After a dozen years and a few arguments (okay, minor disagreements), I am changing my policy regarding the use of transgender vs. transgendered. Believe me, I didn’t think it would happen, either. And I’m not changing my mind — just the way I do business.
So, going forward (and with gritted teeth), I am going to start using terms such as “transgender person” and “she (he) is transgender” rather than “transgendered person” and so on.
I am going to conform to the Media Reference Guide that one of my favorite organizations (GLAAD, or the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) put out several years ago and of which I have accumulated several copies over time.
Although I like GLAAD, I have always disagreed with them about this one particular issue — and I felt so strongly about it that I just went my own merry way. But I was arguing this point long before they came out with the guide.
“Transgender” just never seemed right to me when describing a person, and the media in particular tend to shorten “transgender person” to “a transgender,” and “transgender people” to “a group of transgenders,” like we were a gaggle of geese or something. And even though the guide advises the media not to do this, they pay about as much attention to that as I did to transgender v. transgendered.
I also disagree that adding “ed” is grammatically incorrect and that you can’t add “ed” to a word to make it an adjective.
But at this point, this tired, jaded, middle-aged, generally well-mannered, well-intentioned, sometimes misguided, male-gendered person is giving up the fight.
I think that those people who support the use of “transgender person” find the phrase “transgendered person” to be offensive. For me, it is the other way around, but I would much rather take the hit than have my readers take it.
And, no, I’m not trying to be a martyr, and, yes, I know that I am always going to end up offending someone, no matter what I say or don’t say.
It’s simply that I would prefer to spend less of my time offending my own community and more of my time offending the conservative right wing.
So, in my attempts to be an enlightened individual, I am changing my policy and moving on — and I think it’s for the better.
(Photo: GLAAD’s Media Reference Guide)
To radicalbitch: I don’t think there are probably that many people who DO care what I’m offended by, but a blog is a place to write opinions and, hopefully, to get other people to join in the conversation with their own opinions. So thank you for joining in the conversation.
oh, and a group of trannys is a travesty of trannys…
just to set the record straight even if I’m bi myself
Gee, here’s a thought on all this.
Given that those of us who were born with a medical condition (transsexuality), had it corrected and try to go on with our lives are not given any respect in our wishes to divorce ourselves from transgender…why should anyone else give a rat’s patootie if you are offended by transgendered, tranny or whatever?
GLAAD is the last group who’s word should hold on any of this given the whole trans thing by GLAAD was dictated by a single never never op with an agenda…..
In self description, I’ve gone from transsexual to FTM, to transgendered man, to transman, to trans man, and finally to just trans. How’s a guy supposed to keep up with the current lingo? I understand the importance of self naming and it’s evolution. I also agree with Matt that the trans community has more pressing needs than haggling over grammar.
Talking about language has caused me to pay more attention to the language that I have seen both in the mainstream and on various trans blogs and Web sites. The language varies so much, even among trans people. Trans people use “transgender,” “transgendered,” “a transgender,” and “transgenders.” With such a large and diverse community, I don’t think we can ever expect consistency across the board.
I remain puzzled, though, by my one conundrum in an older post that I was hoping to get responses on but never did–if a person transitions from male to female or vice versa, is that person still transgender(ed) after he or she has transitioned? Because the body and the gender identity are now in alignment. So would that person still be considered transgender(ed)?
I have always thought no, but I guess it depends on how a person defines transgender(ed), and how that person defines him- or herself.
It’s OK to shoot geese in every state. Just like it’s OK to kill transexuals in most states, and you’ll only land a manslaughter charge because they were ‘asking for it’ (The Zapata case in Colarado being the only exception in 30 years, and 1000 murders!!).
I have no problem with either adjective, but I do have a problem with ‘transgender’ as a noun.
When I have seen the expression ‘a transgender’ used as a noun in the media, it is usually in an article by a conservative writer who is doing their utmost to condone a killing of a trans person.
So for me the expression, ‘a transgender’ has a subtle between the lines message: ‘transgenders’ are not ‘real’ people – who can only possibly be male or female – so it’s ok to kill them.
Also, I’m not sure that GLAAD is the best authority on this either, since it is comprised of mostly non-transgendered people, and this usage exposes a fundamental misunderstanding of our community by our LGB cousins.
Too often our community is divided bitterly by petty semantics – but since our core struggle is one to define ourselves on our own terms, these same semantics can become paramount – especially when trying to express that identity to the larger community.
I am not advocating outlawing the term ‘transgender’ but I urge all involved in this debate to look at the current usage, and context of the term to determine how ‘transgender’ should be used to describe our community- and press GLAAD to refine it’s style guide so that.
As an adjective, it is irrelevant which form of the word is used – as a noun, it is very relevant. In which case I would opt for choosing ‘transgendered,’ since it is nearly impossible to use as a noun.
It’s great when a community can ‘re-claim’ a derogatory term – but part of the danger in doing it incorrectly is the perpetuation, and possible intensification of the negative connotations of the term.
P.S. as for post-transitioned people – “Transgendered” really refers more to our history than our genitalia. So far no one has come up with a ‘history change’ operation. In fact, other than trading one closet for another by going stealth, you will always be a ‘person of transgender(ed) experience,’ or a “transgender(ed) person.” And there’s no shortage of people just dying to remind you of it, and telling everyone you meet, just to make sure you’re not going to accidentally fool anyone. (Cynical, I know – but past experience tells me it’s true.)
“to ‘a group of transgenders’, like we were a gaggle of geese or something”
So, this begs the question – if a collection of geese is a gaggle of geese, what is a collection of transgenders called? A truckload of transgenders? A troupe of transgenders? This site has a pretty broad list, just not transgenders. http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/collnoun.htm
I was delighted to find that Jill is a female ferret (my elderly cousin, before I was out to anyone as trans, called me “the ferret” because I could uncover family history information) – more than one ferret is a “business of ferrets”.
I agree with your earlier stand – it felt better to me to describe myself as “transgendered”, than it did as “a transgender”. But at some point, it may not be worth arguing. Especially if we can come up with a cool collective noun.
Look at it this way. If I am “transgendered”, then are my LGB friends Lesbianized, Gayified or Bisexualated? No.
And saying “transgender person” isn’t all that clunky either, we say a “blue person”, not a “blued person”.
Admittedly, the lingo/language is rather a challenge and not all of us use the same terms which doesn’t help the outside world understand us any better.
I prefer transgender woman or the shortened transwoman (and thus also transman), but others don’t.
in reply to Donna’s comment (“Look at it this way. If I am “transgendered”, then are my LGB friends Lesbianized, Gayified or Bisexualated? No.”):
Um, that’s just silly, and if I may be blunt, ignorant. No one would ever say I’m “lesbianized,” of course not. Because “lesbian” is already an adjective. It starts with a noun (Lesbos) that’s been turned into an adjective by the addition of a suffix (-ian), like the word “American” or “Canadian.” Likewise, “gay” is already an adjective. No one needs to be gayed, except perhaps some of the more hapless specimens seen on Queer Eye in the before segments. If someone wants to make “gender,” a NOUN, into an adjective, the word will have to itself undergo an operation and get a new suffix put on, such as -ed, -ian, -ese, or any of the other dozens we normally use to transform words in English. It sounds even worse to say “transgenderian,” so the best anyone could do was “transgendered.”
Yes, there is terrible discrimination, but perverting the rules of the English language won’t fix it. Why not recommend “trans,” GLAAD, so that we can all transcend the shackles of “gender”?