comment by scarp

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comment by scarp

scarp · 4642 days ago · link · · parent · post: Things I’m Expected To Do for Cis People in Return for Their Not Hating Me: An Angry List

I think a lot of these stem from the relative unfamiliarity of the concept -- trans people are still somewhat of a "spectacle" to many people, so the natural inclination is to be curious and ask questions which are innocuous in their intent but invasive in practice. There is not yet an established set of social norms for interacting with this emerging social group because many people have not even knowingly communicated with a trans person in real life -- myself included.

I'm glad you've joined us, Laurelai; you will undoubtably bring some new perspectives to hubski and I think you'll find that it's a nice community to be a part of. :)

Question: what does the asterisk (*) next to trans denote? This is the first I've seen it.

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Laurelai · 4642 days ago · link ·

The asterisk next to trans indicates the trans umbrella (transgender, transsexual, genderqueer, ect..) this one is obscure even for us so i have no problem defining it for you.

And I do understand people are ignorant but googling "trans 101" brings you to this http://www.t-vox.org/index.php?title=Trans_101 as literally the first result, we have collectively put a lot of hard work in pushing correct information out there about us and overtaking older more prejudiced views on the matter in search engine results so you would be surprised how much good information is available on the internet on trans issues. But I do plan on adding transgender related content here in the hopes people will want to know and will read it.

+discuss+discuss

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ecib · 4641 days ago · link ·

I used to work at a rather massive 2,000 person capacity nightclub years ago. It eventually closed and the two owners eventually opened another club and asked me to work there as well. The second one was a gay club, and being one of only two straight guys working there it was really interesting. As a barback, I was often in the basement where we kept the liquor and the dressing rooms for trans performers that ran the whole gamut of the trans spectrum. I was always struck by how different the trans individuals were in their language from the gay dudes. Waaaay more pc and respectful. More thoughtful in general it seemed to me. The bartenders would toss around the word 'faggot' with each other much like some black people use drop n-bombs left and right. The trans performers though didn't really do that, and after reading your post I wonder if it's because they may take labels a lot more seriously? I dunno.

+discuss+discuss

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newgameplus · 4640 days ago · link ·

The idea of political correctness is intrinsically linked to identity politics. Particularly the notion that people should be able to self-identify. If a person would rather be called African American than black, then really it's only polite to do so. Self-identification is an essential part of being trans. It follows that trans people would generally be more conscious of this, and it's generally been my experience too. Although, of course, they're are still plenty of trans people who aren't PC.

+discuss+discuss

Laurelai · 4641 days ago · link ·

We take hurtful words a lot more seriously.

+discuss+discuss

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ecib · 4641 days ago · link ·

That makes a lot of sense. My sister is gay, and I remember talking to my dad when he found out. He was upset at his perception that life was going to be harder on her because of other people out there. I had to underscore to him how far society has come, how she has a very large social network of gay friends, and how it just didn't have quite the stigma he imagined it did in this younger generation. I mean, she just was not facing adversity on a daily basis and really hasen't been as far as she's concerned. I know I couldn't have made that same argument if she was trans. It seems to me a tougher line to walk based on everything I've seen. Hopefully it won't stay that way much longer.