Logo TV announced this week that it would pull the iconic “You’ve Got She-Mail” phrase from further episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race, apologizing for being “insensitive” after an Advocate blogger blasted RuPaul for using what she believed to be a “transphobic slur.”
Though the show has used the phrase to precede announcements given by RuPaul for the last six seasons, the controversy came after a recent episode repurposed the term for a challenge called “Female or She-Male.” In response to the controversy, Logo also began removing older episodes of Drag Race from their online archives.
Not everyone agrees with Logo’s decision to censor the iconic phrase. A number of former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants and trans activists, including Our Lady J and Andrea James, have voiced opinions in opposition to the “politically correct ideals” that fueled the campaign*.
Below, some of the most notable Drag Race alums sound off on the topic at hand:
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
“In my opinion this is so ridiculous! What upsets me even more is the fact that some of the contestants that are complaining about it didn’t have a problem being on the show or getting their fame and success knowing this was part of show. Never was this intended to offend anyone or upset anyone. I love the transgender community soooooo much but I have to say “SheMail” had nothing to do with you until some of the transgender community made it about themselves. I understand how as a community some feel this brings the community and the view of gender identity harder to accept but in all reality you are what you answer to. If you feel the word does not represent who you are then it shouldn’t bother you to begin with.
The show has created such a place for the LGBT community in this world. It has made it ok for us to be who we are and has shown the world we are not freaks and we deserve love just like anyone else in this world. The show has not only had transgender guests but many prior contestants that are transgender and have done nothing but given them love, support, respect and catapulted their career plus given them a voice that may otherwise have been silent or not as loud had it not been for a show that gave them support. This subject saddens me because it is our community that has decided this word describes who we are and considers it a negative.
I support the transgender community and have so many close friends that I love dearly. I want a world that accepts everyone for who they are and who they are meant to be.” — Phi Phi O’Hara, RuPaul’s Drag Race season 4
“RuPaul’s Drag Race is the first EVER show to feature an entire cast of drag queens. It has made us question gender rules dictated to us by our society. To me that is part of what drag is all about, breaking down those gender rules. When transgender contestants have opened up about who they are they were greeted with open arms. Yet, somehow this show is the enemy we should be fighting for to gain equality.
I do want to say, I love and respect all of my transgender friends and community. I always have and always will.
I was never offended nor were any of the contestants (who were fighting for screen time to get their face on TV) by the phrase “You’ve Got She-mail.” We all just saw it as a take off of America’s Next Top Model and then we all pretend to be “shes” for a living. This phrase has also been on the show for 5.5 seasons.
I certainly never want to see someone belittled and legitimately hurt by anything. In my opinion this was not hate speech. To me this just isn’t the battle that needed to be fought. This has the potential to open flood gates we may not want open. Trust me the list of offensive words is growing exponentially. I just don’t see this as a victory for transgender rights. We all already believed you should have them.
I certainly understand that words can indeed cause pain. I’ve dealt with that all my life. But then I realized that I am giving these words power over me. I refuse to be defined by words and I refuse to let words bring me down.” — Pandora Boxx, RuPaul’s Drag Race season 2
RuPaul’s politically correct drag race. The term she-mail never offended me. People w/ a lack of sense of humor does. — Sonique, transgender contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 2
“Because I am offended by it, RuPaul’s Drag Race will ALSO edit out the last episode of season 3 where Raja Gemini kicks my ass and wins the crown!
And because EVERYONE was offended, the entire season of RuPaul’s All Stars Drag Race will be edited off the face of the earth.” — Manila Luzon, RuPaul’s Drag Race season 3
I think [any man] who wears huge wigs, exaggerated make up, skimpy outfits, giant lashes, and impossible shoes to impersonate (slander) a woman is a complete misogynist!! They should all be edited out of all and past episodes of Rupaul’s Drag Race. — Sharon Needles, RuPaul’s Drag Race season 4
“Dumb dumb and even more fucking dumb!!!! If you were ever offended by the use of ” she mail” on drag race then to be honest you probably shouldn’t have been watching the show in the first place. Fuck stop taking shit so seriously and get over it. Whomever wants to argue the point don’t even bother messaging me because I could care less!!!!” — Shannel, RuPaul’s Drag Race season 1
“Apparently the punny and perky term ” You’ve got shemail” has been stricken from use on RuPaul’s Drag Race…..VICTORY!……..albeit a hollow one. A victory, because apparently you can petition and harangue and shame using the awesome power of social media to extract an apology…..hollow, in that it is hard to exact the requisite level of authentic remorse from such methods……..nevermind, surely the result must take precedence over the method……..Kudos kids.
