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Shemale

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An artists' rendering of a person with female breasts and male genitalia.

Shemale (sometimes she-male) is a slang term specifically referring to persons with male genitalia and augmented female breasts from breast augmentation and/or use of hormones. The term shemale often occurs in the context of pornography and while acceptable to persons (especially those working in the Adult industry) with the above described body form, it is considered derogatory for some (but not all) post-operative male to female transsexuals (who have had sexual re-assignment).

While accurate as a descriptor of pre-operative male to female transsexuals, the term shemale is inaccurate for describing post-operative male to female transsexuals.[1]

Other synonyms for she-male in sex work include ladyboy and chicks with dicks.[2] The descriptive terms (almost never used in daily language) for persons with sexual preference for these physical characteristics are gynandromorphophilia or gynemimetophilia. Slang terms for individuals with such preferences include "tranny chasers" and "admirers." There are specialty genres of pornography and prostitution/escort services that cater to such individuals.

Connotations

In 1979, Janice Raymond employed the term as a derogatory descriptor for transsexual people in her controversial book, The Transsexual Empire: The Making of the She-Male in which she argues that from a feminist point of view, transsexuals constitute an attack by males upon femininity.[3]

The term has since become an unflattering term applied to male-to-female transsexuals.[4] According to Professors Laura Castañeda and Shannon Campbell at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Journalism, "Using the term she-male for a transsexual woman would be considered highly offensive, for it implies that she is working 'in the [sex] trade.' It may be considered libelous."[5] Melissa Hope Ditmore, of the Trafficked Persons Rights Project, notes the term "is an invention of the sex industry, and most transwomen find the term abhorrent."[1] In some cultures it can also be used interchangeably with other terms referring to trans woman but author Julia Serano notes that it remains "derogatory or sensationalistic."[6] The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has said the term is a "dehumanizing slur"[7] and should not be used "except in a direct quote that reveals the bias of the person quoted."[8] The term is also derogatory when used as a reference to masculine lesbians, although this is no longer common usage.

Some have adopted the term as a self-descriptor but this is often in context of sex work.[4] In Walking on The Wild Side: Shemale Internet Pornography, John Phillips writes that shemale is "a linguistic oxymoron that simultaneously reflects but, by its very impossibility, challenges [gender] binary thinking, collapsing the divide between the masculine and the feminine."[2]

Scientific/medical use

Few biologists use she-male to refer to male non-human animals that mimic female characteristics, such as pheromones.[9][10][11][12] Biologist Joan Roughgarden has criticized this use, "which she says is degrading and has been borrowed from the porn industry."[13]

The term is also used by some human behavior and medical researchers to refer specifically to male-to-female transsexuals who have transitioned to female at least cosmetically, such as with breast augmentation, but have not yet undergone gential surgery.[14][15][16][17]

Two technical synonyms are gynandromorph and gynemimetomorph.[14][18] A gynandromorph is an organism that contains both male and female characteristics. Gynandromorphy is a term of Greek etymology which means to have some of the body morphology and measurements of both an average woman and man.[19] Gynemimism is the adoption of female characteristics by a male.[20]

Other usage

Since the mid-19th century, the term she-male has been applied to "almost anyone who appears to have bridged gender lines," including effeminate men and lesbians.[4] It has also been used to describe a "hateful woman" or "bitch."[21] It was used through the 1920s to describe a woman, usually a feminist or an intellectual.[22] Up through the mid-1970s, it was used to describe an assertive woman, "especially a disliked, distrusted woman; a bitch."[23]

In her 1990 book, From Masculine To Feminine And All points In Between, Jennifer Anne Stevens defined she-male as "usually a gay male who lives full time as a woman; a gay transgenderist."[24] The Oxford English Dictionary defines she-male as "a passive male homosexual or transvestite."[25] It has been used as gay slang for faggot.[26]

In the early 19th century, she-male was used as a colloquialism in American literature for female,[27] often pejoratively.[24] Davy Crockett is quoted as using the term in regard to a shooting match, when his opponent challenges Davy Crockett to shoot near his opponent's wife, Davy Crockett is reported to have replied: "'No, No, Mike,' sez I, 'Davy Crockett's hand would be sure to shake, if his iron pointed within a hundred miles of a shemale, and I give up beat...'"[28]

