No more "You've got she-mail"

[anaraqueen.livejournal.com]

Over the past several weeks, popular reality show "RuPaul's Drag Race" landed itself in hot water over the use of terms some activists claimed were transphobic or disrespectful to transgender people.

During a mini-challenge on the show titled "Female or She-male," contestants were asked to identify whether a photo showed a cisgender (non trans) woman or a former "Drag Race" contestant after viewing a cropped portion of the photo. Some transgender people claimed that the segment was transphobic, as "she-male" is considered by many to be a violent word used against trans bodies and lives.

Following an initial statement regarding the use of the word posted after the segment aired, "RuPaul's Drag Race" and Logo TV are now making a huge change to their programming in order to address the allegations of transphobia.

A new statement sent to The Huffington Post by Logo reads:

We wanted to thank the community for sharing their concerns around a recent segment and the use of the term 'she-mail' on Drag Race.

Logo has pulled the episode from all of our platforms and that challenge will not appear again.

Furthermore, we are removing the 'You've got she-mail' intro from new episodes of the series.

We did not intend to cause any offense, but in retrospect we realize that it was insensitive. We sincerely apologize.

Earlier this month, The Huffington Post reached out to two former contestants on the show that later came out as transgender to seek their perspective surrounding the controversy. Transgender model Carmen Carrera responded with a statement she made on her Facebook, claiming, "Drag Race should be a little smarter about the terms they use and comprehend the fight for respect trans people are facing every minute of today. They should use their platform to educate their viewers truthfully on all facets of drag performance art."

Transgender former contestant Monica Beverly Hillz also told The Huffington Post that she found the use of the term "not cute at all" and that "people don't understand the daily struggle it is to be a transgender woman."
(source)

Comments

[kapvik.livejournal.com]

One wonders if Carmen and Monica are just being bitter because they didn't win. Anyone who watches the show should know that it is the opposite of transphobic, and more often than not has been a platform for its trans contestants for their stories and issues that they otherwise probably would never have had.

I attribute this to plain old oversensitivity. The lovely Our Lady J wrote an excellent piece here (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/our-lady-j/rupauls-drag-race_b_5148719.html?utm_hp_ref=tw) concerning this.

[keeper-of-stars.livejournal.com]

I find it interesting that you bring up Carmen and Monica. I find it even more interesting that Porkchop and Sonique weren't mentioned in the article. I don't know about Porkchop, but Sonique tweeted about this today. Among other things, she said, "@RuPaul I was never offended by your show. Not everybody has the same sense of humor. I openly think #yougotshemail is brilliant. Xoxoxoxo" And.... she ended up being attacked for it. I wish that they'd included her point of view as well. After all, she was the first to come out as transgendered on Drag Race.

That article is a very interesting read. Thank you for posting it.

[kapvik.livejournal.com]

Among other things, she said, "@RuPaul I was never offended by your show. Not everybody has the same sense of humor. I openly think #yougotshemail is brilliant. Xoxoxoxo" And.... she ended up being attacked for it.

Okay, that is messed up. Sonique is right; it's a harmless little pun, and she of all people would know how hard it is to be a trans woman and how this show treats trans individuals (the answer being, "nicely"), since as mentioned she was the first to come out as such on the show. I'm livid that Sonique was attacked for being sensible.

And particularly since Porkchop is older and (I would think anyway) seems less hypersensitive to bullshit, I would like to hear her point of view as well.

I'm just glad people like Our Lady J and Sonique (and Pandora, from whom I actually found out about all this in the first place) are speaking up about how much crap this whole affair is. There are more than enough real problems in the world to worry about without needling our own people about nonsense.

[keeper-of-stars.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was very upsetting to see. I read over some of the tweets, but gave up. They got pretty nasty.

I totally agree. When I first heard about it, I wondered about how Sonique must feel about it, given that she's trans and came out on the show. I had to smile about her comment about people not having a sense of humor. I can see where the term can be hurtful, but in the case of she-mail, it was just a pun. I must admit, I side-eyed Female/She-Male a bit, but the "she-mail" never bothered me.

Honesty, this is a case of people being overly sensitive. This is such a small thing to attack. Why put so much energy into this when there are much larger battles to fight? And when do we say enough is enough, we've censored this show enough? That line will just keep getting pushed farther and farther forward. What's next? Women complaining about the terms fish and fishy?

I checked Porkchop's twitter, but there wasn't any acknowledgement of it. To be honest, I'm not surprised by that. Not only for the reasons you mentioned, but because she did go home in the first episode of the first season. She's not really known as a trans Drag Race queen.

Oooh, Pandora! I've read over a few of her tweets about this as well, very interesting. And again, another person who wasn't included in that interview. Not that she would be though, since she's not trans. But still, I'm a little irritated that the article focused on two people who shared the exact same opinion about it. Not everyone agrees, clearly, but they didn't bother to talk to anyone else from the show.

P.S. It'll be a miracle if any of this was coherent, I'm half asleep here.

[myswtghst.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I think it's great that Sonique and Our Lady J (among others) have spoken out about not being offended. I think it's important to include different voices and opinions within the trans* community in the discussion, and to respect those opinions. I also think it's completely out of line to attack people who are trans* and aren't offended for voicing their opinions about this, regardless of whether they're offended or not.

However, I'm still of the belief that those voices do not cancel out the voices of those who are in favor of the change, and who are offended. Plus, making the change doesn't hurt those who aren't offended in any way.

[entj.livejournal.com]

I agree with you about the show having been a platform. I am much more aware of transgender issues because of it.

I understand where the objections are coming from, and I really do get the sentiment that some things shouldn't be joked about, but this ... this seems a bit like biting the hand that's fed you, especially in Carmen's case (would she have been chosen for "What Would You Do (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/05/patrons-defend-transgender-waitress-at-n-j-diner/)?" without the exposure from RPDR, I wonder?).

The problem for Logo is that they are kind of damned if they do and damned if they don't at this point. They did what made them look best in terms of not appearing dismissive of these concerns, but as you pointed out by sharing the Our Lady J article (and thank you for sharing that), pretty much nobody can speak for all people identifying as any specific group.

Honestly? The show is heavily satirical and plays with all sorts of gender norms/stereotypes. It's a conversation starter, and one of the conversations it has helped to start in mainstream America has to do with respect for transgendered individuals. If I were one, personally, I'd be very appreciative of what RuPaul has done in this regard.

I agree with you that the show is opposite of transphobic. It educates on various issues while keeping it witty. I really appreciated the show including Trinity's comment about "Playing ghetto. Yeah, that's original," pointing out the racism inherent in expecting that element as part of a person of color's comedy.

I understand and genuinely respect the various points of view involved; I'm just sorry that the dialogue about this subject couldn't have been more positive overall ... more proactive than reactive, as it were.