Minus My Humanity

singapore.jpg

Why not just say a singaporean woman…or man? Hell, even “transsexual woman” would be better than “transsexual.” I guess it’s easier to see “transsexuals” as some kind of mutant rather than a person.

To a person that isn’t trans, it may be hard to understand why the semantics at play here are important. I agree with Rush Limbaugh, words do mean things. Writing this way will dehumanize Kamaruzaman Bin Mohamed Noor. Stripping away a person’s humanity makes it easier to hate them.

Marti Abernathey is the founder of the Transadvocate and the previous managing editor. Abernathey has worn many different hats, including that of podcaster, activist, and radiologic technologist. She's been a part of various internet radio ventures such as TSR Live!, The T-Party, and The Radical Trannies, TransFM, and Sodium Pentathol Sunday. As an advocate she's previously been involved with the Indiana Transgender Rights Advocacy Alliance, Rock Indiana Campaign for Equality, and the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition. She's taken vital roles as a grass roots community organizer in The Indianapolis Tax Day Protest (2003), The Indy Pride HRC Protest (2004), Transgender Day of Remembrance (2004), Indiana's Witch Hunt (2005), and the Rally At The Statehouse (the largest ever GLBT protest in Indiana - 3/2005). In 2008 she was a delegate from Indiana to the Democratic National Convention and a member of Barack Obama's LGBT Steering and Policy Committee. Abernathey currently hosts the Youtube Channel "The T-Party with Marti Abernathey."

6 Comments

  1. Shit like that really ticks me off. In its haste to seem “objective” the press ends up reducing human beings to labels. Although, you have to wonder if they would have written the article in the same “objective” style if it were about anyone who wasn’t a transexual person.

    Seriously, is their gender even germaine to the article?

  2. Shit like that really ticks me off. In its haste to seem “objective” the press ends up reducing human beings to labels. Although, you have to wonder if they would have written the article in the same “objective” style if it were about anyone who wasn’t a transexual person.

    Seriously, is their gender even germaine to the article?

  3. Yeah, shit…or they could even say, oh I dunno, “PERSON”?? Who cares what gender the person is? 😛

  4. Yeah, shit…or they could even say, oh I dunno, “PERSON”?? Who cares what gender the person is? 😛

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