Originally I was just staying out of it, and I still am intending not to leap into the fray - I’m also not tackling the islamophobia because I know and understand very little about the grounding for that accusation, please do feel free to enlighten me if you know more - but I just want to share my perspective.
From my perspective:
Laci Green was someone who I liked, respected, and followed. I learned a lot from her, mostly about sex positivity. She also coincidentally gave me one of the best resources I ever found for explaining transgenderism in the one video she did discussing it.
One day, scrolling down my dash, I found a post asking her about a video where she used the T word. She said that she had learned since then, and thought she had removed all the instances where she’d used that language before - then removed it. That didn’t bother me. You only have to watch Laci’s videos to see just how much she’s learned since then - something which I’d consciously thought before all this happened.
A few days later I saw Laci receiving death threats, stalkerish behaviour, and being chased off Tumblr. And I was very shocked and upset to hear this, because Laci is someone who I admire and who I look up to.
And now my thoughts on this, in a read more:Just wanted to add this in for John Green’s sake, since I’m not too familliar with Laci yet and the whole event.
But after reading Kit’s ideas and stuff, I decided to scroll around on their pages and bit and such. I actually had to read 6 posts about this even before I ever found out what the T-word actually was (which I found quoted to someone else on John Green’s blog.) So yeah, I didn’t know what the T-word was. I actually don’t know what it really means still, other than being a slur. Like, I know who it’s towards and it’s offensive, I just don’t know it’s exact meaning.
Anywho. Just wanted to add my testimony that I believe both John and Laci did the rights things from my view point. Also my feet hurt.
EDIT
I just googled the word and this came up:
Web definitions
- Short form of transmission in the automotive sense; Short form of transistor radio; Short form of transformer; A transgender person.
I’m not finding the part that makes it offending, and it sounds awesome to be referred as a radio. It’s either too late or someone needs to pound some society into my head.
Stop. Stop what you’re doing. Stop it right now. Stop it this instant.
When someone says something offends them, you do not tell them that the word used as violence against them sounds “awesome”. You don’t. You just don’t.
This is a word being used as violence against transgender people and people who “look” transgender every day. Every single day. And it has a long history of being used this way. This isn’t about the dictionary. This isn’t about cars. This isn’t about radios. This is about harassment and violence.
When you have been harassed in the street with this word, when you have lost most of your friends and family because “Oh, you’re one of those t——,” when you lose your job or can’t even get hired because “we don’t hire monsters here,” when people tell you can’t be a parent because of it, when you have to break up with partner after partner because they’re either disgusted or find you “exotic,” when you can’t even have a roof over your head because no one would sell or rent you living space, when people keep saying you’re a predator in your own bathroom, when you’re assaulted and dehumanized because you don’t fit someone else’s ideas of gender, THEN
then tell me you think it’s “awesome to be referred as a radio.”
which is also objectifying.
