Call and Response: On Body Snarking and The Word "Tr*nny"
Posted by Cora and Mey
on March 20, 2013
http://www.autostraddle.com/on-body-snarking-with-the-word-trnny-168052/Introduction From The Editors [if you skip this, the article won't make sense!]: We're big fans of The Lingerie Addict, Cora Harrington's blog about — you guessed it — lingerie! — which just-so-happens to be the most popular lingerie blog in the whole entire world. Recently Cora, who is cisgender and often posts photo shoots of herself in lingerie on her blog, wrote a really thought-provoking post about her experiences being called a "tr*nny" online by cyber-harassers and the "unique issues mesomorphic (muscular) women deal with in the lingerie and fashion and beauty industries." Cora also mentions that she'd love to hear a response to her piece from a transgender person or a companion piece on the same topic. So, after reading her (awesome) post, I thought, let's republish this post and also make that response happen, and so I had my Executive Editor hit up Mey (short for Melínda), a queer trans* femme blogger who I've been following on tumblr. I love Mey's writings about identity, beauty and body image, as well as the posts of her outfits, and I knew she would have a valuable perspective on the issues Cora raised in her post. Mey was on board for the assignment, obviously, and so today we have two essays for you — Cora's original post, and Mey's companion piece. We hope you like them both!
When Body Snark Becomes Even Uglier: The Problem With Calling People "Tr*nny"
by Cora/Treacle Tart
In the conversation on beauty standards within the lingerie industry, especially as related to body shape and size, there are usually only two sides represented: thinner women and thicker women. But women don't just come in two sizes or or two shapes or two body types, and all the body celebration talk can start to feel a little exclusionary if you have a build that's neither ectomorphic (thin) or endomorphic (thick). And as I was thinking about some of the unique issues mesomorphic (muscular) women deal with in the lingerie and fashion and beauty industries, I also began to think about some of the related (but by no means identical) issues transgender women face in the same spaces. And all this stuff has been percolating in my mind for the last few months, until I finally felt like I had to talk about it.
In the previous paragraph, I mentioned transgender women. I'm not a transgender woman. The gender I was assigned at birth and the gender people see me as is also the one I personally identify with. I'm aware that puts me in a privileged position, so I want to be clear that I'm not speaking for or on behalf of anyone. This is specifically an article about my personal experience with the word.
[...]
Tr*nny Means Someone Who Isn't Accepted As A Woman
by Melínda
As a trans woman, not many things give me a headache the way the entire concept of passing does. Passing is the idea that if a trans woman (or any person who is presenting as a woman) looks, dresses and acts a certain way, people won't be able to tell they are anything other than a completely "normal" woman. If you look at online trans communities or forums, you'll find tons of tips on how to pass better – everything from hair removal tips to workouts to how to walk and sit more femininely.
All of this presupposes that there is only one right way to look like and be a woman. And it's infuriating. On the one hand, whenever I go out in public or post pictures online, a part of me is deathly afraid that I'll be insulted or worse. I desperately want to be accepted as the woman I am. On the other hand, I hate that in order to feel safe, I'm expected to fit into the very narrow box that is labeled "woman." Tips on how to pass always seem to say that you should avoid building muscle mass and avoid wearing clothes and makeup that are too costumey, that you should try to hide your shoulders and soften your features. Trans women are often told that if we want to pass, we have to try our hardest to be petite, soft, have just the right amount of femininity, and not stand out too much. But what if I want to be a different kind of woman? What if I want to look like Grace Jones or Kate Moennig? What if I want to look like Beth Ditto or Dolly Parton? They're all cis women; don't they pass?
