Here's how NOT to report on transgender issuesSunday, August 26, 2012
POSTED BY Jeremy Feist AT 10:46 PM
http://www.xtra.ca/blog/toronto/post/2012/08/26/Heres-how-NOT-to-report-on-transgender-issues.aspxThe unfortunate truth is that, although trans person representation in the media is rising thanks to more and more big name celebrities coming out as trans, there are still a lot of people out there who don't know how to refer to trans people. It's slightly more unfortunate when you're writing an article about a trans person and every reference you make to them is wrong. Take this article from The Sun...
Problem 1: Refering to a trans woman as a "Transgendered man"
The article in question is about a trans woman, Silvani Marques, who is currently facing deportation from Canada to Brazil. The problem: The title they went with was "Transgendered man in Uxbridge fears deportation to Brazil."
Problem 2: Refering to her as "he"
Over the course of article, the writer uses 25 gender-specific pronouns, all of them refering to Marques as either "He", "Him" or "A man."
Problem 3: Confusing being trans with cross-dressing
At the beginning of the article, they say that Marques "has been taking hormone treatments and dresses as a woman." The problem here being that Marques doesn't just dress as a woman; she lives her life as a woman and identifies as a woman.
