I don't like the stereotyping of what transsexual is supposed to be......not everyone who is transsexual falls into that stereotype and they lucky one's are smart and stay steath. There is a stigma attached to it far more than someone who may be gay.

Quote from: Kate on April 03, 2008, 01:59:02 PM

Quote from: AlwaysAmanda on April 02, 2008, 04:33:21 PM
That sounds great... but the media still needs something to label us as

Why?

Maybe that's the real problem. Why do they need to label ME into an US?

I'm not "a..." anything. I'm just Kate.

The very fact they need a label just shows that they think of people who change their sex as being freakish, odd, not normal... an aberration in need of watching. They label "us" so they can keep an eye on "us" and not let "us" blend in as the individuals we are.

I vote to ban the label altogether

~Kate~

I know what you would like to be called and I'd like to be called that too. A women. But that is not what happens.

I understand what you're saying(and agree completely) but they(media, general public, etc) are going to  refer to those of us as a group
as X until we have completed our transition and are stealth (if that is what we choose). After transition you are Kate
a women. But during transition when we are being read, etc, and maybe for some of us that are never able to pass as female,
or choose to be non-stealth is a different story, they WILL label and stereotype us. You are an X, whether that is
Transsexual, Transgender, ->-bleeped-<-, etc.  And after you are successfully living as a female you will need to tell people that need
to know (doctors) in a way that is not as distasteful as the term Transsexual.

Maybe it's just me, but I just think a better and less distasteful term needs to be applied. For one you can be MTF or FTM
so transsexual does not really cover it. 

I have not heard anyone say they like the term (maybe one?) so if that's the case lets decide to change it. We as a group
can make that happen. How cool would it be to tell your friends one day in thirty years that you were part of a revolution
that changed what TS's were called. If we as a group don't stand up and do it, no one will and we will be stuck with all the
bad images that the word transsexual brings up. Maybe it's just not that big a deal to people, but to me the word has been so
unfavorably depicted in the past that we as a group will forever be scared with that term until it is changed.

I posted in another topic today about Candice Cayne she plays Carmelita on
Dirty Sexy Money (tv show for those who don't know) and I think having one of our own is that successful
on prime time TV is HUGE. She advances public awareness that we can pass as women, we can be sexy,
we can be successful by leaps and bounds. If she is here by any chance... you ROCK Candice She is a
transsexual, but I would only refer to her as that to make my point. She is a woman. Period. But the media
has to label her something... because she is non-stealth. She does not deserve to be labeled that and
neither do any of us.

This is no different than Negros, RedFaces, ->-bleeped-<-s and any number of other distasteful terms that have been applied
to groups of people in the past.

I've struggled my whole life with GID and for the past ten years or so when I really knew deep down inside that
I would have to face it at some point, one thing that was holding me back, was not wanting to be labeled TS, because
of the stigma and baggage that comes with that label. Maybe we can't fix things for ourselves, but how about giving
back and making it just a little bit easier for the ones that follow us?

LOL... and now I just have to laugh at myself... a few days ago I wanted to silently slip away into female-dom and now I feel
like I'm getting so worked up over what I DON'T want and refuse to call myself.

Amanda

Posted on: April 03, 2008, 04:49:59 PM

---

Quote from: Berliegh on April 03, 2008, 02:19:04 PM
There is a stigma attached to it far more than someone who may be gay.

That is SO true Berliegh, SO TRUE. You can be gay and successful these days.... but if your TS you're
a barely passable, mentally ill,  loser... according to the media.

Quote from: AlwaysAmanda on April 03, 2008, 09:20:48 AM

Quote from: Tink on April 02, 2008, 08:01:39 PM
This is what I said on another thread:

Quote from: Tink on March 01, 2008, 04:00:43 PM
Hmmm....I think labeling belongs to each individual and even though some people are very happy with the prefix TRANS, I am NOT anymore.  Now with this statement I am not demeaning anyone who identifies as "trans", but in my case, the term "trans" is beginning to sound rather offensive really; in other words, it is like when you hear your "previous name" after so many years into transition.  I am a woman; I have always been a woman, and I WANT to be labeled as such.

