Jesica, it looks like our stance is very similar on this, in fact, your post defines what I felt better than what I wrote does. We use the term "bitch" all the time at home, and it's usually responded to with, "you say that like it's a bad thing". But I totally agree that their use in a more intimate setting takes away some of the power of negativity. Chrissy has some very good valid points also. everyone needs to have a little thicker skin. But I too, never use the "N" word. I agree that no "label" should be used by anyone that doesn't have intimate knowledge of the word and the pain it can inflict. I may use the term tranny at home, but that word has never passed Lee's lips as far as I can remember. the world may be too PC, BUT, these labels are the beginning stages of hate, and hate is the fuel for violence.

I have been reading over the responses, and i have to say I can agree to a point with all of them, both for and against. I mean, I use the word at home and am ok with it, I guess the way an African American might use the "N" word in their inner circles. But I think people outside our world should just be conscious of the fact that it could be offensive to us. As I have written in response to a lot of stories at the huffpost news, outside our world, words like this are only used in three contexts, porn, hate, and ignorant jokes. I don't think I have ever heard anyone outside our world use this word when it DIDN'T have a negative feeling behind it, and while words don't kill, the hate that they breed could.

Jessica, Thanks for the reply, and I don't think you changed the subject, hate is hate. I agree that that the world is SLOWLY getting better. I hear these stories and am glad I live where I do. I am sure there are bad places, and/or bad people where I live but have been lucky in the few years I have embraced the outside world, that I have never met any of them. I know there are girls here that have only ventured to LGBT places because that's the only place they feel safe. That's sad. I hope that they get the experience of living a life that they can go where they wish. I will admit that I still don't go to places that would be a higher risk, (bars), but I have never been to an LGBT club either. I would like to give it a try sometime so I can feel 100% free to be who I am. I feel so bad for girls that live in the bible belt, or the south, but I am very optimistic about the lives that the younger girls have in front of them. There has been some great forward movement in some places and I couldn't agree more that the UK is so far ahead of us. My hope is that this world might be hate free in this century, we will have to wait and see.

The fact that in many places, trans genders are not covered under hate crime laws is not new to me, but it always makes me angry when I read a story about it.  In this story the mayor and some other officials say they are trying to make this a hate crime, which they should be commended for.  However, the fact that the story is about two gay men, and one transwoman being attacked, and only the gay men's attacks are classified as hate crimes makes it so blatent that something is very wrong with the ways the laws are written.  I can't understand how any, and all crimes that are committed against a person because of who they are, be it race, religion, orientation, or gender identity should not be consisdered a hate crime.

 

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/15/columbia-heights-anti-gay-attacks_n_1347373.html

I saw it in an article at huffpost. ESPN decided against running it in the states. There were all kinds of comments on the story. Some supportive of us and many ignorant remarks made about it and us. I made a comment on the story that while I have seen much worse, there are only two directions of acceptance, forward, and backward. This is definitely not forward. We don't get a lot of this in the states, personally I'm glad we don't, but it seems to be a bit of a trade off as we have so many bigot politicians that openly spew their ignorance every chance they get. At least the bigot village's king, (Santorum), seems to be losing some momentum. I couldn't imagine life if he were elected president.