“we outta have one of these every year”- Chastity Pariah” — Mathu Andersen, RuPaul’s Drag Race creative producer and stylist to RuPaul
“So once again people are mad at something that doesn’t concern them. I’m making a post about this to get a couple of things straight. First of all I’m not the one to accept slurs from anyone. I’ve always been that way. In high school I watched gay kids get beat up and bullied and you know what, I remained quiet. Why? Because I was afraid to be treated the same way. Some words do hurt other people. ?I hadn’t initially commented on the “Female or Shemale” game on Drag Race when many people initially came forward and complained about it. I sat and thought about it for a whole week. I decided to make a comment on how I believed drag race was a platform for drag artists to showcase their creativity and how the show brought a lot of acceptance to drag queens mainstream. I also said that drag race should be more conscious of the words they use and shouldn’t further objectify transwomen with a game that obviously hurt a lot of the shows fans in the first place. ?Drag race has now, weeks after they already made a comment about it and after I said my peace, that they are removing that word from the show. Great. Right? ?Well now I’m dealing with a bunch of people who think it’s ok to personally attack me on social media for standing up for those who were offended and hurt by the words on the show. That ain’t even cool boo. ?I can only do so much and honestly I rather be a real person than a fake bitch who will sit and allow others to use ignorance and hatred towards me or other trans people as if it’s ok. ?This isn’t high school. We need to grow up a little. It’s real life. I think people should educate themselves on respect and maybe, just maybe will the world begin to change for the better. ?I also think that using Ru-Mail or Fe-Mail may be a better substitute… Either way, you still get your favorite show and Rupaul still gets paid ?#?amenforthat ?#?peacebewithyou” — Carmen Carrera, transgender contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 3
And, of course, RuPaul herself has weighed in:
Orwell's book ANIMAL FARM: The rebels eventually forgot the purpose of the revolution #LibraryIsOpen
— RuPaul (@RuPaul) April 14, 2014
Orwell's book ANIMAL FARM: The pigs were never really interested in revolution, they secretly just wanted Farmer John's lifestyle
— RuPaul (@RuPaul) April 16, 2014
Carmen Carrera, the season 3 contestant credited with sparking the original debate through a strongly worded Facebook post, seems to be riding the line. She spoke on the topic again with Damiana Garcia at the 2014 GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles last week.
“I thought that it was brilliant because it took away from the typical meaning of ‘shemale’ and made it new,” she said. Speaking of her mainstream trans activism work alongside trans actress Laverne Cox, Carrera said “I think that it’s up to us to make sure that everyone knows what words are okay and what words are not okay”:
Also speaking with Garcia last week were Calpernia Addams and Andrea James, author of the essay that established the dissenting opinion. “World of Wonder has done more for trans people than any other production company in history,” said James, “and I felt like I wanted to provide some balance to what’s going on out there…We have to keep everything in perspective.”
Perhaps referring to an Advocate blogger’s proclamation that she “fucking hates RuPaul,” Addams added that “dialogue that’s happening between calm, rational, intelligent people with an eye towards history, I think, is where change is going to come from”:
Where do you stand on the issue?
*After reading this post, Andrea James would like to clarify that she “agreed with Logo’s decision to remove the phrase and spoke directly to the producers about why.”
Spike
Wow, who is going to tell these Drag Queens that much like one liners, less is more. I mean seriously, how do Phi Phi, Pandora and Carmen really feel about this matter? I suspect they could go on and on and on and on.
Karl
I stand with all of the Queens and activists in the above article. A phrase that has become one of the signature lines of the show has NEVER been used in malice towards the Trans community. And we are going to allow all of this because of a troll posting “I f***ing hate rupaul”. When the supposed journalist should have reported the manner in a clear and concise, unbiased format.
