Terms Terms Terms...

[GroobyKrissy]

Originally Posted by biswajyoti

sorry if i sounded a bit rude there

Not rude at all.

I just find it really interesting that even we, as a community, cannot decide on what terms to use and are always coming up with new ones.

You'd be surprised at how many emails I've gotten from people who say they are offended by the word 'Tgirl' and surprised that I choose to use that term. Or, I've referred to someone as a 'Shemale' and been told not to use that term. For the most part, I think Transvestite and Crossdresser are pretty much out of favor. 'Tranny' is another one that a lot of people seem to have a problem with.

Anyway... nope, not rude at all and I didn't take it as such. I like good discussions and am always happy to talk with people who don't have to resort to name calling and base accusations.

[Bionca]

Terms are a sticky thing.

I use Trans Woman because it is a combination of adjective and noun, like "tall woman" or "Asian man". It allows for differentiation where one is needed, but does not center cis (non-trans) identities as "normal" or "real".

I generally try to avoid using "shemale" since it has such a nasty history (google Janice Raymond and the Transsexual Empire"). I rarely hear it used outside the porn industry, except from guys looking for a hook up (not really much different from porn).

Personally, I think most conversations can happen without the adjectives.

[TheSkronkDonkey]

Originally Posted by GroobyKrissy

First of all...

What the HELL is a Skronk Donkey?? :D

My name has many definitions.

Primarily, I understood the word "skronk" to be slang for "fuck", which is why I chose it for a porn board -- the way I viewed this board when I joined. Ultimately, as my opinions changed, I came to regret that decision.

However, it turns out, happily, that "skronk" has a number of meanings to a number of people. Please see the following page:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=skronk

It may be said that being dissonant and annoying someone to the point of madness without realising it apply in my case. :D

As for "Donkey"? Well, I can be a bit of an ass. And "The"? I'm the one and only, baby.

Incidentally, I am truly curious about your own name. Does "Grooby" mean you are associated with Grooby Productions and/or The Grooby Archives?

I am deeply curious as to the answer, not least because all the Grooby links at other porn sites have recently gone dead. Grooby had many stunning girls. I am gutted about this, but, if I had to hazard a guess, then I'd say that the folks at Grooby had a bit of a cyber jiggle in order to clamp down on freebies and illicit linking -- which I totally understand.

Originally Posted by Bionca

Personally, I think most conversations can happen without the adjectives.

Oh, Bionca!

Why can't everyone in the world be as cool as you?

[violet lightning]

Interesting topic, but I know we had a very similar discussion regarding terms in some depth on the shemale chat forum.... (but not specifically on the term "transwoman")

Welcome back Bionca and Aries666! I missed you! :D

[rockabilly]

I too often use the term tgirl , but as i have found even more respect , admiration and love for these ladies i find that GIRL fits them much better. And i missed Ms. B as well fellas. I dont like the term shemale as i feel it is offensive ... used in a porn context then hmmm ok it's tolerable.

[Jenae LaTorque]

A rose is a rose is a rose.............

[johndowe]

Originally Posted by Jenae LaTorque

A rose is a rose is a rose.............

Hi there.

I'm surprized that you didn't write: "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

JohnDowe.

[GroobyKrissy]

Originally Posted by TheSkronkDonkey

Incidentally, I am truly curious about your own name. Does "Grooby" mean you are associated with Grooby Productions and/or The Grooby Archives?

I am deeply curious as to the answer, not least because all the Grooby links at other porn sites have recently gone dead. Grooby had many stunning girls. I am gutted about this, but, if I had to hazard a guess, then I'd say that the folks at Grooby had a bit of a cyber jiggle in order to clamp down on freebies and illicit linking -- which I totally understand.

Thanks SkronkDonkey

So, I do contracted writing on occasion for Grooby as I am a freelance writer. That's about the extent that I am associated with Grooby Productions as a company. Well, I've actually also modeled for their site, Shemale Yum a few years ago and that basically gave me my start in the industry. So, my loyalties to the company remain pretty high to this day.

I have the GroobyKrissy persona on many message boards because at times I do posts there on behalf of the company where applicable. For instance, if you need help ID'ing a girl from one of the Grooby sites, and post a thread about it, I'll do my best to find out who it is and post a few pictures, etc.

So, there you have it Obviously, I do NOT represent the Company in terms of my beliefs or opinions in any way so you shouldn't take what I say to be beliefs of Grooby.

Working with the company, owning my own site, and working with a couple other companies (before Grooby) has, I think, given me a unique perspective into the Industry so I enjoy discussing it.

