RuPaul’s Drag Race is, for those unaware, the widely popular Logo TV program that pits drag performers against one another in the search for America’s next drag superstar. During its season 6 run the show came under fire for it’s use of language that some members of the transgender community find offensive.
The show has since its first season used the word “She-mail” in a segment where RuPaul sends video messages to the competitors. The show has also come under fire for use of terms such as “tranny”, and “sissy”. Controversy peaked when the show aired a segment called “Female or Shemale” in which competitors were known close ups of various celebrities’ body parts and asked to identify whether they were drag queens or ‘real women’.
The episode attracted a great deal of controversy and debate, including comments from former contestants on the show who now identify as transwomen, Carmen Carrera and Monica Beverly-Hillz.
“Shemale is an incredibly offensive term, and this whole business about if you can tell whether a woman is biological or not is getting kind of old,” Carmen Carrera said on a Facebook post.
“I have fought, and still am fighting, for respect from society — to be accepted as a woman and not referred to as a ‘tranny’ or ‘she-male.'” Monica Beverly-Hillz added.
In response, Logo TV pulled the episode and removed the ‘You’ve Got She-Mail’ segment from all future episodes.
It doesn’t take a great deal of critical thinking to see why the “Female or Shemale” segment could be offensive to a number of people. Transgender people are under a great deal of pressure to ‘pass’, i.e. be visually identifiable as their preferred gender (if indeed they identify within the gender binary) in order to fit in to a society that operates largely within the dichotomy of ‘male or female’. Consequences of not ‘passing’ or being visually identifiable as trans* can be dangerous or even lethal. Transwomen in particular suffer from disproportionately high instances of violence. Turning the real life experience of being scrutinized to determine whether or not you match the gender you were assigned at birth into a game trivializes an issue that is very real for a lot of people. For those who find themselves the subject of the question ‘female or shemale?’ on a regular basis, it’s not a very funny segment.
However, a lot of the controversy following the airing of the episode wasn’t focused on the game itself, but the language used. Comments erupted from both sides of the debate as to whether the words ‘tranny’ and ‘shemale’ are intrinsically offensive.
Language is a crucial part of the way we relate to each other and perceive the world around us. Our ability to connect with other human beings hinges on our ability to have a shared understanding of the words we use. The evolution of language and terminology is always going to be a source of contention, particularly in the queer community, where so much of our identities are inextricably linked with the linguistic labels we choose to apply to ourselves. Our community in particular is especially aware of the importance of language as so many of us have struggled to find the words that fit the way we feel inside, and so many of us have fought for those words to be recognised and understood by the outside world.
Given that our words, which when relating to our sexualities and gender identities are often deeply personal to us, it is no surprise that the constantly shifting nature of our collective vocabulary is a constant cause of passionate argument.
For many, terms like ‘tranny’ and ‘shemale’ have been the tools of discrimination and violence, used to diminish their identities, and have no place in the slang lexicon. But some have reclaimed those words and wear them like a badge of honour, and by doing so diminish the power of those who would use those words against them.
But does RuPaul, the iconic drag queen, have any right to be reclaiming those terms on behalf of the community? On the podcast WTF with Mark Mahon, RuPaul addressed the controversy, arguing that only a small number of people were upset by his use of what some deemed “transphobic language”, and that they ought to worry about bigger issues.
“Does the word ‘tranny’ bother me? No. I love the word ‘tranny.’ … It’s not the transexual community who’s saying that. These are fringe people who are looking for storylines to strengthen their identity as victims. That is what we are dealing with. It’s not the trans community. ‘Cause most people who are trans have been through hell and high water… But some people haven’t and they’ve used their victimhood to create a situation where, ‘No! You look at me! I want you to see me the way you’re supposed to see me!’ You know, if your idea of happiness has to do with someone else changing what they say, what they do, you are in for a fucking hard-ass road… I dance to the beat of a different drummer. I believe everybody — you can be whatever the hell you wanna be, I ain’t stopping you. But don’t you dare tell me what I can do or what I can’t — say or can’t do. It’s just words, like, ‘Yeah, you hurt me!’ Bitch, you need to get stronger. If you’re upset by something I said you have bigger problems than you think.”
RuPaul is, of course, legally allowed to say whatever he wants to say, as everyone ought to be, because if we censor one group of people then we allow the possibility for any voice to be extinguished. But should he be using these words?
The practice of reclaiming language has long been a part of strengthening communities and turning slurs, words used as tools of discrimination and oppression, back against the oppressors. It’s a classic method of removing power from bullies of any size: if I call myself a queer, or a dyke or a faggot or a freak, then they can’t insult me with those words any more.
RuPaul is an iconic performer and his work, including in particular ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’, have done a great deal to shake up notions of gender and sexuality for a mainstream audience, and promote a blatant message of cheesy, glittery self-acceptance whilst calling for a wider sense of equality for all members of the GLBTI community. The use of ‘tranny’ and ‘shemail’ on RuPaul’s Drag Race are for the most part, (aside from the controversial “Female or Shemale” segment) reappropriated as terms of endearment. Drag queens have often been on the receiving end of slurs such as ‘tranny’ and ‘shemale’, so they have every right to do so.
Where things get complicated is the fact that drag queens are not representative of the plethora of different identities that come under the trans* umbrella. There are a number of trans* people who aren’t drag performers and have terms like ‘shemale’ and ‘tranny’ frequently thrown at them as insults. It is arguable that the transgender community doesn’t have their own public platform, like ‘Drag Race’, on which they can reclaim such terms for themselves. ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ has a strong mainstream audience, many of whom may be unaware of the differences between drag performers and transgender people.
So while RuPaul has suggested that those who are offended by his language should turn their attention to bigger issues, I believe that the discussion should continue, and involve a wide breadth of voices from the queer community. The language we use is our primary tool for defining ourselves, and we should claim our own definitions as we see fit.
Sophie Joske