Cam
So basically a spoiled little blogger threw a temper tantrum about something that has been around for years and Logo changed it in spite of others in the trans community not caring.
I will bet you that that same blogger will continue to attack RuPaul because this was NEVER about slurs with her, it was about her anger and hate and she will continue to attack anything gay/drag/lesbian etc…
That Parker Molloy sounds more like a separatist and less like an activist.
1copaseticsoul
This is ridiculous. Just because you are offended does not mean you are right.
Saralikesyarr
It doesn’t matter Karl, it’s a slur. Somebody could say that using the term “faggot” was not being used in malice towards the gay community, but it’s still a slur.
This was done in poor taste, and it was right for them to take it off the air.
Desert Boy
So, when will the all-powerful executives at LOGO-TV allow the iconic phrase to return? The ban, in response to a small band of nutty trans people was ridiculous.
I still say it’s time to remove the “T” from “LGBT”. Enough is enough.
HirsuteOne
It doesn’t matter if it was unintentional. It doesn’t matter if it was RuPaul, with his record of LGBT support and activism. It doesn’t matter if one, two or two hundred trans people were offended. We’re still living in a time where plenty of LGBT youths and adults still face very real oppression, bullying and violence simply because they are LGBT. It’s even more difficult for the trans community. You can search the internet to find ongoing incidents were trans people, especially trans women, are the victims of violence simply because they used a restroom that matches their gender identity/expression.
Karl
@Saralikesyarr: wow honey go back to grade school. If you can’t learn the difference between one homophone and another… get it right. She – Mail (message for the queens) She – Male (offensive term used in the west for a Trans woman.)
HirsuteOne
The problem was with the use of she m ale during the game of “guess the she m ale”. Logo went a step further and removed the pun “she-mail” as well. I would take the “pro-pun” push-back more seriously if it weren’t centered on the idea of someone’s fun being curtailed by not being allowed to use silly puns. It’s very selfish to tell someone they shouldn’t be offended simply because you’re having a grand ole time and don’t know what all the fuss is about.
It doesn’t matter if it was unintentional. It doesn’t matter if it was RuPaul, with his record of LGBT support and activism. It doesn’t matter if one, two or two hundred trans people were offended. We’re still living in a time where plenty of LGBT youths and adults still face very real oppression, bullying and violence simply because they are LGBT. It’s even more difficult for the trans community. You can search the internet to find ongoing incidents were trans people, especially trans women, are the victims of violence simply because they used a restroom that matches their gender identity/expression.
Chaz Bono was just on the recent episode. Is it alright to call Chaz a trans slur? (I don’t even know what the slur would be for a male trans person.) Would it be OK to feature Chaz in a game of “Guess the real man / Guess the trans man?” No, I don’t think so.
We have to change as we move forward. If we want the world outside of the LGBT community to respect us, then we need to start from within. So I stand with my trans brothers and sisters and say please don’t use the term she m ale, no matter what the intent. It’s not funny and the risks outweigh any useful purpose.
HirsuteOne
Regarding, my multiple comments above…took some testing to figure out what was wrong and why my entire comment was being banned.
Ironic. It’s the word “she m ale”. The very word that sparked this debate and that some people think isn’t a big deal, is auto flagged and banned by the Queerty comment system.
JackieCutter
This article is total ridiculous bull. “Trans Activists and Drag Queens Agree?” You got a few people who are CONNECTED TO RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE. That’s not “agreement among trans activists and drag queens” and you know it.
HirsuteOne
Totally gobsmacked at the irony. “She m ale” as one word is banned in the QUEERTY comment system, but “she-male” and “she male” are not.
Snapper59
I think the interesting thing about the show was Chaz’s comment he was heterosexual and Courtney really got him hot. No poof that guy. I remember Adam Lambert telling April she was “gorgeous!” But he didn’t feel the need to add “and I’m a homosexual!”
yaletownman
Well, there is always a fine line I guess but when we start losing our sense of humour I think we’re in trouble.
Cam
At first, when it was said that the Trans community was upset, I agreed with taking it off. Now that a large number of Trans folk are coming out saying that there was no issue with it and it is boiling down to one professional anger monger (Parker Molloy) I am less inclined to agree.
