriate to one that was reclaimed and acceptable again. Most recently with the push back against gay marriage, the phrase "that's so gay" stigmatized the word again making it unacceptable until a few years ago. Not only the word "gay" but also the word "lesbian" and the word "queer" have gone from being stigmatized to being reclaimed and therefore able to be used again in every day conversation. The problem with banning words is that it places blame on the word instead of the person saying it. There is nothing inherently bad about the word "gay" but when you ban it or say it is unacceptable it is ignoring the person who has made the term negative and instead blames the term itself. People can make any word bad depending on the context they use it in and the meaning behind it. If we continuously just stop people from using certain words then they will just have to come up with new ones to say the same things. If instead we focus on the people that are saying the words and the intent they have then we can try to combat the problem. When people started saying "that's so gay," no one said "that's homophobic, you should really rethink your prejudices and stop insulting an entire community" instead they said "oh you can't say that word, it's offensive." Placing blame on the word as the offender is to say that the word itself is inherently offensive when really it is the people saying the word that give it meaning. Instead of taking certain words out of circulation, we should really address the intentions behind the words and what is really being said.
ReplyDelete- Sammi L.
In Julia Serano’s essay on the T-word she describes the complexity of the word since it’s been on the activist merry-go-round. After originating in the 1960’s and 1970’s in Australia, it was a word that was a form of affection between the trans community. It started off positive and was used self-referentially. In the early 2000’s the word started to become controversial but it was still reclaimed. As Serano explains, the idea of “tranny” was not seen as an insult. She goes on to say that during the time if people were going to try to insult her, the response would be, “yes I’m a tranny, and there’s nothing fucking wrong with that!” It used to be a word of pride. Even in the 2000’s the self-empowerment led to being positively reclaimed with events such as the Tranny Fest film festival and the Tranny Roadshow. As the word has gained popularity, and has shifted around thanks to Christian Sirano’s “Hot Tranny Mess” to refer to failed femininity, the word tranny is back on the path of being reclaimed.
ReplyDeleteSome examples of LGBT-related words shifting between derogatory and acceptable would be being “queer,” “gay” and “dyke.” All these words use to be used as slurs but now they are regularly used in non-disparaging ways by people who share those identities, as well as others outside of their community in a positive way. The way the words have a continual shift in terminology puts them in the activist merry-go-round. The meaning is far more important behind the word itself because it’s about the stigma. All the terms were once a form of unity between a community and are now about aesthetics of how a person looks. Serano goes on to say that the only way the activist merry-go-round will stop is when people stop projecting stigmatizing meanings.
-Sarah D.
In her essay, Julia Serano talks about the complexity of language and how there are many LGBT-related words that have shifted between derogatory and acceptable. She terms this the “activist language merry-go-round” because activists are often the ones who end up reclaiming previously derogatory words with the hopes of using them to empower instead of hurt. She mentions words that are currently considered acceptable, but at one point in time they were not. These words include “queer,” “gay,” “dyke,” and “lesbian.” She also discusses words that are not currently considered acceptable, but were acceptable in the past, and specifically focuses on the word “tranny” as an example of such a word.
ReplyDeleteShe discusses the history of the word “tranny,” and how it was originally coined in the 1960s and 1970s by trans female/feminine spectrum folk in Sydney, Australia as a way to unite drag queens and transsexual women. The word was used for many years as acceptable, and even empowering language for many folk. It wasn’t until about 2008 that the word began being used in consistently derogatory ways; especially in pop cultural representations such as Project Runway, which caused the word to be publicized and increased its derogatory use by people outside of the trans community. Today, the word is seen as an unacceptable word to use, both by trans folk and those who are not trans. Furthermore, the word has become triggering for many people who have had it used in violent ways against them.
Julia Serano talks about how words aren’t inherently bad or good, derogatory or acceptable, harmful or empowering; after all, they are just a combination of symbols. What gives these words power, are the meanings that people assign to them and the intention behind their use. Serano argues that in order to stop words from being used in negative and hurtful ways, we shouldn’t just stop using the words; instead we should challenge the meanings behind the words.
-Hyla R.
• The T-word written by Julia Serano is an essay that analyzes how LGBT-related words constantly shift from derogatory to acceptable and vice-versa, due to the way individuals who relate to the words use them and how outsiders may abuse them. However, not all words began as empowering identities and not all of them ended with derogatory meanings, which is a representation of Serano’s concept of “activist language merry-go-round”. Examples of terms that were once used with derogatory meaning were “gay” or “queer” and used as insults to make individuals of the LGBT community feel lesser than. Despite these words being used in order to belittle them, the community slowly shifted the meaning of the word by reclaiming and constantly identifying with the terms in order to gain agency in regards to their identity. Another example that is part of the “activist language merry-go-round” is the term “tranny”. The t-word was widely used by individuals whom associated with the trans lifestyle and practice until “allies” and individuals in pop culture outside of the community began to use it to belittle feminine and trans characteristics. The new derogatory perception of the word by society translated to how those who identified as that, and began feeling the negativity of claiming and using “tranny”. According to Serano, “Stigma is the engine that keeps “activist language merry-go-round” in perpetual motion.” Once people outside of the community begin to stop associating stigmatized meanings towards words used by minority communities, that is when the merry-go-round will stop. It unfortunately has not stopped for trans individuals yet due to the lack of representation and education of trans folks and issues. In my opinion, once the dominant ideology upon gender evolves and shifts towards justice and rights for protecting those who do not fall under the binary is when the “activist language merry-go-round” will come to an end.
