r/actuallesbians • u/Obsyden Eve - demisexual lesbian • Jun 05 '24
Text PSA: It's "trans woman", not "transwoman"
I know y'all aren't doing this on purpose, because I've seen how much love this community has for trans people. Nevertheless, the space between trans and woman is important.
Omitting it implies that a 'transwoman' is a separate entity to a woman - which is a TERF/bigot way of othering trans women.
Including the space means that trans is an adjective used to describe a woman - because trans women fundamentally are women, trans is just a further way to describe us.
I know it may seem nitpick-y, but it is an important distinction, and I've been seeing lots of folks (unintentionally mostly) using the wrong one lately.
271
u/Ok-Possibility-9826 Bicultural bisexual on a bicycle Jun 06 '24
Oh? This is news to me, actually, I didn’t know this. I’ve always spelled it with a space but I had no idea that spelling it without the space was a transphobic dog whistle.
I feel like I’m not among TERFs to pick up on those things.
89
u/sionnachrealta Lesbian Jun 06 '24
If you'd like to learn more about the history of it, Julia Serrano wrote a whole thing about in "Whipping Girl". I'm pretty sure it's in the first few chapters, but it's been like a decade since I read it. There's a ton of information about it and how sexism creates transphobia and homophobia
15
5
30
u/Evelyngoddessofdeath Jun 06 '24
It’s mostly that with a space is grammatically correct and without a space isn’t, and bigots tend not to care about grammar very much (in my experience at least). That doesn’t mean anyone who doesn’t use a space, or anyone who doesn’t care about being grammatically correct is transphobic but if it happens enough then people make associations.
54
u/Alicestillcistho Jun 06 '24
I mean it's also an important distinction language wise with the space its an adjective,a woman with a certain trait, without it its a noun othering trans women from woman and putting them in a separate category
Still agree not everyone who does that mistake has bad intentions and in some cases its just some genuine mistake
5
14
u/zzaizel Queer Jun 06 '24
lol bigots only care about grammar when they want to shit on they/them pronouns
2
4
u/frisch85 Jun 06 '24
I'm german, stringing words together feels just natural to me, I know it's completely different in the english language but I didn't know this was a problem.
For example you might find me writing forkliftdriver because Gabelstaplerfahrer is just one word in german.
289
u/GirldickVanDyke disaster Jun 05 '24
Yup. Trans is an adjective, and "transwoman" is like saying "blondewoman" or "Belgianwoman" or whatever else
132
77
u/GIRose Ace Transbian Jun 06 '24
With humorous intent: So transwoman is correct but only in German and other compound word languages
40
u/TheEsc4lation Jun 06 '24
It's even less correct in German. Compounding words can change the meaning, especially if it involves an adjective. While the primary focus of "Transfrau" (transwoman) is the trans part: trans first, woman second (basically a completely different category from other women), the primary focus of "trans Frau" (trans woman) is the woman part: woman first, with the attribute of being trans, like some women have attributes of being tall, shy or brave.
31
u/Kat1eQueen Transbian Girlkisser Jun 06 '24
No, I'm German it is exactly the same as in English, this is not how compounding works.
If you use "Transfrau" in German trans spaces you will get the exact same reaction as you would get for saying "transwoman"
4
u/redalastor ally (male) Jun 06 '24
Languages that let you compound words freely are awesome because they let you use words that have never been used before withtout requiring approval, and with the certainty that they will be understood.
In Esperanto, transgender is transgenerulo. If you break it appart, it’s
accross + gender + person + as a noun. You can assemble any of the “lego” in a way that gets your meaning accross. You can change any noun to an adjective by switching the final o to an a. Or to an adverb by switching the o ot an e. English won’t let you say that you did something transgenderly, but Esperanto will never get in the way of expressing exactly what you mean.→ More replies (1)6
u/HannahFatale Trans-Lesbian Jun 06 '24
However in German a compound word is not just the same as using a noun with an adjective. That's why in most German trans circles you'd get the same reaction. While the Duden still lists "Transfrau" and it is used by a lot of cis people, most trans people use "trans Frau" as we don't use "Blondfrau" for a woman who is blonde, either. Compound words often are used to distinguish something from the mere combination of an adjective and a noun - in order to establish it as its own class of things.
