Nashville SceneTroubling transpositionIt was with interest that I read the story in the June 28 issue about El Dos de Oros ("Thirsty for Company"). It was with great dismay, though, that I discovered the totally incorrect use of terminology regarding the transgender customers of the club. First, the term "transvestite" is a pejorative term and is considered insulting. If a male-to-female transgender person lives in their birth gender, then the proper term is cross dresser.
Second, regardless of whether a transgender person has transitioned, that person should always be addressed by the gender pronoun appropriate to their gender presentation. The transwomen described in the article should have been referred to as "she" in every single instance.
If Gracia and Ashley—and any other transgender patrons of the club—live full-time as women, then they are women, not boys. And if they do not live full-time as women, then they can be described as cross dressers. Either way, they should still have been described with female pronouns in every single reference.
MARISA RICHMOND
PRESIDENT, TENNESSEE TRANSGENDER POLITICAL COALITION
Ttgpac@aol.com (Nashville)
_______________________
See also:
Thirsty for CompanyNashville Scene
by P.J. Tobia
Ben and his partner are soon joined by Gracia, a 23-year-old transvestite from Mexico City. Gracia dresses well, if somewhat conservatively for El Dos de Oros. On a recent Friday night he wears brown pinstriped slacks and a dark, sleeveless blouse. His straight brown hair is swept back and held in place by a large rhinestone beret. At about 5-foot-8 in heels, he's a looker.
And also
Transpeople Who Need People