ReplyDeleteClarisa G.
Julia Serano explores the “activist language merry-go-round” in her essay on the complexity of language. She specifically focuses on the word “tranny,” but gives examples of other LGBT-related words that have bounced from negative to positive within the community. “Gay,” “queer,” and “dyke” are all examples she gives of words that hold less negative connotations and are now frequently used in positive, non-disparaging ways. Before this, these words were usually used in a negative way. People outside of the LGBT community would use them as insults, such as exclaiming “that’s so gay!” referring to something that was negative or upsetting.
ReplyDeleteSerano goes through the history of the word “tranny.” She explains that a decade ago, using the word “tranny” to describe yourself if you were a part of the community was common and not offensive. The word became a source of pride, expressing that there was nothing wrong with being a “tranny.” She said she has used the word in various works in the past, but now if she used it, it would offend many people in the community. The word has gone from a source of pride to an insult.
Other words have remained insulting and have not been successfully reclaimed, such as “bitch” and “slut.” Feminists are attempting to reclaim these words, but they are too widely and frequently used as insults and carry negative connotations. This, however, stems from the intentions behind using these words rather than the actual words themselves. They are not insulting by themselves, but become so when people use them for the purpose of hurting or insulting another person.
Serano argues that the word “tranny” itself is not what offends the trans community, but rather the negative intentions behind it. Banning words is not the solution, as those negative meanings would just attach themselves to other words. The root of the problem is the hate and misunderstanding that so many people carry with them regarding the LGBT community.
Helen P.
Some of the examples that Julia Serano uses on the complexity of language that are based on LGBT- related words are words like “tranny”, “gay”, “queer”, and “dyke”. Serano focuses on the word “tranny” which is one of the words that has gone through many quick and dramatic shifts. The word “tranny” was used as a “self-referential” word amongst the drag community and the transgendered spectrum communities. Now, the word is seen mostly as a derogatory word or slur. She explores the “activist language merry-go-round” and acknowledges that “words that once had good or neutral connotations are now seen as problematic or politically incorrect, and vice versa” (Serano 1). Some words are successfully reclaimed like “queer”, “gay”, and “dyke” which are now used by both people who share those identities or those who do not and are used frequently in a more positive light. Words like “bitch” and “slut” have also tried to be reclaimed but still are used more as insults than anything else. Similarly, the word “tranny” like many other words were tried to be reclaimed by the people who originally used them. In the early 2000’s people tried to reclaim “tranny” through events like the Tranny Fest film festival, Tranny Picnic, Tranny March, and Tranny Roadshows but yet after many attempts it still proved to be unsuccessful which was highly due to the amount of stigma around the word. Both of the words “tranny” and “gay” began as an “in-community self-referential label” which were then warped and twisted into a derogatory term that people have now tried to reclaim “the very words that they themselves originally forwarded” (Serano 4). The intention behind words rather than the words themselves is “the engine that keeps the “activist language merry-go-round”. The meanings and intentions that people assign to certain words is what gives words their power and most of those meanings and intentions are done with the purpose to cause harm to minorities and other communities. Serano believes that instead of getting rid of words that are used to degrade Trans communities we should question the meanings and sentiments behind them.
ReplyDeleteGisell O.
In Julia Serano’s essay “A Personal History of the T-Word,” she talks about the complexity of language particularly with LGBT+ words. She points out how words like “gay” and “queer” get caught in an “activist merry-go-round” as people constantly worked to determine whether these words are acceptable to say or not. She demonstrates this point as she explains her own use of the word “tranny.” In the early 2000’s she used the word any trans person because in a way it destigmatized the trans community. Using “tranny” made it look as if being transgender was no big deal and that there was nothing to be afraid of. Later she refrains from using the word in favor of other words like “transgender” and “transsexual” to reflect the variations of trans experience. Around the same time, the trans community was concerned with whether the word should continue to be used as it had entered the mainstream and it was beginning to be used as a slur meaning as person “doing femininity or womanhood badly.”