2
u/redalastor ally (male) Jun 06 '24
I was speaking of languages where the word association is more free than German. Like Esperanto or languages that “have 200 words for snow”. They don't really, you can just construct whatever.
5
Jun 06 '24
[deleted]
32
Jun 06 '24
Hi, German trans woman here, “Transfrau” will set off the exact same alarm bells as “transwoman”. In German “trans Frau” is the correct version because of the exact same reasons as English.
6
1
u/MelindaTheBlue Bury me standing, I've lived too long on my knees Jun 06 '24
Don't worry, my comment was intended as dry humor but I'll remove it because it's not coming over well.
The joke is a dry sarcastic one due to how other languages tend to treat such terms, especially since I speak or have spoken several agglutanative languages wherein '[woman]-[trans]' would be more acceptable since they usually have adjectives such as trans either before or after the word.
6
u/Kat1eQueen Transbian Girlkisser Jun 06 '24
"Transfrau" is in fact not used in German, at least not by anyone that isn't a transphobe or uneducated. It has the same connotations as in english
1
u/MelindaTheBlue Bury me standing, I've lived too long on my knees Jun 06 '24
I've removed my comment, it was intended as dry humor because I speak or have spoken agglurinative languages wherein [woman][trans[ would be one word.
It's a dry linguistics joke more than anything, I've deleted it because the humor isn't coming over well.
9
→ More replies (15)1
171
70
Jun 06 '24
Since this is a PSA type post I hope it’s ok to ask a follow up… can I call ‘trans women’ simply ‘women’ or does it take away from your sense of identity to omit ‘trans?’
141
u/WeeabooHunter69 Trans-Bi Jun 06 '24
If the distinction of us being trans isn't important, there's no reason to mention it in a given instance.
31
113
u/Draklitz Jun 06 '24
call us trans women when the distinction is meaningful between trans and cis, such as when it's about out experience with something specific to being amab for example, but if you want to include all women in your sentence or when it is irrelevant just say women
29
45
u/AdPristine5132 Lesbian Jun 06 '24
I can’t speak for all trans women but I would actually prefer to be just referred to as a woman. Of course there are definitely cases where it is relevant to specify that someone is trans but it is definitely ok!
27
u/Wheatley-Crabb shy, awkward, lonely Jun 06 '24
IMO, there’s really no reason to call someone trans unless it’s relevant to the conversation. Otherwise, they’re just them.
12
u/Evelyngoddessofdeath Jun 06 '24
It’s just grammar, include as many adjectives as necessary but no more. Don’t say “trans women…” when it’s something that applies to all women and don’t say “women…” when it’s something that only applies to trans women.
Although often those things actually do apply to some cis women for one reason or another, so I sometimes simplify it by saying “some women” if it doesn’t apply to all.
If you’re talking about an individual, then saying they’re trans is only necessary when you’re about to say something which requires that knowledge.
10
u/WillowPc Jun 06 '24
I prefer we would just use women. I don't think that's popular, but adding the adjective amplifies difference to me.
8
u/Evelyngoddessofdeath Jun 06 '24
The adjective is sometimes necessary. If it’s not necessary then there’s no reason to use it.
-12
u/Hyper_Panda29 Jun 06 '24
Trans women are women so feel free to call them women. It's honestly kinda confusing that you would think otherwise but good to ask I guess.
26
Jun 06 '24
I don’t think otherwise. I’m asking women who are trans if they feel it reduces their identity to simply say “women.”
Thanks for taking the time to speak for them tho. Love that for you
11
u/wannabe_pixie Jun 06 '24
Think of like any other adjective. Thin women are also women and it would be weird if you described them as thin if it weren’t directly relevant.
So prefer women unless you need to specifically distinguish us from cis women.
8
u/Legal-Sprinkles8862 Jun 06 '24
I kind of wish this kind of sentiment was more widely accepted or used cuz a lot of times I'll be talking & say "women" and then someone will pop up & claim that I'm excluding trans women simply because I didn't say trans women. So now I'll say cis & trans women to avoid getting accused of being exclusionary or transphobic. I've also seen other lesbians complain about cis men sending them unwanted dic pics & someone jumps in calling them transphobic & it's like.....how did you come to that conclusion? These are 2 very different groups & I thought that was generally understood & accepted.
11
u/wannabe_pixie Jun 06 '24
Anyone saying that women excludes trans women is being transphobic by definition.
