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The whole point of reclaiming slurs is to self liberate from the restraints the label has put on you. When you reclaim a slur, you take the power away from your aggressors, and take it for yourself.
Rather than letting the slur be a source of shame for you, you embrace it as a part of who you are. Reclaiming slurs can be and is a source of healing for a lot of people. Putting a lighthearted spin on something that is meant to make you feel bad can feel pretty amazing.
With that said, when you tell a trans man that he cannot reclaim the T slur, what you’re really saying is that he isn’t entitled to self liberation in the same way you and others are. You are telling him that he doesn’t deserve release from that pain. That you deserve it more.
People who have hurt him or want to hurt him with that word may use it, you and others certainly have free reign over it, but he better not lay HIS fingers on it. He better be content with being victimized and accept that that word, and the people who use it, have power over him.
Case in point, people tend to have a very “put up or shut up” attitude towards trans men and it’s incredibly disappointing to see from within the community. Wherever we go, it feels a lot like we are unsupported, unwelcomed, unloved, and uncared for. That really needs to stop.
We can’t reclaim slurs, express ourselves, speak out of turn as men in queer spaces, we can’t feel things openly, we can’t talk about what we struggle with, we can’t mention how we’ve experienced the butt end of prejudice in so many ways... But, hear me out.
WHY the fuck not?
WHY the fuck not?
