A new comedy set for Sydney Opera House is under fire from transpeople who view the word “tranny” as just as offensive as “faggot” or the n-word.

Starring popular drag queen singer Trevor Ashley, trAnnie will be an adults-only take on the adventures of ginger kid Annie. In the show, set to take to the stage this December, a ginger-haired orphan boy seeks gender reassignment surgery.

But its title is an increasingly controversial derogatory term used to describe transgender people – and several have contacted Same Same with concerns about the dehumanising and hurtful way the word “tranny” is used to describe them.

Many feel that it is not OK for anyone who isn’t a transgender woman to use the word, and they’re also concerned about the gender reassignment plot of the show – trivialising the deeply personal journeys of real-life transpeople.

“It is so painful to see members of the GLBT community ridiculing the most marginalised and discriminated against part of our supposed rainbow family,” says one of several trans and cis-gendered readers who contacted us after we revealed details about the show last week.

“It’s not OK for a gay drag queen to mock the lived experience of a community he is not part of.”

“Trans people are not drag queens,” he points out. “Yes there is some shared history in the Sydney gay scene and some gay men may feel a sense of connection to trans women in particular, but the truth is that it’s not OK for a gay drag queen to mock the lived experience of a community he is not part of.

“The reality is that surgeries for trans people are often out of reach. The reality is that trans people all around the world are beaten, harassed and murdered every day. The reality is that trans people are excluded from anti-discrimination laws and forgotten in the ‘gay marriage’ frenzy,” he adds.

“All of this is my personal opinion and I would never speak for the entire trans community. I know some who feel the way I do and some who couldn’t care less what Trevor Ashley does. I share my words with you because I am committed to being a queer trans guy who positively speaks up for what I believe in and when I read the synopsis for TrAnnie I felt such anguish I couldn’t stand by.”

Chai Edi Palila has similar concerns about the show. Writing on the Wipe Out Transphobia website, she suspects the production “will rely on the same, usual and un-original cheap jokes and mocks made about trans women and our bodies, the so-called ‘humour’ of men in women’s cloths, usage of the offensive term ‘trannie’, focus on what genitals trans women have and why trans women aren’t ‘really women’ until we have a ‘sex change’, ‘his/her’ puns, making puns on popular lyrics to add further injury, like ‘your son will come out tomorrow’, and usage of incorrect pronouns that many girls like us have begun to expect when we see our lives talked about in the media or trivialised for comedic purposes.

“For many of these reasons above, the show is also highly exploitative of trans women, as we are such a dis-empowered group that is usually shunned when we speak out when the above is done to us.”

Sorry… but the show will go on

In response to the controversy, the show’s creator Trevor Ashley and the Sydney Opera House have released a statement, beginning with an apology.

“Sydney Opera House and Trevor Ashley wish to apologise to those offended by the title of the play ‘trAnnie’,” it says.

“The title ‘trAnnie’ is a play on words. It is a play on the musical Annie and combines the letters of Trevor’s name into the title. It is also a play on the fact that the central character is transsexual.”

Ashley himself adds: “Although I appreciate that the word may brush some transgendered people up the wrong way, the intent is not to harm, but take the sting out of what I’m sure could be a painful word for some.

“Being a part of the GLBTQI community for many years, we are people who can reclaim words that have been used in harmful ways towards us in the past.”

He explains that the production, while being a comedy, shows the transgender character in a positive light and hopes to encourage more understanding of the transgender community.

The troublesome ‘T’ word is becoming increasingly controversial as more transgender Australians voice their concern when it is used. Despite this, there is still some work to do if seeking to remove it in the context of gay male drag entertainment.

At least two Sydney bars promote ‘Tranny Bingo’ nights each week… posters for one of them are shown below.