The first person who helped me during transition, my trans mother so to speak, often used the word for herself in a self deprecating way. Before coming out as trans, I was already part of the LGBT community, so I wasn't a stranger to the word, or to the concept of camp. I'd heard plenty of gay men calling each other "girl", "->-bleeped-<-","homo"; and lesbians calling each other "dyke", etc. I don't actually use the word "->-bleeped-<-" much, however I don't have a problem with it, used within the community. If a 'phobe calls us trannies though, I'm among the first to speak up.

I'm personally in favor of reclaiming the word, like people have done with "queer", that said, I'd never use any word to describe someone who doesn't use it for themselves.

Z

Quote from: cynthialee on December 25, 2011, 02:28:55 PM
So the premiss 'all FT women object to the word' fails.

And I said:

Quote from: Julie Marie on December 25, 2011, 11:25:32 AM
Everyone I know who is full time hates this word.

Which is true.

Within any community, whatever goes, goes.  But based on what I've seen with other words that have been used outside a given community that that community banishes, the end result has been better awareness and more respect. 

No one thing anyone or any group does will have an effect on all.  It's the culmination of things over the course of many years that eventually will.  Gays campaigned for the end of the use of "homosexual" because so many people used the word "homo" in a derogatory manner.  That campaign resulted in the word "gay" being acceptable and the image the community attached to "gay" was a more positive image.  I feel if we did the same, we would have similar results.  The problem is, you can't get more than a small percentage of trans people to agree on anything.