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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (April 25, 2018)
4 O P IN IO N The angry tranny: salvaging slurs L BY AUTUMN BEREND A s a m em ber o f the transgender I o fte n fin d m y se lf having to adhere to ideas or rules, else I risk b e in g ostracized. T h at ‘ ' said, there are m any ideas w ithin the transgender com m unity I disagree w ith, one being the.use o f the term “ tranny. ” £ , 3|g| | W c o m m u n ity , S j|f The term “ tranny” has a history o f b e in g used in a derogatory way. There’s no question about that. However, should we avoid using it and keep viewing it as a poisonous term? Should people be punished in anyw ay for using it? The answer is. no, and here’s why. The first argument is that it should be used despite its past. A s stated, the word has been used in a specifically negative way. Because o f this, it’ s argued you shouldn’t say it because it’s been used to dehumanize or treat trans people like garbage. For every self-identified tranny, like m yself, it’s just another word. It’s a term o f identity that’s m uch shorter than “ trans person” or “ transgender,” and I’m not alone in this. Blaire W h ite, a transgender conservative YouTube com m en tator and creator has referred to h erself as-a “ tranny/’ and doesn’t shy fromcalling others as such, going so far as to title one o f her videos “ Triggering Trannies,” in which sheregards the title as “ having such a beautiful flow to it. ” This was when she explained that she doesn’t like to use the overused word “ triggered” to describe people anymore. W hy should a word that is a sim ple, honest term not be used? I t ’s h as few er syllables th an ‘‘ trans person ” or “ individual.” Should a word not be used just because som e bad apples, in our. society decided to use a word in a derogatory way? No. We should embrace the word as a com m unity. I know th e trans com m un ity and m y self do not see eye-to-eye on m any issues, and th at’s fin e, as diversity o f thought is important. However, I firm ly believe that by using a word in a positive way, such a s describing one’s self or a person as a “ tranny” instead o f the use o f “ trarts person” or “ trans individual, ” it would be easier in the age o f people literally saying “ lol. ” By using it in a positive way, you remove the previously negative connotation attached to the word and allow it to have more than one m eaning. This is an extrem e, but im agine the N-w ord, (which I firm ly believe should not be censored and should be typed out, since we all know w hat it m eans and are th inking the word a s we read it,) the word has a hugely negative connotation and history and seen as the.word you never say. W ell, if everyone and their brother used it in a positive way, would it truly be an evil word then? No. This is also why symbols like the Sw astika are still seen as this purely evil thing, despite actions to redeem the once peaceful religious sym bol stolen by Nazi Germ any. People are lam basted because it brings up a negative connotation, but if we use it J and see it in the w ay it was orjginally intended, it isn ’t the symbol only used by the Nazi’ s, it’s a symbol o f goodness used in religous practices all over the world. The second argument is that context should matter, not simply if the word is used. As addressed, the word can be used in a positive way, so, it’s connotation and definition are amendable. Literally, our entire language is based on a constant evolutionary process o f changing definitions. I f we never changed definitions and evolved, w e’d still be speaking m uch less comprehensive English. In fact, w e’d be speaking very simple languages void o f the complexities that m ake up m odem languages around the globe. So, not only will definitions and meanings change with use, but context should also matter. How and why thé word is used make a difference. Take any negative word, like the word “ fuck. ” There is absolutely nothing wrong with that word, in and o f itself. As George Carlin once firm ly stated, “ They’re only words. ” Context i w h a t makes the word good or bad, he stated, and it’s true. Take any negative word and you will not find a valid reason w hy it’s bad other than because o f its past. I promise you. W hy the past? Because of the context o f how it was used. If you beat a transgender person to death while scream ing “ tranny,” o f course the context o f that use is negative, but if I call someone a “ fellow tranny,” how is that bad? It’s not. There’ s nothing wrong with it. To be subject to punishment for saying it is to throw context out the window. It also im prisons the word in a perpetual stasis. D on ’t shackle words down- judge them by the context of how they’re used and don’t be afraid to use a word because someone m ight be offended. I’m offended alone that words are restricted despite context. The Transgender Pride Flag, created in 1999 by Monica Helms, a transgender activist and veteran of the United States *Navy. The flag was first displayed during the 2000 Pride Parade in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo provided by Flickr Clackamas Print theclackam asp rin t.n et ----------------- - ------ ------------------- ------ i — April 25, 2018