Does that help to clear things up? BTW... I would be interested (PM me) in knowing of the sites where Grooby links have gone dead if you'd be willing... thanks

[JonFrum]

I just found this thread while browsing. A few thoughts:

First, the transwoman thing. The word is commonly used by transgender m2f people - at least here in the USA - to identify themselves. There are two terms - cis and trans. Cis basically means the same, and trans means opposite. So a cis woman is a woman with both female anatomy and female self-identification - they think of them selves as women, and look like and function as women to others. A trans-woman is a person with male physical anatomy, but identifies as a woman - they know they are women inside their own heads, despite what their anatomy happens to be.

Since transwoman is a term invented by transgendered people to label themselves, they feel that it's the appropriate word to use. Those same people hate the word shemale, which was invented by non-transgendered people, and identifies them as only the objects of male lust - that's us. Use the word shemale to your typical transitioning m2f and you're liable to get your head ripped off - like calling a black person n!gger - not cool.

Transvestite was actually a technical term, invented by some researcher studying males who dressed up as females. Over the years, though, the word picked up a seedy meaning. The only time you'd see the word used would be when some "transvestite prostitute" was busted. Since transvestites usually hung out in bars on the bad side of town, where people were being mugged, drugs sold, etc. the name developed a bad reputation.

So then, some guys who dress as woman but want acceptance start meeting and talking about how to deal with wives, police etc. They are often middle class, businessmen, married and straight. The name transvestite was kind of poisoned by it's association with illicit sex and the criminal underworld, so they when for the more neutral name crossdresser. It says what they do, but it's not an invented word that people associate with perversion.

So now the crossdressers have the Tiffany Club and other national organizations with local chapters. They're mostly white, middle-class guys with wives, and they go to conventions, on cruises, support groups, all that stuff. These are guys who are trying to convince their wives to be cool with their wearing women's clothes around the house, so they need to convince them that they are totally straight, and sex has nothing to do with it. As a result, they want no part of guys who dress as women to get sexed up. If you go to the crossdressers.com forum, you'll find out that it's ruled with an iron hand. If you start posting about how hot it make you to wear women's clothes, and how you want to hook up, you'll be banned. They have a wives/girllfriends section, so they don't want their wives reading about guys having tranny parties and sucking each other's dicks.

So now, the fetish crossdressers - like me - are probably best called transvestites, because we fit better with the old image of transvestites hanging around dive bars on the waterfront. Crossdressers make a big deal about going to the mall and trying to "pass." I'd be much more interested in going to a hotel room with a couple of trannies and getting nasty.



All of the above is opinion, and does not attempt to speak for everyone everywhere. It does, however, come from experience with the groups mentioned - I'm just passing on what I've heard from others.

[DSL]

I have allways refered to them as shemales.

[johndowe]

Hi there.

Is that the song by "The Byrds"?


JohnDowe.

[ila]

Originally Posted by JonFrum

......There are two terms - cis and trans. Cis basically means the same, and trans means opposite.....

Trans comes from Latin and means across.

Originally Posted by JonFrum

Transvestite was actually a technical term, invented by some researcher studying males who dressed up as females......

Transvestite also comes from Latin; the word trans - across and the word vestire - to dress. The literal translation is crossedresser. The word was not invented by some researcher studying males who dressed up as females. It has been used in English for a good long time.

[JonFrum]

Originally Posted by ila

Trans comes from Latin and means across.



Transvestite also comes from Latin; the word trans - across and the word vestire - to dress. The literal translation is crossedresser. The word was not invented by some researcher studying males who dressed up as females. It has been used in English for a good long time.

From Wikipedia:

Magnus Hirschfeld coined the term transvestism (from Latin trans-, "across, over" and vestitus, "dressed") to refer to the sexual interest in cross-dressing.[2] He used it to describe persons who habitually and voluntarily wore clothes of the opposite sex. Hirschfeld's group of transvestites consisted of both males and females, with (physically) heterosexual, (physically) homosexual, bisexual, and asexual orientations.[3]

Also:

After all the changes which took place during the 1970s, a large group was left without a word to describe themselves: heterosexual males (that is, male-bodied, male-identified, gynephilic persons) who wear traditionally feminine clothing. This group was not particularly happy with the term transvestism. Therefore, the term cross-dresser was coined. Self-identified cross-dressers generally do not have fetishistic intentions, but are instead men who wear female clothing and often both admire and imitate women.

I didn't read the Wikipedia article before I wrote my post - it's just common knowledge stuff in the field.