ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates sociological patterns in the use of “tranny” as it is used to ridicule others who are perceived as transgender, but more specifically, people who are perceived as trans women. Trans studies scholar Julia Serano's (2007) concept of “trans-misogyny” is highlighted to further develop critical discussions about the difficulties that trans people experience, including multiple overlapping and troubling scripts that denigrate both trans and feminine identities, as also demonstrated in previous work. First, a description of the “tranny” slur and its history are provided. Then, current research about the use of the “tranny” slur is discussed. Next, descriptive statistics are given. Following this, Norm-Centered Stigma Theory (NCST) is used to investigate the sociological patterns of “tranny” slur usage with survey data collected from adults ages 18–64 that was stratified by U.S. census categories of age, gender, race/ethnicity, and census region (N = 3,104; n = 1500 cisgender men and women; n = 1,604 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people). To conclude, a summary of key findings that integrates the previous literature while also highlighting the unique contributions of the text is offered.
