Skip to main content

Please, stop using "transwoman"

I keep seeing this, especially in the crossdressing community, and it's wrong. Trans, and transgender, in the context of our gender is an adjective and, as such, compounding this with woman is othering.

Words are important. When we use something like "transwoman" what is being said is that we're not women, we're something else. No. I will be crystal clear: I am a woman. I happen to be trans and I am also tall, slender, red-headed, older, etc. These are terms that might describe me in context of my womanhood. I don't compound them.

This is just a short gripe, but an important one. It's critical that our trans umbrella not participate in creating the conditions of othering that gets wielded as a weapon by those seeking our harm. The world is already really, really, hard for those of us in transition. Don't make it harder.

Comments

  1. Absolutely! I am a woman who happens to be trans, the trans bit does not define me, it does help describe me.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

While you're here, you might like:

Finding Light in the Dark

Without a doubt, the times are dark right now. In a world that has gone mad with hate and bigotry, that is looking to devolve to a darker time in history, the question becomes: how do we cope?

Did you think World Athletics was going to do anything different?

So, today we learn that World Athletics has voted to ban trans women from elite sport competition. Are you surprised? The head of it is from the UK. Go figure.

Getting to Your O Face on HRT

I recently read an article on The Mary Sue on transfeminine pleasure  and I think about how little we really talk about this concept, as though we're not really entitled to it or something.