Godabed
@Snapper59:
i would say that Adam identifies as a gay man and understands that although in drag he knows she is really a he (a gay man also).
Courtney although a gay man, drag is that of a fishy cis woman there were two drag queens this season that were specifically going for a fishy look. Although in drag Chaz look at Courtney as a fishy woman as oppose of being a man. To say any man would be attracted to her.
I think it’s simply two different perspectives
mawbinatl
If you watch the show, you clearly know that “She-Mail” is a play on the word e-mail.
I don’t know about the game, so I can’t speak on that. But again, it’s probably a parody for ratings, like when The Fashion Police has their game “Starlet or Streetwalker/Slag”. It’s all tongue in cheek and doesn’t mean to intentionally denigrate one particular class of people.
Was the game malicious in nature? Was the intent to cast a negative light on the trans community?
We have to learn when, where and with whom to pick our battles, because if we start infighting then the focus is lost.
Just stay true in your own convictions and fight the good fight and don’t nit pick. It doesn’t move us forward.
jake3614
Here are my two questions:
Where were the “activists” five years ago? I will say the game “Female or She-male” was/has been incorrect the couple times it’s been played on the show. But the pun She-Mail, which has been around since day one, has not been commented on until recently.
Why hasn’t a word been said about “Lady-Boy?” It’s a horse of a different colour, but still a horse.
I am baffled.
Icebloo
Who is paying Queerty to feature a story about RuPaul’s Drag Race every single day ? Sometimes we get two or three in the same day. Each time it is a non story. Are viewing figures down ? Is Logo paying Queerty to promote this awful show with it’s awful presenter who fixes the show so his friends can win ?
JamieMcG
Did you read your own article or actually do any research before coming up with the headline?
You have referred to 4 transgender women in this piece and only one of them has uniformly come out against the change. Andrea, Calpernia and Carmen have all spoken out in support of Logo’s decision. Sonique (who might I add has never done anything that would qualify her as an “activist”) is the only one who took to social media to speak out against it.
The title of your article should read “A bunch of cisgender male drag queens who received fame, notoriety and sometimes paychecks from RuPaul think that transgender people should shut up about transphobia.”
Icebloo
I see we get all the gays angry and submitting comments about a D-list trashy TV show but if we have any real news of any substance on Queerty no one comments.
Same old idiot gays. No wonder we have no rights !
JamieMcG
@Cam: Can you show us the “large number” of trans people who disagree with this? It’s utter bullshit. Even in this article, Calpernia said on Facebook yesterday she supported Logo’s decision, Andrea wrote to Queerty to tell them the same thing and Carmen’s statement is most definitely in support of that decision as well.
redcarpet
Can we just call this settled and move on with our lives? I got’s drag queenin’ to watch. I don’t miss the “she mail” if getting rid of it makes peace with trans folk, although I admit it was funny to me in the first season.
I still don’t understand why we never heard a peep about this when the show first premiered. I remember thinking “Oh shit, someone is going to get pissed about that phrase” back in season 1.
Snapper59
Icebloo, just do us a favor and stay off RuPaul threads. I’ve enjoyed the show and Ru for years and years and it’s obvious you don’t.
DerekR
Actually Icebloo just SHUT THE F@CK UP period. Your endless bitching, like so many others here, is tired and super annoying. If you don’t like the posts, go somewhere else…and quick.
clg19672004
What can’t one say or do today where someone or group isn’t offended.
Cam
@JamieMcG:
So are you saying that the statements Queerty has quoted are lies? Please elaborate.
inbama
@Icebloo:
Ice Boo, no.
The reason you tick us off is you remind us of the worst of our castrating mothers that we learned could never be pleased, who passive-aggressively threatened suicide whenever they didn’t get their way, and whose tyranny over the family only grew every time our fathers caved in.
When we finally came out and either left home or got thrown to the street, we grew ro realize how lucky we were to find the refuge of gay culture and only have to deal with such misery-generating monsters on Thanksgiving.
Vince Smetana
I actually like Carmen’s suggestion: “You’ve got Fe-Male.”
