bte
02-22-2014, 01:59 PM
Written by: Jamie Lee Curtis Taete
This past Sunday marked the sixth annual Tranny Awards in Glendale, California. The event gives out awards to people in the transsexual porn industry for categories like "Shemale Strokers Model of the Year" and "Black TGirl Model of the Year."
As I'm sure you know by now, the word "tranny" is considered a slur. Kelly Osbourne, Neil Patrick Harris, and Gabourey Sidibe (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/01/gabourey-sidibe-tranny_n_4708422.html) have all recently gotten into trouble for using it. Frankly, the main reason I decided to go to the awards was the name. I was super-ready to alleviate some of my liberal guilt by being offended on other people's behalf.
But I'm not trans, so I don't get to decide what is or isn't offensive for people who are. The majority of the people I spoke to at the event were not massively happy about the use of the word "tranny" in the name, but they were so excited to be having an award ceremony in their honor that they were willing to not give a shit for the night. Trans porn workers are not a group of people who are honored very often.
And once I was able to get past the initial weirdness of seeing someone tearfully accept an award while thanking "everyone at FTMFucker.com," the event was actually surprisingly moving. It was like the Academy Awards to these people.
Congrats to all the nominees and winners.
This past Sunday marked the sixth annual Tranny Awards in Glendale, California. The event gives out awards to people in the transsexual porn industry for categories like "Shemale Strokers Model of the Year" and "Black TGirl Model of the Year."
As I'm sure you know by now, the word "tranny" is considered a slur. Kelly Osbourne, Neil Patrick Harris, and Gabourey Sidibe (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/01/gabourey-sidibe-tranny_n_4708422.html) have all recently gotten into trouble for using it. Frankly, the main reason I decided to go to the awards was the name. I was super-ready to alleviate some of my liberal guilt by being offended on other people's behalf.
But I'm not trans, so I don't get to decide what is or isn't offensive for people who are. The majority of the people I spoke to at the event were not massively happy about the use of the word "tranny" in the name, but they were so excited to be having an award ceremony in their honor that they were willing to not give a shit for the night. Trans porn workers are not a group of people who are honored very often.
And once I was able to get past the initial weirdness of seeing someone tearfully accept an award while thanking "everyone at FTMFucker.com," the event was actually surprisingly moving. It was like the Academy Awards to these people.
Congrats to all the nominees and winners.