P.S.A. 'Tranny' is incredibly offensive to the LGBTIQ community.

[Poll_Blind]

78. I'm puzzled. I've only heard "tranny" used to mean a transvestite, but in looking over this...

...thread, it appears (maybe I'm wrong here?) that you're indicating the slang word "tranny" is a derogatory term for a transgendered person.

Is that correct?

I've never heard the slang word "tranny" used to reference anything other than a transvestite. Transgendered folks have always been referred to as "Trans" (adjective) where I grew up and live- Eugene, Oregon. Maybe it's because the gay people I know aren't, uh, politically correct or maybe it's because they're just as salty-mouthed as I am, but I've heard gay, lesbian, transgendered and transvestites all refer to transvestites as trannies. Sometimes endearingly, sometimes cattily.

But never as some "n*gger"-like slur. I mean...damn, I have no idea what you're talking about. And never to describe anything other than a transvestite. It has been like this since the early 90's.

I think the most alarming thing someone could do is go into a gay bar downtown and start referring to transvestites as "transvestites". When I live, that sort of thing is the same thing as walking into a gay bar and talking about all the "homo-sex-SHULS": Alarms start going off in people's heads about why you're in there.

I'm not making some argument that "tranny" is an acceptable word on DU or anything like that. What I am saying is where I live, it's not the kind of slur you're making it out to be. I find it really odd that there would be such a discrepancy between one part of the country and the other on this particular point but whatever. Out of curiosity, what part of the country do you live in?

I was talking with my girlfriend about this earlier and she brought up a good point: Some people choose to self-identify with certain labels and then other people interpret those labels in wildly different contexts.

PB