That’s actually better than “She-male.” lmao
ScaryRussianHeather
Here’s a thought for Carmen, stop stripping in gay bars for the few fetish fans you have. Go get a job in the makeup department or photography before you decided to work in the nightlife titillation business.
Then all the activists do something about the ACTUAL problem PEOPLE operating as sex workers promoting the fetish. Stay in your lane.
Instead of fixating on a bunch of friendly transvestites who have called themselves this, and various terms for decades that the ACTIVISTS now decided they OWN and will monitor and control.
Or does anybody not realize that in the ACTIVIST’s eyes gay men and drag queens don’t qualify as nonbinary victim class. Only trans people. Maybe that’s a good thing. Long overdue to divorce the T from the G.
ScaryRussianHeather
EDIT:
“…job in the makeup dept or photography LIKE YOU DID before you decided to work in the nightlife titillation business.”
shelleybear
Almost all of your supporters were, at one time,contestants on the show.
Many that weren’t were, or re representatives of LOGO.
So you understand why I have some trouble accepting this article.
How about you come back with a more objective sampling, and then we’ll talk.
Cam
@shelleybear:
One of them is the same transgender person they claimed started the complaint in the first place, using quotes from the same person sounds valid.
Cee
Didn’t read past the first couple sentences. This is not offensive at all. People just want to reserve the right to bitch and complain.
shelleybear
“One of them” doesn’t work as a valid sampling.
Icebloo
All this free publicity for a show that is losing ratings. Makes you think RuPaul and his team made up this whole “scandal” to help revive interest in their ailing show……but no, it’s RuPaul and he’s a saint. It’s not like he has fixed this show for years so all his friends can win now is it ?
jayj150
‘Carrera said “I think that it’s up to us to make sure that everyone knows what words are okay and what words are not okay”’. Well of course it is 100% up to a heterosexual woman to tell the non-conforming LGB community what words they should use, we all know straight people know best, Drag Queens should just remain quiet and obey.
hotshot70
I never saw the phrase as an insult. “You got She-Mail” was a parody of “You got E-Mail”. I am more upset on how RDR purposely played it so certain queens stayed and others went. Ex. The times when the bottom 2 performed and neither left. Or, when both of the bottom 2 left. Or the time Sharon and Phi Phi were in bottom, and Willam got DQed. The show is starting to show it’s “fakeness”. Rumors are Bianca is going to win. Bianca is a PROFESSIONAL DRAG PERFORMER, who is BEST FRIENDS with Rupaul and Lady Bunny. I think the contestants should ONLY be queens NEW to the scene (5 years or less). The first 2 years, Ru showed blatant favoritism to the wunners of Seasons 1 & 2. Both black reletively untalented queens. First year winner (forgot her name) was lame and Nina FLowers should have won. Tyra Sanchez was a “lazy” queen, and Raven was far better. At least Raja, Sharon and Jinkx deserved their wins. If this show has a PRO win over deserving contestants, I call BS.
mdowod47
It really saddens me that still to this day, we as a LGBT community are still fighting, bitchng amongst ourselves. Take that negative energy and put it where it can do good and fight for our legal rights as human beings in the ever growing LGBT community, GROW UP and get off your high and mighty thrones! We are all created equal and lead our own lives!
If you don’t like it, don’t watch or participate. Can’t tell me you never watched the show beforehand?
JamieMcG
@mdowod47: Perhaps that wouldn’t happen if the LGB community would show the T community the respect they’ve shown us. They went to jail for us at Stonewall and got raped and beaten in the name of gay equality. We’ve continuously thrown them under the bus in return – stripping them from employment non-discrimination ordinances, ignoring their struggle for even 1/10 of the success we’ve had on their backs – maybe it’s about time we start listening.
inbama
@JamieMcG:
Oh for Christ’s sake. Stonewall was a milestone in the gay movement, but if you think all the progress that’s come out since is a result of transgenders, you either don’t know history or you’ve lost your mind.
Further, does it need to be restated that in Obama’s first term Barney Frank had enough votes to pass ENDA without transgender inclusion but not enough with, and wusses that the L & Gs are, WE TURNED IT DOWN.
