According to Examiner.com

According to Examiner.com
According to the Examiner.com---since 01/09/11

Sunday, January 15, 2012

RuPaul To Trans Activist: Lighten Up! “I Love The Word “Tranny!”…

In an interview with Mike Signorile for SiriusXM OutQ and HuffPost Gay Voices RuPaul has become the voice of reason in an interview which I am sure is going to ruffle a few trans-activists feathers.

RuPaul talked about her reality show in which drag queens face off and weighed in on other matters, including the the latest trans controversies including the now canceled ABC sitcom, “Work It,” (canceled for low rating )in which two straight men dress in drag in order to get jobs and which has been criticized by GLAAD the HRC and  gay and transgender activists for mocking transgender women.  Even though it had absolutely NOTHING to do with any trans characters.  (Drag is the new blackface obviously to trans-activists) RuPaul is imploring the activists to calm down and :
 ”Don’t take life so seriously… Everybody’s offended by something. And it really goes back to the ego – egoic mind and the ego-based world that we live in, where everybody is, their identify is everything. And this is what drag is about — you are not who you think are, you’re born naked, and the rest is drag. It’s all a facade — you’re much more than what you think you are. So this idea of people feeling they’re not being represented — I remember on [the '70s sitcom] “Good Times,” when black activists got upset with the fact that J.J., the lead character, didn’t represent what young black men in our culture — in fact the two leads of the TV show quit the show because they felt J.J., the Jimmy Walker character, didn’t represent. Well, the truth is, kids, this is a sitcom, this is a comedy — sitcom. If you want representation, you do it yourself. It starts on a personal level. If you want to change the world, change your mind. Your mind. Not anyone else’s mind. Your mind.
And as for the word “tranny” becoming the new “n-word”  RuPaul weighed in like this:
It’s ridiculous! It’s ridiculous! Words — it goes back to grade school: Sticks and stones, you know the rest. The thing is you have to look at the ego, you have to follow the money, and the payoff. And the payoff is that the ego wants attention no matter what. It will try to get it wherever the hell it can, whether it’s positive or negative. So you have to ignore it basically — you have to starve it out. And unfortunately in our culture one person can write a letter to the network and they shut something down. It’s unfortunate. But I love the word “tranny.”

And no one has ever said the word “tranny” in a derogatory sense. In fact, you have to go to the intent of the person saying it. Of course Lance Bass, his intent would never be to be derogatory. Never. So, you know, that’s really ridiculous. And I hate the fact that he’s apologized. I wish he would have said, “F-you, you tranny jerk!”

In the ACT UP age we called ourselves queers because we earned the right, we took the word back. But in reality, once you go even deeper, you know, you have to come from intent. And black folks call themselves the n-word all the time. It’s because the intent is coming from a place of love. If the intent is coming from a place of hatred, that’s different. But you can’t legislate intent. You can’t — there’s no way to do it. So, the truth is, you have to fix that individually on a one by one basis. If somebody calls you a green martian, would you be offended by it? No, you wouldn’t be. Why? Because you know you’re not a green martian. But if you’re offended by someone calling you a “tranny,” it was only because you believe you are a “tranny!” [laughter.] So then, the solution is: Change your mind about yourself being a “tranny.”

No comments: