“Angry ->-bleeped-<-s”

[Natasha]

"Angry ->-bleeped-<-s"

http://questioningtransphobia.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/%E2%80%9Cangry-->-bleeped-<-s%E2%80%9D/
2/25/10

This is a guest post from Tobi Hill-Meyer.  Her blog has recently been re-launched under the new url: nodesignation.com

If you've been around for internet discussions on trans issues long enough, you've probably seen it.  Someone is being called out for their transphobic behavior and in defensive posture they dismiss the trans person talking to them as "angry," "shrill," or "hypersensitive."

Of course the trans person is angry after being hurt then dismissed when they speak up – I get upset just reading such exchanges.    It's a very appropriate response.  It's not uncommon, though, for others to step in and lecture the individual about their effectiveness , saying something along the lines of "Yelling won't change their mind."  Of course trans people don't have a moral obligation to be educators, let alone effective educators.  Many of us identify and call out this scenario as a tone argument an unfair expectation to educate our oppressors.  But please follow me for a  moment as I analyze this increasingly common situation with another anti-oppression tool.