That action was taken in complete disregard of the history of all successful liberation movements – you get what you can and then add to it.
So as a result, employment protections for 90 percent of the LGBT movement will have to wait until America sorts out who gets to use what bathroom and who competes with women-born-women in the Olympics.
T’s under the bus? Look there for Dan Savage, Barney Frank, Ellen, and now Ru Paul along with a lot of gay men’s balls that have been willing surrendered to the Transgender Thought and Language Police.
Flaneur
SO tired of people looking to be offended, outrage out of all proportion to the perceived offense, and grandstanding Internet provocateurs like Parker Molloy with insufficient life experience to validate their opinions. SO tired of “cis” this and “gender” that. Time to trim the T from LGBT. In fact, the B can go, too. Let’s just make it LG. We all need to fight our own fights.
ChgoReason
Hodor!
Large Marge
It’s a comedy/entertainment show. It’s not a pageant.
drumstick
So where do I sign up to join the Language Police? I see a new blockbuster comedy: Language Police Academy II. Hilaaarious!
drumstick
This fight between transgendered men and women vs. CIS-gays and lesbians to be “The Biggest Victim” is a losing battle. As someone who was assaulted for just being me – gay, white, male, CIS, blond, privileged – I realized that I don’t have to “be” a victim. That just letting my assailant win.
Remember years ago when “Queer” was a slur? And now suddenly it’s not! That’s because we stopped fearing words like weapons…which they aren’t.
This blogger war of words is B.S.
noelani
@drumstick: Thank you for pointing that out! I’m 60 and it wasn’t until I got Logo that I realized that word was OK again! I don’t think many young people realize how much the language can change in a decade or two.
asby
If it was not for RuPaul that so called “blogger” would not have a platform to speak her mind.
noelani
I didn’t realize that Carmen Carerra had started this. Apparently, she didn’t think the publicity and support that RuPaul gave her, three years ago, was enough. She thought that she should get lots of publicity AGAIN by screwing him over!
Let me tell you about myself. I am a 60 year old, Mormon, grandmother now living in Utah. RuPaul’s Drag Race is my favorite show and RuPaul is a person I have great respect for! I’ve watched “Drag Race” with my youngest child, from the very first episode. I didn’t have to try to explain it to her. By the time the first hour was up, she said “They’re just the same as everyone else, aren’t they?” She’s spread that message with many of her friends here, too. There have been a few who were horrified to see us watching Drag Race, at first, but after they thought about it for a while, they started to understand.
I suspect that there are hundreds of thousands of people who might otherwise not have gotten to know anyone who was different them, who have learned a great deal from RuPaul’s efforts. Prejudice, at least for the majority, is just fear, due to a lack of experience.
I don’t care what they do with the mini-challenge, although if RuPaul doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt, I don’t know who does! But I HOPE the onslaught of support for RuPaul will bring back “she-mail”. To call that a slur against transgendered people is beyond ridiculous!
noelani
@noelani: PS, maybe if the horrible mother who murdered her son’s boyfriend had seen something like RuPaul’s Drag Race while she was growing up, she wouldn’t have developed the kind of hatred that led her to do such a despicable thing.
noelani
@hotshot70: Well, you know, RuPaul has worked very hard for this show and, as such, he has the right to decide which drag queens to send home. I haven’t always agreed with the decisions, either, but then it isn’t my show!
noelani
@Saralikesyarr: When has “She-Mail” been used as a slur against the transgendered? He didn’t even apply “She-Male” to a transgendered person, just Detox and Raven, who are MEN, in drag!
Cam
@JamieMcG: said…
“Perhaps that wouldn’t happen if the LGB community would show the T community the respect they’ve shown us. They went to jail for us at Stonewall and got raped and beaten in the name of gay equality
____________________________________
Nice try, but it’s fake.
1. The first punch at Stonewall was apparently thrown by a lesbian, and there was a group of drag queens doing high kicks there as well, but I guess the T community doesn’t care about that.
As for the T community showing gays respect. You mean for instance, like on the DAY that marriage became legal in NYC, rather than celebrating, or acknowledging that it helps Trangenders as well, or even just shutting up for one day of celebration, the Trans activists wrote an attack on gays gay marriage, etc…
The Trans activists couldn’t even stop attacking gays for one day when Marriage became legal in New York City. So if THAT is the kind of respect you mean the T has sown the GLB’s then they are getting off easy.
