Trans versus Trans*

Recently, I read a post on Tumblr, that had a photo of different terms crossed out that have been used to reference trans women. Most of the cross outs I understood, however, there was one that caught me off guard. This was the term trans* woman. The post had crossed out this term, stating that it was offensive. The blogger was commenting on the use of the asterisk (*) when writing about trans women specifically. The post said, do some research if you do not know why these terms are offensive.

So I did some research. I found a number of blogs and informal writings on why some people use the * and why others find it offensive. Some of the article stated that it was used to reference the whole umbrella of trans, including drag queens, cross dressers, non-binary folks and others, while the trans without an asterisk was more specific to people who identified within the binary. Some people argued that the trans* term had been mainly created and used by men and leaving out trans women. Some of the arguments were strong and others did not make as much sense. However, what I did ascertain from my research, was terms are very hard to navigate.

Just as we have talked about it class, it is hard to make every person fit into a box, or make every person agree with what others have to say. However, what frustrated me was that the blogger that posted the picture and small blurb did not give any reason for their post, but asked the reader to do their own research. I understand this someone, but I also feel as though this problematic because it is like saying, Obama is a terrible president, but not commenting on why you think that. I felt as though I was left high and dry.

There were some feminist perspectives on the asterisk, but they did not seem fully developed. I had a hard time finding a strong argument of why the term is offensive, other than "it is".

I bring up the discussion of trans versus trans* because I have come in contact with some people who really like the use of trans* because they say that it is more inclusive. I have also come in contact with some people that despise the use of trans* and deem it offensive. I am on the fence, unsure of what to do.

Through taking this course I have become very aware of my voice and very wary of overstepping my bounds. The use of labels is very difficult, and some truly like labels while others truly hate labels. I have come to realize that there will always be conflict of how people identify themselves and how people identify others.

A discussion of labels does not only apply to trans folks, it applies to people of different cultures, ethnicity's, countries, genders, sexes, ages and so much more. Labels can cause incredible divides between people, but they can also bridge gaps. That is one really important discussion that we have made all semester is the importance of finding similar goals and common grounds, bridging narratives, even when we are so different.