2008 Woodie Awards
Missed the mark on transpeople
Issue date: 11/7/06 Section: Letters to the Editor
For those of us who actually know and love transpeople, and do not think of them as purely hypothetical chimerical creatures to debate about in the papers, Luke's article is unbelievably stupid.
Transpeople are not akin to Luke's fantasy wife-raper because they are not "playing dress up" in order to trick ignorant straight boys into having sex with them. They are outwardly expressing what to them is an undeniable fact. Obviously using a term like "playing dress-up" indicates that Luke did very little research into the nature of being transgendered, which isn't surprising and in and of itself not something to comment upon. In fact I generally don't care what Luke says about anything. However with this article, he is not merely spewing ignorant dribble all over my computer, but he is also propagating a harmful misapprehension that transpeople are dishonest about their gender.
It's worth mentioning that the actual medical advice given to transpeople after reasignment surgery is to not talk about being transgendered. The merit of that advice is surely debatable, but seeing as how Gwen had to leave both her high school and church because unaccepting people made her life so difficult there, it's no wonder she didn't bring the issue up right away with these guys she had sex with at a party.
Now all that having been said, my only point is that Luke shouldn't write about stuff he doesn't know or care to learn about. For more information about transgender issues, stop by the Women's and Gender Studies Department or read a freaking book.
Patrick Tutwiler
Transpeople are not akin to Luke's fantasy wife-raper because they are not "playing dress up" in order to trick ignorant straight boys into having sex with them. They are outwardly expressing what to them is an undeniable fact. Obviously using a term like "playing dress-up" indicates that Luke did very little research into the nature of being transgendered, which isn't surprising and in and of itself not something to comment upon. In fact I generally don't care what Luke says about anything. However with this article, he is not merely spewing ignorant dribble all over my computer, but he is also propagating a harmful misapprehension that transpeople are dishonest about their gender.
It's worth mentioning that the actual medical advice given to transpeople after reasignment surgery is to not talk about being transgendered. The merit of that advice is surely debatable, but seeing as how Gwen had to leave both her high school and church because unaccepting people made her life so difficult there, it's no wonder she didn't bring the issue up right away with these guys she had sex with at a party.
Now all that having been said, my only point is that Luke shouldn't write about stuff he doesn't know or care to learn about. For more information about transgender issues, stop by the Women's and Gender Studies Department or read a freaking book.
Patrick Tutwiler
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