I think Chaz Bono said a mouthful when he said he was a “Heterosexual” and remember he once attacked Ellen for being “Too Gay”.
Karl
@Cam: Cam! Thank you lawd jesus thank you!! Sums it all up in one nutshell. You’ve got the LGBs and the Ts… we have NOTHING in common.
Thedrdonna
@Cam: What attack? Can you post a link? And can you show that that’s representative of more than a couple of agitators? Because you’re trying to blame the whole trans community for the actions of a very few, and that’s usually something that’s more like the religious conservative’s move.
hyhybt
They should have announced the dropping of “she male,” but if they also stopped using “she-mail,” just done that without mentioning it. And never, never censor archives.
phlmeow
It amazes me how the transgender community tend to forget that if it wasn’t for RuPaul’s drag show, the transgender community would not be as accepted and understood as it presently is. Instead they focus on obvious comedic phrases from the people who are obviously trying to educate society about the LGBT community in a fun way. The last time I checked… It did say “RuPaul’s drag show” not “RuPaul’s transgender show” …. Just saying!
Dwayne420
Scuttlebutt in the DC Metro community is that this nonsense has actually hurt the trans cause and put even more space between LGB & T. The art of effective awareness campaigns is knowing when you’ve gone to far and need to back off. Even our trans friends think this whole thing was absolutely absurd
YouGoGurl
Who knew that the trans population, who started out as a bunch of whiny boys, would actually go through the trouble to transform themselves into a bunch of whiny girls — only more annoying?
tornado66
@Cee: sounds like you have a hard time considering how words can hurt people who are not you. do you know what it’s like to be transgender?
tornado66
@YouGoGurl: wow, you have not learned much from being a gay. listen to yourself making blanket statements. some gay men are dumb as sh*t.
tornado66
Even as a kid I heard other kids saying SHE MA LE as an offensive word regarding transgender folk. It was usually followed by an explanation of how there are magical people out there with both d*cks and breasts. Like many gay men, RuPaul is a bigot who thinks he can decide what offends another group. You don’t get to decide, gay men. Just like straight people don’t get to determine if “f*ggot” is hurtful. Just like white people don’t get to determine if the n-word is hurtful.
666bear
@Saralikesyarr said: “It doesn’t matter Karl, it’s a slur. Somebody could say that using the term “faggot” was not being used in malice towards the gay community, but it’s still a slur.”
So nobody can ever use the word faggot, even if meaning its actual meaning: the collection of twigs used to make a broom? Or how about:
“I love the word faggot because it describes my kind of guy.” – Margaret Cho, I’m the One that I Want. Are you going to tell me she should apologize when she’s been one of the most vocal and powerful allies ever?
Intent does matter. It always matters. It’s WHAT matters.
“This was done in poor taste, and it was right for them to take it off the air.”
Taste is subjective, actually. You want everything you find distasteful taken off the air? Guess what… you offend people. You offend them by being gay. Do you want to take your gayness in silence for their sensibilities? I don’t think so.
Those who DO identify as she-male (and some do) are now being told they may not. And these people are saying that the word must absolutely never be used ever anywhere ever, as though that’s realistic, rather than just saying, “I don’t identify that way, thank you,” to those who call them one.
It’s bullshit, and you’re just wrong here.
666bear
@phlmeow: Agreed. Drag queens were always the ones to burst through the barriers. They were the ones that fought at Stonewall. They’re the ones that break the gender barrier and pave the way for those who identify differently. And this is the thanks they get, being called bigot and completely dismissed just because they rightly disagree with a word being disallowed. Let’s tear down our allies over a word, because that makes sense.