See also

Look up shemale in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

References

  1. ^ a b Ditmore, Melissa Hope (2006). Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work. Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 9780313329685
  2. ^ a b Sigel, Lisa Z. (2005). International Exposure: Perspectives on Modern European Pornography, 1800-2000. Rutgers University Press. pp. 254–271. ISBN 0813535190, 9780813535197. Retrieved 2008-12-14. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Raymond, J. (1994), The Transsexual Empire, New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, ISBN 0807762725
  4. ^ a b c Herbst, Philip H. (2001), Wimmin, Wimps & Wallflowers: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Gender and Sexual orientation Bias in The United States, Intercultural Press, p. 252-3, ISBN 1877864803, retrieved 2007-10-25 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ^ Castañeda , Laura and Shannon B. Campbell News and Sexuality: Media Portraits of Diversity. SAGE, ISBN 9781412909990
  6. ^ Serano, Julia (2007). Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity. Seal press, ISBN 9781580051545, p. 175.
  7. ^ Staff report (October 05, 2007). GLAAD Condemns "Dehumanizing" Page Six New York Post Column. The Advocate
  8. ^ GLAAD GLAAD Media Reference Guide: Defamatory Language.
  9. ^ Shine, R., Phillips, B., & Waye, H., LeMaster, M., & Mason, R. T. (2001). Benefits of female mimicry in snakes: She-male garter snakes exploit the amorous attentions of other males to warm up. Nature, 414, 267.
  10. ^ Mason, R. T., & Crew, D. (1985). Female mimicry in garter snakes. Nature, 316, 59-60.
  11. ^ Rubenstein, D. I. (1985). Animal behaviour: The serpent's seductive scent. Nature, 316, 18-19.
  12. ^ Moore, M. C., & Lindsey, J. (1992). The physiological basis of sexual behavior in male reptiles. In C. Gans and D. Crews, Hormones, brain, and behavior: Biology of the reptilia, vol. 13, physiology E, pp. 70-113.
  13. ^ Flam, Faye (2008).The Score: How the Quest for Sex Has Shaped the Modern Man. Avery, ISBN 9781583333129
  14. ^ a b Blanchard, R., & Collins, P. I. (1993). Men with sexual interest in transvestites, transsexuals, and she males. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 181, 570–575.
  15. ^ "The she-male phenomenon and the concept of partial autogynephilia". R. Blanchard - Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 1993.
  16. ^ Dixon, D., & Dixon, J. (1998). She-male prostitutes: Who are they, what do they do, and why do they do it. In J. Elias, V. Bullough, V. Elias, & G. Brewer (Eds.), Prostitution: On whores, hustlers, and johns (pp. 260-266). New York: Prometheus.
  17. ^ Olsson, S.-E., & Möller, A. (2006). Regret after sex reassignment surgery in a male-to-female transsexual: A long-term follow-up. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 35, 501-506.
  18. ^ Money, J. (1984). Paraphilias: Phenomenology and classification. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 38, 164-178.
  19. ^ The Illustrated Dictionary of Sex: Gynandromorphy
  20. ^ The Illustrated Dictionary of Sex: Gynemimism
  21. ^ Spears, Richard A (1991). A Dictionary of Slang and Euphemism. Signet, ISBN 0451165543
  22. ^ Green, Jonathon (2006). Cassell's Dictionary of Slang. Cassell. ISBN 9780304366361.
  23. ^ Wentworth, Harold and Stuart Berg Flexner (1975). Dictionary of American Slang. Crowell, ISBN 9780690006704
  24. ^ a b Stevens, Jennifer Anne (1990). From Masculine To Feminine And All points In Between. Cambridge, MA 02238: Different Path Press. ISBN 0962626201.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) Cite error: The named reference "stevens" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  25. ^ Oxford English Dictionary. Cambridge, MA 02238: Oxford University Press, USA. 1989. ISBN 978-0198611868.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  26. ^ Aman, Reinhold (1982). Maledicta, Volume 6, Issue 1, p. 144.
  27. ^ Harper, Douglas, "she-male", Online Etymology Dictionary, retrieved 2007-09-11
  28. ^ Boorstin, Daniel J. (1965), "Part Seven: "Search for Symbols"", The Americans, vol. 2 The National Experience., N.Y.: Vintage, p. 335f, ISBN 0394703588
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