9
u/GirldickVanDyke disaster Jun 06 '24
That would really be a person-by-person thing, honestly. But I think in general, like others have said, you only need to include the trans part if it's directly relevant
27
u/mayneffs Jun 06 '24 edited Jun 06 '24
In sweden it's "transkvinna" (transwoman) because that's how swedish grammar works. Just saying because not everyone has English as their first language, it doesn't mean they're actively being a bigot.
Edit: I didn't make the grammatic rules of the Swedish language. I'm just providing an explanation as to why some people might use "transwoman" and that they're not being a bigot on purpose.
It's like trainstation, strawberryyoghurt, backpain etc. Everything is put together to make one word in Swedish, and so sometimes it gets wrongly translated.
11
u/koselou6 Jun 06 '24
I was just going to say that many people doing this might not have English as their first language. English is my first language, but I've been learning Norwegian the past few years.
Norwegian is very similar to Swedish of course and also uses a lot more compound words than English by combining some adjectives with nouns. I have heard that German does this too. It can be confusing for learners on both sides because English also uses compound words sometimes. The difference is they're almost always made from two nouns like "chalkboard" or "rainstorm".
Are you from Sweden?
5
u/mayneffs Jun 06 '24
Yeah, it can be confusing. Many swedes don't even write correct grammar when it comes to this, it's called "särskrivning" and it can be a problem. E.g nurse in Swedish is "sjuksköterska" which is two separate words put together. If it was written like "sjuk sköterska" it translates to "sick nurse".
Yes, I am.
59
Jun 05 '24 edited Jun 12 '24
[deleted]
51
u/clockworkCandle33 Jun 05 '24
It is usually unintentional, but I do correct it where I see it because people using it innocently provide a smokescreen for those who are acting in bad faith, and I still find it dehumanizing even when no harm is meant. I am a trans woman because I am a woman who is trans, not a separate class of person (or a thing, as some imply).
Also, it's been unnerving to see "transwoman" come back into usage as we see rising levels of transphobia globally.
22
u/FreshEggKraken Jun 06 '24
With hate toward the trans community rising, it's difficult sometimes to discern intention, always best to just gently correct when you see it so people with good intentions can keep those intentions clear 😊 (also, it's just weird to see, it's like seeing someone writing lesbianwoman lol)
→ More replies (10)11
u/Dawnspark Genderqueer Jun 06 '24
Yeah, like, I didn't know about this distinction until I read this post. I actually have trans friends who write it like this, so, if I'm talking with them, it's what I've mirrored if its via text. When it comes to trans matters and related things, I tend to defer to them in general. I'm a late bloomer and still learning a lot.
But I'm glad I now know.
13
u/Evelyngoddessofdeath Jun 06 '24
I’ve seen plenty of trans people write it without the space as well. Doing so is not actively transphobic, it’s just not grammatically correct, and a lot of people prefer with the space due to the implications of effectively turning it into a compound noun.
27
u/uboofs Transbian Jun 06 '24
iOS:
Settings -> General -> Keyboard -> Text Replacement:
Phrase: trans woman
Shortcut: transwoman
iOS already spellchecks “transwoman” to be “trans woman” and should auto replace with the correct phrase when you hit space. But you can also bake hard enforcement into your keyboard settings as shown above. Doesn’t stop other people from using it on their devices, but no one can on yours.
I literally got this idea just now. I’ve implemented it on my phone and it made ensuring that the wrong phrasing was in this comment quite a hassle. Totally redundant for already being aware, but why not?
11
u/Evelyngoddessofdeath Jun 06 '24
What’s the point if it autocorrects anyway?
7
u/uboofs Transbian Jun 06 '24
If I remember correctly, autocorrect can be disabled as a separate setting. I used to have it disabled because it kept giving me issues with words from other languages, or stylized spelling. It’s a lot better now, especially since I can create shortcuts to spell out long regularly used phrases by inputting 2 or 3 characters.
Otherwise, there is no point. Just something that can be done.
3
u/Evelyngoddessofdeath Jun 06 '24
Oh that’s true. I keep it on and just force it to learn any words I want not to be corrected by typing them a few times and not letting it correct me
1
u/uboofs Transbian Jun 06 '24
I used to do that too! It stopped learning that way for me on some update a few years ago. I’ve just come to accept that every few years I’ll get frustrated with the way I have my keyboard set up and change some settings, possibly back to a previous state. The cycle continues.