No people, we’ve bigger fish to fry. Let’s leave these fish alone. They’re your allies. Intent matters more than a word. And yes, I know straights who use “faggot” and I don’t find them offensive for doing so, because they’re ALLIES. It’s intent, intent, intent. It matters more than anything else. Period.
inbama
And now our favorite Hollywood Hetero weighs in.
http://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2014/04/15/chaz-bono-talks-trans-issues-rupauls-drag-race
Miss Understood
She-Mail is not a hateful slur, it’s a silly slang word. It was used because it’s silly. It wasn’t directed at transwomen at all, it was just a feminization of “email” which was funny because is sounds like the ridiculous term “she_ _male”. There’s a huge difference between slang in jestful conversations amongst people and words in a serious context. For example, a media journalist, a news anchor, or a politician should not in any official capacity refer to an adult woman as a “girl”. But colloquially women refer to each other as girls all the time. There was a time when feminists were up in arms about this but that school of thought seems to have faded. The same goes for trans people. A huge number of transpeople have casually referred to themselves and their friends as tran__n_ies and whatnot for decades. Now a minority of PC police are trying to shame them?
Of course these words are slang, they are not to be used in place of correct terms when it really matters, but to freak out when they are used in the community is petty. This current atmosphere of treating words as unspeakable is aimless and distracting from serious issues. Let’s work on eliminating discrimination based on gender identity. Let’s draw attention to the epidemic of violence against all gender non-conforming people. There’s work to be done and this squabble is silly.
Note: I had posted this in earlier and it was filtered out by Queerty for using the term “sh__male” which I now need to type with spaces. How can we talk about a word if we can’t say it? So sad to see queerty giving in to this reactionary anti-intellectual mindset.
Full story here: http://www.queerty.com/trans-activists-and-drag-queens-agree-logos-she-mail-ban-went-too-far-20140416/$http://www.queerty.com/trans-activists-and-drag-queens-agree-logos-she-mail-ban-went-too-far-20140416/#ixzz2zDVU7llp
AllenSF
This whole thing is getting out of hand. Can anyone say that RuPaul meant any malice towards transgender people at all? It seems to me that people are confusing being offended with being deprived of your rights as a citizen and human being. I am “offended” by a lot of things in life and if I tried to ban them all the world would be a boring place. Come one people where is your sense of humor and joy in life? I for one don’t want to live is such a place where anything that can be taken as offensive is banned from public discourse.
tornado66
@AllenSF: How do you feel about the N-word? Or “f ag”? Would you be okay with “f ag” being said on mainstream TV by straight guys? Let me know how that’s any different. No one thinks RuPaul meant any harm. But neither do those bros who say “that’s so gay” when referring to something bad.
inbama
@AllenSF:
The drag community and culture needs protection from transfeminists.
Our “girls” are living proof that gay men also have gender issues and can live quite contentedly with their birth sex sliding in and out of gender roles at will.
If we gay men won’t stand up for a gay subculture, who will?
funblast
“The changes that trans activists have asked for are too much because SO MANY fans of the show say they are.”
“Just because you’re offended, doesn’t mean you’re right.”
Every oppressed group seems eager for their turn to be the oppressors.
Trans people are just asking for the same considerations gay activists have asked for, and a lot of the commenters here seem unable to see the irony.
inbama
Actually, no.
Unlike LGB folks, trans activists come with an ideology (like their enemies, the women they call TERFS).
They have a definite agenda of controlling language to an extent LGB never imagined, because they are determined to change everyone’s reality by obliterating sex (male and female) and replacing it with gender (trans and cis).
This is why they all sound like Marxists or cult members as they use the exact same words in a ridiculous fashion – for instance, being “assigned” a sex at birth.
Actually, sex is DETERMINED by doctors, nurses and midwives right on the mark 99.7 percent of the time. That’s hardly being “assigned.”
But if GLB people want to make fools of themselves endlessly repeating ridiculous transspeak, just keep giving into these bossiest of women who toss their pseudo-scientific words around as if they actually meant something.
Dee Omally
Because of course she-mail or fag-ate are not homophones or homophobic right? Because of course the audience knows the difference between words that sound like slurs and slurs right? Because of course transvestite and transgender are synonyms right? Because a male transvestite is the same as a female transwoman right? Because a gay male performer is a “she”, a “lady”, female right?
People, stop eating the stupid crackers. Read this 50,000 times, maybe by the 50,000th time it will sink in:
THERE IS NOT PLACE FOR SLURS ON TV. (RINSE AND REPEAT)