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

[myswtghst.livejournal.com]

Speaking as a cis woman, I'm glad they're doing this. While I understand some people are concerned about being "hypersensitive", my feeling is that if people are hurt / offended and it really costs so little (changing a few words) to reduce / relieve that hurt, there's no reason not to do it.

Overall, RPDR has done a lot to raise awareness and acceptance for trans women (with a lot of help from Carmen, Monica, Porkchop, and Sonique), but that doesn't mean they get a free pass. I think it's really great that RuPaul & co are taking the opportunity to continue moving forward.

Also, from everything I've seen, while Carmen did launch herself with RPDR, she's done just fine since then. Hell, Naomi Campbell referenced her in a recent speech, recognizing her activism. Carmen has really put herself out there and risked a lot of scrutiny (and worse) by being so outspoken, so I doubt she's speaking out about this "just to get attention", especially given how likely it is she's being asked about this at every opportunity.

[kapvik.livejournal.com]

But why are people suddenly offended over *this*, and why now? Why weren't they offended back in Season 2 when RuPaul was promoting her "Tranny Chaser" single, which one would think would be even more offensive? Or any of the other countless things the show and RuPaul have done similar to this?

I'm all for apologizing and reducing hurt *if* someone is actually hurt as opposed to simply butthurt. This whole thing looks less and less about righting a wrong and more and more about shady apes being shady.

[myswtghst.livejournal.com]

Maybe they were offended, but didn't feel they had the support / platform to speak up. Maybe they were offended, but felt silenced or shamed or were concerned about exactly the response they're getting now. Maybe they were offended, but felt it wasn't worth having their motives questioned or alienating their fans.

Maybe they weren't offended, but they thought about it more, or spoke to other people who are trans and changed their minds. Maybe they weren't offended, but when they began transitioning they realized how hurtful it could be.

Maybe they were offended, and they did speak up, and they were silenced, or no one listened.

With the growing popularity of transgender stars like Candis Cayne, Laverne Cox, and (yes) Carmen, and the rise in LGBT acceptance in general, it is easier to speak up about these things. You're more likely to have people standing behind you, and people who are willing to listen and make changes, just like Ru & co did, than you would have even a few years ago.

Plus, contrary to what you're intimating, this isn't just about Carmen and Monica speaking up and "being shady". This was a much larger issue that they were going to have to weigh in on as the most recent transgender contestants from the show. There were plenty of people in the community who spoke out about this, including GLAAD (https://www.glaad.org/blog/dialogue-makes-difference-update-rupauls-drag-race), and this isn't the first time (http://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2014/03/18/rupaul-stokes-anger-use-transphobic-slur) there's been controversy around Ru and RPDR for derogatory / offensive language.

There will always be "reasons" to justify doing oppressive shit, and "well, they weren't offended at the right time / in the right way" will probably always be one of those "reasons". There will always be people who look to the oppressed and say "well, they say tr*nny / n*gga / c*nt, so why can't I?" Even if I'm being overly cautious, even if my language is being "policed", I'd still rather err on the side of not hurting people who are already shit on by the majority of society.

[kapvik.livejournal.com]

And what's more, what people are so "offended" about in this case is not even close to fitting the definition of the word. None of this is anti-trans rhetoric or defamation. It's people with nothing better to do stirring the pot so they can feel important.

It's because of things like this that I really applaud people like Kathy Griffin who have a No Apologies policy.

No offense, but none of this even comes close to "oppression." You want to hear about real oppression and when things were seriously bad for LGBT minorities, ask some older gays, etc. about what they used to have to deal with not even 20 years ago. *That* is shit to complain about. This is just butthurt nonsense fuckery.

[keeper-of-stars.livejournal.com]

On the topic of LGBT oppression, have you read Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/139569.Stone_Butch_Blues?from_search=true)? If you're interested in leaning more about what people went through pre-Stonewall, this is a great place to start. I had to read it for a gay and lesbian studies class in college and it has stuck with me ever since. Among other things, it deals with the idea of gender and "she-male." If you do decide to read it, be prepared, it's very heavy.

[myswtghst.livejournal.com]

"Don't you have more important issues to think about?" (http://birdofparadox.wordpress.com/derailing-for-dummies-google-cache-reconstruction/#moreimportantly) is a pretty classic derailing technique. There are always going to be "more important" issues than whatever it is people are currently speaking out about, and pointing this out is just another way of shutting down a discussion. Not to mention, discussing this doesn't in any way prevent us from fighting oppression in other ways / other forms.

Yes, oppression has been (and still is) a lot more than just language, and language isn't comparable to the violence the LGBT community has faced (and continues to face). But language contributes to that violence. There's a really great Toni Morrison quote that I think applies here - "Oppressive language does more than represent violence; it is violence; does more than represent the limits of knowledge; it limits knowledge." Our language shapes our thoughts and our reality; using derogatory terms (even in a "fun" or "funny" way) normalizes the mindset that a group is other, which in turn makes it easier to believe a group is lesser, more deserving of oppression. The intent of "she-mail" might be entirely without malice, but it's built on the "joke" that being a "fake woman" is something to laugh at.

On top of all that, trans* individuals have an incredibly high suicide rate - a whopping 41% of people who are transgender or gender-nonconforming have attempted suicide sometime in their lives, nearly nine times the national average (http://articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/28/local/la-me-ln-suicide-attempts-alarming-transgender-20140127). That isn't just happening because of the extreme violence and prejudice they face, but also because of the daily micro-aggressions which reaffirm the world sees them as "other". And that isn't just limited to verbal abuse and deliberate misgendering, but includes "jokes" like this from people who are supposed to be supporting them, rather than undermining their existence.