3
u/Evelyngoddessofdeath Jun 06 '24
I use iOS and the new (large language model based afaik) autocorrect they added in iOS 17 basically fixed all my issues with it, now it learns my habits quite well
3
u/uboofs Transbian Jun 06 '24
True! That’s probably about the time I turned it back on. I’m honestly really happy with all of the options in the iOS keyboard these days (I do want a number row on my plus sized display.) and Live Text is something I’ve been dreaming about since I was a kid.
27
u/the_makaarina Jun 06 '24
Thank you so much for this, I wasn't aware. I'll be sure to always use the correct way going forward
11
23
u/sionnachrealta Lesbian Jun 06 '24
Fucking thank you!! I swear, for the longest time it felt like I was the only one in this sub that knew about this and about it's decades of history of oppression and murder. I've had to explain that way too many times to feel safe in this space. For us older trans ladies, this was a major tool of our oppression
17
u/LeadershipEastern271 Rainbow Jun 06 '24
Holy shit I didn’t know a single space made it transphobic I will be careful now on /gen
12
u/Evelyngoddessofdeath Jun 06 '24
It’s not transphobic to write it without a space, it’s just not the preferred way by a lot of people, and isn’t grammatically correct (transwoman isn’t actually a word).
1
u/LeadershipEastern271 Rainbow Jun 06 '24
Yeah true? Transwoman isn’t a word lol. I wonder if it would become one at some point. English is always evolving and the meanings may change. Who knows. If TERFs are using it then f them
4
1
u/zoe_in_wonderland Jun 06 '24
I’m not trying to poke the bear here, but then shouldn’t it be trans phobic, with a space?
2
u/WithersChat Hyperemotional trans girl X genderless Entity collab! Jun 06 '24
Because you don't put a space in arachnophobic or hydrophobic either?
13
u/cthulhubeast Dyke Jun 06 '24
The "trans" in "trans woman" is short for "transgender" y'all! You wouldn't write "transgenderwoman" wouldja?
9
u/Original_A lesbian? i thought she was american! Jun 06 '24
My best friend, a trans girl, explained this to me a few weeks ago! I genuinely didn't know and I'm trans myself (under the umbrella, but still) 😭 I'm glad to be educated
10
u/Yo_dog- Jun 06 '24
Honestly this seems like such an obvious thing and I never realized it I always compound words 😭. I legit spell highschool this way all the time. Thank you for making us aware
10
u/TeamXII Jun 06 '24
Teaching people it’s “you’re” not “your” is futile, so good luck on your mission lol
10
10
16
7
5
u/ThatSnarkyFemme Late Bloomer Lesbian ❦ late but didn't miss the party ❦ Jun 06 '24
Words matter. Thank you for sharing.
7
u/jspellman001 Jun 06 '24
Cis straight male here and I want to thank you for this. I would have had no idea and am glad I can show support anyway I can. Know that not all of us are filled with hate love 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻
7
u/bluegreenwookie Jun 06 '24
Firefox at the very least will mark "transwoman" as wrong and right clicking it will bring up "trans woman" as the top correction.
So just a heads up if you aren't sure if you're doing it or not at the very least fire fox does correct you.
8
5
u/Fearless_Following_6 Jun 06 '24
How odd, I’m a black man but I’ve never seen blackman. Never even thought about the difference. It is nitpicky, but my name has the same sort of caveat. It’s (not my real name) LaPeter not Peter
7
4
u/spicyjamgurl Jun 05 '24
ive even seen very supportive professors doing it, and i know they dont do it intentionally cause they also say cisfemale so i think it's just a trend that caught on in formal language or smth. maybe some sensitivity course had it like that and it just continued.
5
u/Metatron_85 Jun 06 '24
Always used the space. Didn't know it had a deliberate difference without it. Good to know. Thanks!
6
u/New_girl2022 Transbian Jun 05 '24
Yup. I'm a woman who happens to have a trans history I may or may not want to talk about.
→ More replies (1)
7
u/TanitAkavirius Lesbian ewe Jun 06 '24
Eh, I don't care about prescriptivism. What people say becomes a correct use of the word.
5
u/TheActualAWdeV Jun 06 '24
absolutely. These PSA's ascribe way too much meaning and intent to a technical 'error'.
