tangerine trees and marmalade skies

Note to the World:

1. Transgender people do not all look alike.

2. Thus, there is no such thing as “looking like” a transgender person.

3. If you think there is, that’s based on our own prejudiced assumptions.

4. There is nothing wrong with being transgender, nor with looking like whatever it is you think that transgender people look like.

5. Therefore, saying that someone “looks” transgender as a form of insult is nonsensical not only as a statement, but also as an insult.

6. And it’s sure as hell not funny.

7. “Tranny,” however, is a bigoted slur against transgender people, particularly trans women or other people on the trans-feminine spectrum.

8. Saying that someone “looks like a tranny” is therefore also an insult not to the person (usually not transgender) who is being “insulted,” but to actual transgender people, as it indicates not only that they all look alike, but also that there is something wrong and amusing by looking like they (both supposedly and actually) do.

9. The kind of thinking that says there is something wrong or amusing about “looking transgender” or actually being transgender contributes an incredible amount to the frequent murder of transgender people, particularly trans women.

10. If any of this has made you think about things that you’ve never thought about before, and you would like to learn more, you really ought to google “transgender 101.”

I have a sad feeling that it will be necessary to link to this post many, many times in the future. If there’s anything I’ve missed on the topic of this one narrow yet very prevalent slice of transphobia, please feel free to reblog with additions.