tink

Sorry but I feel that the use of the pre-fix trans sounds very offensive when it is used in conjunction with me as well.  Having born transsexual is just a birth defect which I have already corrected.  My medical condition doesn't/has never define(d) who I am.  Other terms?  I will go with woman (for me at least).  If others embrace the term transsexual or transgender, I'm perfectly OK with that too, just don't use it when referring to my person.  Thank you very much!

tink

So, what you are saying is we are only transsexual for a period of time. Once our transition is complete (and maybe we are stealth), the label is removed and we are just a woman.  Or to put it another way, we are only "Trans" for the period of time during the change and when we are no longer changing we are just women (or men for a FTM). Cool.... I like that concept

There are people out there who don't like the trans prefix at all.  It doesn't really matter if they are  pre-HRT, pre-op, currently in transition or post-op; they just don't like it.  But yes, essentially, trans indicates a phase in which we are supposed to be matching our bodies with our minds/souls.  Once that goal has been reached, there's nothing trans about us.  But again, and I feel the need to emphasize this, these are just my personal views.

tink

Yes, Amanda, what Tink said. Transsexing is a process with a beginning, middle and end. It doesn't last forever, just until the transitioner gets to where he or she needs to be for congruence.

And you may find that for you it will end at some point during hrt, or after you start living your gender-identity full time or after SRS or at some point after that. But I think you will find that end it does. At that point to be thought of as 'transsexual' seems no longer pertinent to one's life.

Nichole

"Can we change public perception by using something besides Transsexual?"

In a word: No. Simply because the public doesn't understand the original term to begin with. Changing the label will only result in more confusion.

"He/She's a (insert label here)"
"Oh... What's that?"
"Transsexual."
"Oh...... What's that?"
Cue ill informed vague explanation.

The only way we can change the public's perception is to better inform them.

Quote from: AlwaysAmanda on April 03, 2008, 04:53:19 PM
After transition you are Kate a women. But during transition when we are being read, etc, and maybe for some of us that are never able to pass as female, or choose to be non-stealth is a different story, they WILL label and stereotype us. You are an X, whether that is Transsexual, Transgender, ->-bleeped-<-, etc.

Never happened to me. I know we read it all over the web and on the forum, but... it just never happened to me during my transition. I was never trans-anything to anyone. They never used labels, nor did I. Not even that I "am a woman." I was [male name] who was changing to be "Kate" for awhile, then Kate who used to be [male name], then eventually just Kate. Not an IT, not a label, not an "us."

By doing that, I found that I could slip under the radar of people who would normally dissapprove of you for being "a [insert label]."

And the media? Well, why would they pay any attention to 'lol 'ol me?

QuoteAnd after you are successfully living as a female you will need to tell people that need to know (doctors) in a way that is not as distasteful as the term Transsexual.

I just told them that I'm changing my sex. That's it. No label of what I "am." I just described what I'm doing. "Oh doc, I should probably tell you that I'm changing my sex and going by the name Kate now." Worked like a charm. No agenda, no politics, no stereotypes to argue.

I'm not saying that's right for everyone, but it worked well for me

Quotebut if your TS you're a barely passable, mentally ill,  loser... according to the media.

Are you sure? The Religious Right certainly has a field day with it all, but think about Oprah, Dateline NBC, CNN specials, various MS-NBC documentaries, etc., most of which have generally been fairly accurate and impartial presentations of the process.

Honestly, I think when we look Out There into the world, we so often end up painting the world with our own fears and doubts, seeing only those things which validate our worries.

The world doesn't hate us. We hate ourselves, and blame the world for it, IMHO.

~Kate~

Yes, I agree,
We need to use somthing other than 'trans' or 'sex' in our terms.

Specifically 'sex'.
That's a big problem.

What about Genderqueer?

Has problems with "queer" but not trans or sex.

Hmm I will give this some thought...
*brain ticking*

What did the Navajo call us?
Nadle?
That sounds like a good name to me.
Someone who exhibits the behavior of another sex or has ambiguous genitalia
was called that in the Navajo language.
Lakota called us winkte.