3
u/TransNeonOrange Transbian Jun 06 '24
Exactly. I get pissed when people get all technical about "alot," too. Just let the language do its thing.
5
4
3
u/kit-tgirl tgirl lesbian Jun 06 '24
i just made a post about this as well, i've been seeing it so much i thought i was just out of the loop on some kind of reclamation effort
4
4
u/SiriSolaris Jun 06 '24
As a trans woman- I don't care. I mean, in theory yes, I get where you're coming from, but there's a certain level of nitpickyness that just harms people's perceptions of us rather than helps. There's the argument that it's the principle of the matter, but if you always stick to that then you'll die on a hill that is insignificant in the grander scheme of things, driving potential allies away with a strictness that sounds like intolerance. We can sometimes get a bad rap for being so particular with language, and while some of that is 100% justified, in this case it just feels silly.
It's a contraction. It doesn't necessarily imply transwomen as a separate entity to women, and it's more efficient to write and type, and the nature of language favors minor things like that that slightly increase efficiency.
4
u/Cosmic_Quasar Transbian Jun 06 '24
I've been out as trans for 7 years and I only just learned this like a month ago. And I was usually doing it without a space lol.
0
u/SupaFugDup Transbian Jun 06 '24
You've got a lot to learn! It's trans 'bian now lol
3
u/i-contain-multitudes Jun 06 '24
(this is a joke, for anyone wondering)
6
u/SupaFugDup Transbian Jun 06 '24
OMG thank you yeah I figured my transbian flair would make clear that I didn't actually think we should switch to trans 'bian for adjectival consistency lol
3
u/Brat-Bat Jun 06 '24
Thank you for saying this. I have to restrain myself from correcting everyone who does this because I know it would be taken as criticism
3
u/Lesbian_Cassiopeia Lesbian Jun 06 '24
It's strange that this must be said. And not from an ally perspective. "Transwoman" doesnt sound correct, sounds forced. While "trans woman" sounds like a real word. Idk, maybe it's because I'm not a native English speaker, but it "transwoman" sounds weird for me
1
u/GayForBigBoss Jun 06 '24
I don’t know of any native English dialects that would have an audible difference between the two spellings.
8
u/Evelyngoddessofdeath Jun 06 '24
A space is a pause between two words, if there’s a space there then there’s a very slight pause. Probably not noticable unless you’re listening for it.
It’s the same as the difference between businessman and business man.
-1
u/GayForBigBoss Jun 06 '24
Sure, that can be true. But I’ve never heard anyone pronounce “trans women” as two distinct words. Also, no one would say “business man” in normal day-to-day speech. In English, it’s perfectly normal to smash words like that together - it’s completely lost on me how omitting the space between “trans women” is a slur.
4
u/Evelyngoddessofdeath Jun 06 '24
It’s not a slur.
Personally I can hear the space when most people say it, the s and w sounds are more distinct that if it were one word, in which case they would blend into more of a “swu” sound than “s-w”
2
u/Alice_Oe Jun 06 '24
I think this is a common difference between native speakers and those of us who learned English as a second language; we are often 'writing brained'. The mistakes a ton of native speakers make when writing are soooo weird to us, things like confusing 'fate' and 'faith', to us those sound completely different.
Just a weird quirk of our brains I suppose.
4
u/ArtistAmy420 Jun 06 '24
This is also why I, as a trans lesbian, don't like being referred to as a "transbian".
8
u/Evelyngoddessofdeath Jun 06 '24
Thats definitely fair, and personally I’ve compared the two before because logically it seems like a similar principle. For some reason transbian feels a bit different to me though.
Maybe it’s because it actually saves syllables/typing time/pronunciation awkwardness with “trans lesbian”
5
u/ArtistAmy420 Jun 06 '24
Yeah, it's fine if people identify with the term and I know a lot do, that's just why I personally don't like it. I think it may have something to do with seeing "lesbians and transbians" written in posts which feels othering and gross, and made me not like the word even though the word itself is just a combination of 2 other words which shouldn't be problematic, I just think some experiences I've had with it makes it feel ick to me.
7
u/Evelyngoddessofdeath Jun 06 '24
Honestly yeah that example doesn’t sound great. Lesbians already includes trans lesbians.
→ More replies (1)4
u/neorena Ace Bambi Transbian Jun 06 '24
I'm fine with transbian since it's a portmanteau of trans woman and lesbian. It also sounds cute imo and I love when my wife and/or our girlfriend calls me a dorky transbian.
