# Can YOU tell? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 6, 2003, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell/217289 "2003-12-06T01:24:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell/217289/41 "2003-12-06T18:14:25Z")
Oh, _please_, **Spider** , I have _said_ that I am not angry with you, and I don’t think for a moment you meant to offend, or evem thought it would offend. But the site _is_ a horror to the small number of us who don’t like being told that we are freaks or “in disguise” or being called “shemales.” It’s the equivalent to showing a photo of Halle Berry with the caption “Nigger or Not?” Only worse, in a way, because no one (I hope!) laughs and points at black people for being black anymore. Again, I probably am being overly sensitive, but I am _not_ blaming you for posting the site; only pointing out that, _ouch._ ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell/217289/42 "2003-12-06T18:34:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KellyM \* > \*\ ***SanguineSpider** : they’re not men. \*\* In all fairness, not all drag queens are transgendered, and there’s nothing to indicate that these are transfolk, pre- or post-op, rather than drag queens. Non-transgendered drag queens are men, just as you are a woman. ---
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell/217289/43 "2003-12-06T18:47:49Z")
**CrazyCatLady** , by definition, a drag queen is transgendered. Anyway, those pictures look to me to be cropped out of porn. Virtually all transgendered individuals who do porn are pre-operative male-to-female transsexuals who are doing porn to pay for hormones. It’s a very exploitative business. And I’ve yet to hear of a drag queen doing porn. So I’d say that the odds are pretty damn good that those are transsexuals, not drag queens, and further that most of them are pre-op (the post-ops almost always quit the business, since they’re no longer equipped for the job). ---
**Author:** ![Yumanite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b487fb/32.png) [@Yumanite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumanite)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell/217289/44 "2003-12-06T21:03:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KellyM \* > \*\ ***CrazyCatLady** , by definition, a drag queen is transgendered. > \*\* Perhaps you can expound on this for the clueless among us. I would have thought that, although a drag queen _can be_ transgendered, it doesn’t automatically make a person transgendered. I would also have thought, based on my limited experience, that there are a lot of drag queens who are genetically male and identifiy as either gay or straight males. I would consider “drag queen” to be a kind of theatrical transvestite. So can you explain a little further what definition you are using and how it differs? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell/217289/45 "2003-12-06T22:14:24Z")
**Yumanite** : > [@](#): > > _Originally posted [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&postid=1871494#post1871494)_ > “Transgendered”, in my opinion, is akin to what nomenclaturists call a “non-clade classification.” The general grouping of “transgendered” includes many diverse and unrelated groups of individuals, the only common characteristic of which is that they violate, in some way, social gender stereotypes; usually, but not always, related to clothing; and usually, but not always, by substituting some of the behaviors stereotypically associated with the opposite gender. This makes the categorization almost useless, and frequently harmful. > > The broader definition of “transgendered” is most at home as the bastard stepchild in the “GLBT” family. Unfortunately, Ts tend to share relatively few of the issues of Gs, Ls, or Bs, and the unfortunate grouping of T with GLB has reinforced the incorrect belief that “transsexual” is “just another sexual orientation”. On top of that, the sheer diversity within the T grouping means that most Ts share relatively few issues even with one another; you have to break it down more specifically (e.g. TS, FI, DQ, genderfuck, fetish CD, non-fetish CD, etc.) before you get to commonalities worth mentioning. As a result, I am very wary of the term “transgender” used broadly like this; I prefer the narrower use, referring to non-fetish crossdressers who have no intention of seeking reassignment, on the grounds that this is actually a useful categorization describing a group of people with at least some shared characteristics. So while I’m not really comfortable with the use of “transgender” to refer to drag queens, the fact remains that the term is generally used to refer to a group that does include drag queens. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell/217289/46 "2003-12-06T22:43:43Z")
Well, regardless of all _that_, I think we can agree that “spot the shemale!” is pretty fucking inexcusable. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell/217289/47 "2003-12-06T23:28:56Z")
I don’t get it. Assuming the grouping is females and pre-op females, I didn’t catch the humour. ---
**Author:** ![SanguineSpider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SanguineSpider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanguineSpider)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell/217289/48 "2003-12-07T02:04:04Z")
There was NO humor, I just thought the link was interesting. I am confused as to all the PC terms for different lifestyles these days. I think I need a guide because the terms change so quickly. And **Homebrew** , did I deserve a co-worker calling me that? If I messed up doing my job, I could possibly understand being insulted, which isn’t the best way to rectify a problem but it happens. I have been called cunt by my ex-husband but that is not what made me leave him. Honestly, it’s just a word. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell/217289/49 "2003-12-07T05:51:38Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by SanguineSpider \* > \*\* I am confused as to all the PC terms for different lifestyles these days._\* Being a transexual is no more a lifestyle than being a diabetic is. Imagine if you clicked on one of the pictures and a big X and “Diabetic” poped up. It would be odd, no? ---
**Author:** ![Yumanite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b487fb/32.png) [@Yumanite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumanite)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell/217289/50 "2003-12-08T02:49:33Z")
I see, **KellyM**. Thanks for clearing that up for me. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell/217289/51 "2016-07-03T12:53:54Z")
Wow I got a 16/16, which pleasantly surprised me. What also surprised me was the test being available 13 years later, considering it’s a zombie thread. I have to say I had to say for some I had to really consider before choosing an answer. So I’m not rooting my horn. That being said it is a stupid test that should not be taken seriously. Don’t ask me how I came upon on this old thread and revived it after 13 years. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell/217289/52 "2016-07-03T13:09:07Z")
This is a 13 year old thread and a pretty outdated and offensive one at that. Locked. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell/217289.md?page=2)