The Mojave had four distinct sexes:
Male, Female, Alyha (mtf's), and Hwame (ftm's)

I think those would work for me.

They got it right.
There's not just one category.

I like the sound of Alyha.
Marriages including Alyha were considered highly regarded.

Any of those would work for me.

-Sara

My goodness. Do people really think that prejudice, ignorance and virulent fear can be changed by re-naming anything? Who has the best job? A janitor or a sanitary engineer?

A name change without any substantial education will change nothing about cissexuals' responses and beliefs about us.

N~

Of course not.
But labels can be surprisingly helpful.
Like a name change.
Useful.

-Sara

I don't like the term transsexual, sounds too clinical, like using homosexual as opposed to gay. I don't mind transgender, it somewhat describes the incongruence I feel w/ my body. Androgyne is better for me. Ultimately they're just words, all of which are insufficient to truly describe my life when boiled down to a simple label. People who are prejudiced against us aren't going to understand no matter what terms we use. I like some of the native American terms, however I'm not of that culture and would feel like I was appropriating them.

Z

Changing a name is like changing a brand.
Companies re-brand their products to emphasize change.
It can be very helpful.

Our brand, so to speak, has some connotations associated with it that might be nice to ditch.

A re-branding might be helpful for that.

-Sara

Quote from: Sarah on April 03, 2008, 08:32:45 PM
Changing a name is like changing a brand.
Companies re-brand their products to emphasize change.
It can be very helpful

I'm trans-cendent tm

Actually, it would be nice to have a term more like gay as opposed to homosexual.

Z

Yes, a brand-name change!!! That is just ridiculous enough to be totally an American response to a problem: change the name of it. Let's go back to my previous post.

https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,31243.msg219479.html#msg219479

and pay attention to the LAST sentence.

Quote from: Zythyra on April 03, 2008, 08:36:04 PM

Quote from: Sarah on April 03, 2008, 08:32:45 PM
Changing a name is like changing a brand.
Companies re-brand their products to emphasize change.
It can be very helpful

I'm trans-cendent tm

Actually, it would be nice to have a term more like gay as opposed to homosexual.

Z

I'm a Sara™
Lol
You need to buy one!
I come with many accessories!
Lolz!
-Sara

Quote from: Sarah on April 03, 2008, 09:07:03 PM

I'm a Sara™
Lol
You need to buy one!
I come with many accessories!

How did you get the TM logo Sara? I wanted to use one but didn't know the key combination 

What's the "buy it now" price? LOL 

Zythyra TM

Quote from: Zythyra on April 03, 2008, 09:15:29 PM

Quote from: Sarah on April 03, 2008, 09:07:03 PM

I'm a Sara™
Lol
You need to buy one!
I come with many accessories!

How did you get the TM logo Sara? I wanted to use one but didn't know the key combination 

What's the "buy it now" price? LOL 

Zythyra TM

I googled "tm symbol" and got it.
there is a command keyboard combo to get it but I don't know where it is.
You can use your character map in windows or the one in mac or linux to cut and paste it too.
That's what I did, cut and paste.

And it'll cost you 300 nibbles!
And a collar!
*shudders* yarr!
-Sara

Posted on: April 03, 2008, 08:19:48 PM

---

And to Nichole:

Uhh no, I kinda disagree.
Think about what would happen if Coca Cola renamed themselves
Boknor Cola?
They would loose sales.

Words have an effect on a persons perception.

the word sex for instance brings a lot of connotations to peoples minds that the word "apple"
Does not.
We associate things based on labels.
It's why they're so important.

If aesthetics and labels weren't important, I would not have a field of study.
Advertising is all about perception.

Is that deodorant really going to make you hot or sexy?
Is that vodka?
No, but commercials and labels make people think they do.

Many people started smoking because they thought it was cool.
Not because it is cool, but because they believed it to be.
Names are important.
You wouldn't name you kid Adolf
,
-Sara

Sara, I like the Mojavean terms. It got me thinking: Homosexual women get a Mediterranean island!!! How cool is that? Maybe it doesn't do a damn thing to diminish prejudice, but it's still kind of nice. So from now on, I'd like to be refered to as an Antiguan.