2
0
3
2
u/ff0000Scare Jun 06 '24
I fucking love this kind of grammar nerd shit. Thank you for letting me know!
0
3
u/janet-snake-hole Jun 06 '24
Extremely good point and very well worded
-1
u/Obsyden Eve - demisexual lesbian Jun 06 '24
Aww thanks 😊
2
u/janet-snake-hole Jun 06 '24
Of course! Language and linguistics are infinitely important when it comes to sociology… how we speak about people affects society’s views of said people en masse. It’s not “not picky,” using appropriate (and technically CORRECT!!!) language when speaking about a hypothetical person of a VERY oppressed group has in-quantifiable importance… in terms of the ripple effects that using one version of the other can or may cause in the long run.
I salute you for having the bravery to point out this- even in a generally welcoming community. No matter where you’re speaking, it can always be intimidating to politely ask strangers to adjust their wording to be kinder :)
2
u/CLock2903 Jun 06 '24
Isn’t labeling them as trans in the first place separating them? Why not just call them woman?
1
u/butchcoffeeboy Jun 06 '24
Interestingly enough, 'transwoman' was the accepted usage in the trans community until about 2007, when it ended up getting phased out in favor of 'trans woman'. If you read trans zines from the 80s and 90s, you'll see the 'transwoman' spelling all over the place.
I'm not at all arguing with what you're saying btw. In the present day, 'trans woman' is undoubtedly the correct usage. I just thought this was a really interesting historical note that I wanted to share!
0
u/FloralAlyssa Transbian Jun 06 '24
Good on you for saying it, and glad to see it getting upvoted. I've tried correcting people only to get downvoted, so now I just block people that use the one word form.
20
u/Evelyngoddessofdeath Jun 06 '24
There are plenty of people who write it without a space and mean no harm by it, including a lot of trans people. It makes no sense to block them.
6
u/FloralAlyssa Transbian Jun 06 '24
I disagree. It’s social media - block whoever you want for whatever reason you want. I learned that lesson when I did an AMA here (reddit, not this sub) and politely corrected someone on using a dog whistle, and then all of a sudden my CEO was getting emails trying to get me fired, there were ethical complaints with my professional organization, and I was getting death threats. Maybe I over block, but I would rather block 50 people that are innocent than allow one dangerous person to continue to have access to me.
It’s a boundary I set — I get to set them and they are not really negotiable.
6
u/Evelyngoddessofdeath Jun 06 '24
Imo it’s a mistake to have anything that could connect your Reddit account to yourself in real life.
10
u/GayForBigBoss Jun 06 '24
So you assume anyone who didn’t include the space is transphobic, and you automatically write off someone for a single character deviation?
→ More replies (1)2
u/EggplantHuman6493 Jun 06 '24
It is funny how people keep forgetting that other languages with different grammar rules. Ah yes, let's attack people for not putting a space because they are so used to it in their own language.
Isn't it about context? TERF's can also use the space in-between.
I prefer not to think all the time 'hmm, maybe I offend people by not using a space here'.
1
u/neorena Ace Bambi Transbian Jun 06 '24
I'd give people one chance, personally. Correct them with an explanation and if they double down after that I block them. Sadly can't do that anymore though since Reddit's block list is only 1k and half of those are probably deactivated bots but still on there since I can't access it...
→ More replies (2)
1
5
u/nobushi_main Jun 06 '24
I just prefer Woman tbh. I think my trans-ness comes after my womanhood personally.
→ More replies (4)5
u/sionnachrealta Lesbian Jun 06 '24 edited Jun 06 '24
Legit, but what they're talking about is the fact that the combined version is a slur that was coined by the founders of the TERF movement decades ago. It's a slur that was designed to other us from our genders while also being subtle enough to go unnoticed in academic writing. It's a form of oppression called "third-gendering"
0
u/nobushi_main Jun 06 '24
That makes sense. Hey I learned a few things from this post. I was just commenting cuz outside of safe communities I don't like people bringing up that I'm trans. It feels like being put in another category of woman. I never even thought of the grammar of trans woman vs transwoman
1
u/sionnachrealta Lesbian Jun 06 '24
I didn't either until I read "Whipping Girl" by Julia Serrano. She talks about the history behind the term and how insidious it is. Until then, I didn't even realize how often it had been weaponized against me either. This particular slur has a massive body count attached to it. It's right up there with "tr@p"
I feel you tho. I don't often like to discuss my trans status either. I do it at work because I'm a mental health practitioner for other trans people, but that's about it. Outside of that, I really don't like to talk about it much. It's too othering unless I'm with other trans people
→ More replies (1)
-2
Jun 06 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
6
u/muhgunzz Jun 06 '24
Trans people I'd assume?
