Trans Performer Chelsea Poe Gains Support To End Use of the Term “Shemale” in Adult Marketing

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A petition asking the porn industry to drop use of the term “shemale” in their marketing of trans women has reached 650 supporters over Thanksgiving weekend. Started by AVN nominated performer Chelsea Poe, the action was taken to demonstrate to mainstream companies employing trans women that there was support to discard the use of terms considered derogatory by other media industries.

“The majority of trans women and trans performers don’t id as a shemale nor ever have,” Poe states on Change.org. “This is a term that we have been subjected to, whether we are in porn or not- I believe changing this term could bring positive change to trans representation, potentially bringing more trans women to these sites as customers as well.”

With the petition gathering more than 500 signatures in a little over a week, it would seem that others agree. One cam girl in the US commented, “I am a trans cam girl and I do not want a pejorative term defining me or my work,” while a supporter from the United Kingdom added, “Using terms like this in porn makes it seem acceptable to use these terms to refer to trans women who don’t do porn.”

Laura, who runs a feminist sex toy shop, concurred. “We carry as much trans-positive porn as we can find, but we won’t carry porn that uses the term “shemale” on its packaging because it’s derogatory towards our customers,” she said.

Burning Angel performer Bella Vendetta also signed the petition, saying, “Performers should always have a say in how they are represented, and not have to feel pressured to work with companies that market using slurs and offensive language.” AVN BBW of the Year nominee Courtney Trouble added, “The GLAAD media resources for how to speak about trans people in marketing and journalism has deemed the term “shemale” as degrading and politically incorrect for over a decade. It’s time our industry matures to respect all of our workers in the same way that the rest of the entertainment and media industries do.”

From a director’s perspective, Trouble added, “It is offensive to refer to a trans woman as a shemale, and enough trans-positive porn companies are proving already that you don’t need to use derogatory terms to sell trans porn.”

Chelsea Poe started the petition after becoming the first trans woman to be featured on alternative adult site God’s Girls. It has a final goal of at least 1000 signatures.

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