𝓝𝓪𝓽𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓮 𝓦𝔂𝓷𝓷  💎

The unianimous cis opinion is that it's totally fine. Some trans people said it's totally fine.

Other trans people said it's potentially problematic, but okay in my case because they know who I am and what I'm like.

Still other trans people said it's definitely transphobic, & a couple said that my use of it is furthermore evidence that *I'm* transphobic.

So what I have is 95% of people saying I'm totally fine, don't worry about it. And it's tempting to believe them. However...

(It's also tempting to get defensive when I'm called transphobic—"That's outrageous! All my best friends are trans! etc etc")

However, it's better to avoid these temptations. Cis people don't usually have very good intuitions about what's transphobic.

And the fact that I have trans friends & care deeply about trans issues doesn't mean that I'm invulnerable to being inadvertently offensive.

I do think that calling *me* transphobic because of this is unfair.

But when I asked, I discovered that "mangirl" is sometimes used as a slur. And I didn't know that. I thought I made it up to describe myself

But if I'd known it was used as a slur, I would not have put in on my profile in the first place. And the only way I found out is by asking.

So I think I should, in fact, remove it. Not because I capitulate to everyone who is offended, but because 1. there's at least a plausible..

reason why it might come across the wrong way and 2. this is not something that's deeply important to me.

There are people who think that crossdressing and drag are transphobic. I'm willing to fight for, though, because it's important to me...

...and I think it can be done it a way that's respectful.

But "mangirl" is just a word that—I thought—I made up to describe myself. So I think I should come up with something else.