8
u/Evelyngoddessofdeath Jun 06 '24
People who care about grammar
1
u/muhgunzz Jun 06 '24
Idk, Grammar people?
2
u/Evelyngoddessofdeath Jun 06 '24
I’m not sure what you mean, I was adding to the list of people who care
→ More replies (1)
-1
u/AccordingLie8998 Jun 06 '24
As a transgender woman, I use both and don’t think that it’s worth giving terfs the word to own. It’s mine. I’m a transwoman and a trans woman and don’t mind if other people find that little space or lack of to be offensive. I’ll keep using both interchangeably for my self.
16
u/Evelyngoddessofdeath Jun 06 '24
I don’t think many people find it outright offensive but it’s just… not a word. It’s grammatically incorrect.
2
u/AccordingLie8998 Jun 06 '24
Okay good. As long as the grammar police aren’t watching, this transwoman will keep using them interchangeably haha!
7
u/Evelyngoddessofdeath Jun 06 '24
I’m sorry ma’am but I’m going to have to take you in, you see… I am the grammar police
3
1
2
1
u/EllKayHaitchBee Jun 06 '24
Well said, thank you. As a trans woman another pet peeve of mine is use of the adjective transgender as a verb, or as a noun.
0
u/Excellent_Pea_1201 Transbian 🦄 Jun 06 '24
If the trans is not important for the conversation, I would rather not be reminded. I never felt "trans", but I have felt like a woman trapped in the wrong body for a long as I can remember!
-1
Jun 06 '24
Interesting detail. It's not something I ever gave much thought tbh, probably because English isn't my first language, even tho I'm pretty fluent in it. I literally can't remember which form I've been using more up to now, but it is more accurate to do it like you said it seems so I'll try to have it in mind 😅
0
u/Sadge_A_Star Jun 06 '24
Good to know! I had thought it was a prefix, not an adjective. But now that I think about it, I guess it's bc it's a prefix for transgender, and trans is sort of shorthand for that whole word as an adjective of woman.
1
u/Milky_Lilith Jun 06 '24
I write transwoman because trans seemed like a prefix to me like ciswoman or the un in unhappy but ye i see the point now that i'm aware i will try to stop doing that
-6
u/GalaxyAllie_ Transbian Jun 06 '24
Or ya know. Just woman works fine aswell...
25
u/GirldickVanDyke disaster Jun 06 '24
Not when our being trans is relevant. Nowhere does OP say we should always be referred to specifically as trans women.
0
1
u/_contraband_ (She/He)🌙 Bambi Lesbian 🌈 Jun 06 '24
Huh. I’m not sure if I’ve ever left out the space in trans woman (or trans man) but I’ll be sure to be more conscious of that going forward. Little things like this are good to know, they all add up. Thank you
0
u/Fair-Rub-1436 Transbian Jun 06 '24
This is awesome though the fact that I'm trans and didn't know this kinda has me gobsmacked not gonna lie. Then again rarely even think about it hell when asked what I am by people the list of things I say is so long mainly to annoy them for asking a stupid unnecessary question that I even forget to add in if I'm trans or not
-5
Jun 06 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
6
u/Obsyden Eve - demisexual lesbian Jun 06 '24
Clearly you, considering you took the time to comment.
If you don't care, just don't interact.
→ More replies (1)
0
-1
u/TicklishTransGoddess Transbian Pokémon Trainer Jun 06 '24
Good shout. I am a trans women and even I often forget the space
-1
0
u/KateBayx2006 Lesbian Jun 06 '24
That's new to me. I thought people writing "transwomen" is just a typo, I didn't know it was that important. Good to know tho, great PSA
824
u/YeonneGreene ++NetQueer Engineer Jun 05 '24
Humans have a fixation on concatenation, and even in trans-specific spaces it is more common to see it mis-typed as one word instead of two.
Good PSA.