shemale

See also: she-male

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

she +‎ male

Pronunciation
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈʃi.meɪl/
Audio (US, Northern California)(file)

Noun

shemale (plural shemales)

  1. (derogatory, offensive, proscribed) A male-to-female transsexual or transgender person; a trans woman.
  2. (biology, nonstandard, see usage notes) A male animal which displays female traits or behaviors; for example, a male reptile which gives off female pheromones.
    • 2001, R. Shine, B. Phillips, H. Waye, M. LeMaster, R. T. Mason, Benefits of female mimicry in snakes, in Nature (414, 267):
      She-male garter snakes exploit the amorous attentions of other males to warm up.

Usage notes
  • The use of shemale to refer to trans women is offensive and proscribed by several authorities.[1][2] It is found especially (though not exclusively) in pornography, where it and the similarly offensive term tranny are the primary references to trans women.[3][4]
  • The use of shemale in biology has been criticized (e.g. by biologist Joan Roughgarden) as "degrading [...] borrowed from the porn industry" and unprofessional.[5]

Antonyms

Translations

See also

References
references
  1. Don LePan, ‎Doug Babington, ‎Maureen Okun, The Broadview Guide to Writing, sixth edition (2015, →ISBN, page 361: Slang terms such as tranny and shemale are obviously offensive and should never be used by cisgender (that is, non-transgender) people.
  2. Donna D. Ignatavicius, ‎M. Linda Workman, ‎Meg Blair, Medical-Surgical Nursing (2015, →ISBN: Other terms, such as “tranny,” “he-she,” or “shemale,” are offensive and hurtful. These terms and other negative comments should never be used.
  3. Christina Richards, ‎Meg Barker, Sexuality and Gender for Mental Health Professionals (2013, →ISBN: Shemale: Offensive term derived from pornography often used to refer to people who have a penis and breasts. Should never be used.
  4. Tristan Taormino, ‎Constance Penley, ‎Celine Shimizu, The Feminist Porn Book: The Politics of Producing Pleasure (2013, →ISBN, page 157: With rare exceptions, trans women are not cast in any genre of mainstream porn (gonzo, features, girl/girl, and so on) except “tranny/shemale porn,” the derogatory phrase used to market trans women porn in the mainstream industry.
  5. Faye Flam, The Score: How the Quest for Sex Has Shaped the Modern Man (2008, Avery, →ISBN and Joan Roughgarden, Evolution's rainbow: diversity, gender, and sexuality in nature and people (2005, University of California Press, →ISBN

Anagrams
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