Shemales In Mainstream Media

11/26/2013

Shemale London Escorts Blog

It seems very much as though the mainstream media, and pretty much pop culture in general, doesn't know how to deal with transgenders. We see very few Tgirls in pop programmes, other than those that depict the 'psychological issues' that transsexuals, post and pre-op face. It seems very much as though these people are treated as characters to be understood, rather than people in their own right. 

I recently read an article on the Huffington Post that went on at length about the CBS programme 'Mike and Molly'. A deeply unfunny show in its own right, Mike and Molly is ostensibly about two fat people who fall in love, and who have typically separatist, droll takes on their situation, typical, that is, of poor, 2-dimensional sit-com writing. 

The article went on, in much fury, to explain that the joke was defamatory, hateful and down right bigoted in its approach to transgenders. Now, I'm thinking this joke must have been horrible, I wondered, what did they say? So I googled it and eventually found this to be the dialogue:

Carl: It’s been a long time since I’ve trolled for bus pass ass.  

Mike: (Laughing) Not since the shemale incident of ’08.  You spent the whole night crying and gargling!

Carl: Learned a lot of lessons that night.

It seems as if the pointed anger was aimed squarely at the use of the word shemale by an entity that wasn't itself part of the community. That by using that term they were poking fun at 'shemales' in general, rather than simply making a joke about the character's own sexuality. 

This got me thinking about comedy in general, but also about the way we understand the terminology we use.

Firstly, and I'm not at all a fan of this show, it's my opinion that comedy shouldn't be afraid to penetrate the darkest corners - something that shows like South Park do extremely well. If we start telling people what they can and can't find funny, where does this ideology end? 

Secondly, I began to wonder whether the term 'shemale' is actually a slur, as bloggers like Trish Mifflin seem to believe, because it is associated with pornographic film. I can appreciate that some people may consider the term defamatory because of its links with the adult industry, but does that therefore imply that it can only mean this? Why can't the term be generalised and apply to the third sex? Why does a writer who is herself simply a woman, and a lesbian at that, have to wade on in and explain what words can and can't be used based on her own sensibilities? 

Reading that article and Trish's blog post I could only come to the conclusion that there are too many people who feel they need to 'stick up for' the transgender community, or who need to explain what they are so 'normal people' can understand them. It's, as far as I'm concerned, patronising at best and down right insulting at worst, to assume the role of transgender defender. To perpetuate this stereotype that exists, that the transgender community can't handle a word or two. That 'shemale' or 'tranny' are no-no's uttered only by despicable, socially inept caricatures of people about confused caricatures of people. 

Tell us what you think, are the terms 'shemale' and 'tranny' slurs? 

back