ReplyDeleteSerano makes the case that it does not matter whether a word is ‘okay’ to say or not. What matters is the intended meaning behind the word being said. Words like “gay” or “queer” are not bad in and of themselves. What is bad is the stigma that gets associated with the term and, as a result, the stigma that gets attached to the community that identifies with the term. Getting rid of the word will do nothing to help the community associated with it, but getting rid of the negative meanings behind the word will help. If someone calls something or someone a “hot tranny mess,” instead of simple saying “that’s offensive” or “you can’t say that word” it would be better to ask them why that is an insult. I this way you address the reasoning behind the use of the phrase and can better address the stigma surrounding the trans community.
-Megan R.
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ReplyDeleteSerano’s esay primarily focus on a T word which was coined during 1960’s in Australia to unite the drag queens and transsexual women. The word itself was loved in the community because it was community created and also had non-pathologizing identity. It was very similar to word gay which was also coined within the community. But over the last decade, the word became a slur in the community as more people started to use the word in derogatory fashion. Serano argues that words don’t kill people but people kill words. Since, it is a minority community with in our culture, people are very sensitive to the meaning of word and how it has been used. Words like gay, queer and dyke were detested in the past but those word were able to reclaimed by the community as more people become aware of LGBT community. Words like gay and lesbian used to be insulting words but it was seen as self empowering word within the community. Words like” transvestite” is fine in UK but the word like “cross dresser” became troubling for some activists because it makes too many assumptions about a person’s life history and gender identity. Serano calls this phenomenon as “activist merry go around” where the words meaning are constantly shifted which makes the word unacceptable or slur in the community.
ReplyDeleteThe shifting of these words never end because of several reasons. The replaced word might be vastly improvement over the old words. Sometimes, the word changes even the replaced word is very lightly improved from previous one. Serno argues that “activist merry go-around” does not stop until the transgender identities and their bodies are fully accepted in the society. People would use these words in derogatory and insulting ways and it changes the meaning of the word. Words are tied to social stigma which often makes Trans people uncomfortable. T-word became a slur after it was used in mainstream in a negative and insulting way.
-Sesan N.
In Julia Serano’s essay on the complexity of language, she explains how LGBT-related words are constantly shifting between derogatory and acceptable because of the “activist language merry-go-round.” Some of these words can also shift back from being acceptable to derogatory. It seems as though it has always been a constant push and pull battle in whether or not society uses the words in a demeaning context or in an endearing context. Some examples of LGBT-related words that Serano states in her essay are gay, lesbian, and tranny. The meaning behind a word is more important that the word itself because of how it is perceived differently by different people. Like the word “tranny”, it was acceptable and endearing in the trans community until it became mainstream to mean failed femininity. The word “gay” back in the day meant happy. As time went on, the meaning changed to describe sexual attraction between men. I think it’s odd that society turned a simple word like that to be unacceptable. I understand if some people are sensitive to non-traditional sexual attractions, but I don’t think that the meaning of the word should have shifted to be unacceptable or frowned upon when used. In today’s everyday language, if something is deemed “gay”, I take it as the person using it finds whatever they’re directing the word at the mean that it’s a dumb idea or it’s not manly enough. Even though there is a stigma in how LGBT-related words are used, I don’t think that people should avoid using the words. What should happen is that people should just focus on finding non-LGBT-related words to describe what they want to say, especially if their connotation of the word is a negative one. Depending on the way the word is used and the context behind it, some people will take offense and others will deem it acceptable. The way the word is used can be offensive to people, so everyone needs to take into consideration how they want the meaning of the word to be perceived by others.
ReplyDelete-Katelyn T.
Some examples of words whose meanings have changed throughout history are “tranny”/ “transvestite”, “gay”, and “lesbian”. The world “tranny” started off as an intra-communal word to uplift trans women and drag queens in the 60s and 70s; essentially, the word was a term of endearment and held no malice when said. It then was adopted by the cis majority and was used in a demeaning way. In the early 2000s, “tranny” began to get reclaimed as an identity label and became somewhat acceptable to use. Recently, there’s been discussion about who gets to reclaim the word and whether the word should be reclaimed at all. This policing of “tranny” renders the word as derogatory and offensive.
ReplyDeleteThe word “gay” started off as meaning promiscuous or prostitute (being derogatory) but was later adopted by gay men (becoming acceptable). The word was picked up by the mainstream public where it became a derogatory term for gay men, as well as a way to show their dislike of something “that’s so gay!” Afterward, “gay” was reclaimed and it no longer had stigma behind it.
The word “lesbian” followed a similar path to the word “gay”. However, instead of meaning something bad from the beginning, it originates from Lesbos, Greece. After the inception of the word, lesbians adopted the term deeming it acceptable to use, but was later used by the public to insult lesbians themselves and women who weren’t conventionally feminine. The word lesbian was reclaimed by lesbian and became an acceptable word in the English lexicon.
According to Serano, words themselves don’t matter, the stigma behind them does. Both “lesbian” and “gay” stopped being offensive when the ill intent behind them was denounced by the majority of people. If people try to get rid of words due to the sentiment they carry, a whole new word would just pop up and replace it.
-Hector B