July 27, 2012
For immediate Release
Kelli Busey
Founder/ Co Administrator
Dallas Transgender Advocates and Allies (DTAA)
817-210-2959
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The DTAA fully supports UK Member Janice Caroline McCauley in her complaint filed with the Advertising Standards Authority(ASA) against Cartoonstock. Janice Caroline McCauley, frustrated by empty promises and inaction by Cartoonstock is asking ASA to help expedite the removal of the highly problematic "Tranny Gift" images from the company website.
We support her efforts for the following reasons:
Cartoonstock, a highly visible Internet commercial enterprise promotes the use of "Tranny" on its website which is considered offensive and defamatory to transgender people. The cavalier use of this defamation dehumanizes us enabling the discrimination we find at every turn.
Although Cartoonstock has promised a 'review' of the cartoons the company's website still displays all of the images in question days afterwards.
For the sake of Clarity this press release will address the cartoons in question individually explaining what exactly is offensive about each image.It is the hope of the DTAA that after viewing these images you will lodge a complaint with the ASA as well. Residency in the UK is not required.
Transgender people are discriminated against in the workplace at a appalling rate. To a casual viewer the image suggests that the reverse also applies. What a employer doesn't wish to find out about employee, they are transgender or gender variant.
By association with the web page's name 'tranny' with transgender, the suggestion is transgender employees are simply men in dresses, or drag queens which feeds the lie that we are 'fakers' who's motivation is to invade female spaces putting unaware innocent cisgender people at risk.
This image is the most offensive of all, with the actions being undertaken by the person on on right being purely speculative. The most common assumption being that 'he' is standing up and urinating. The image also dehumanizes the transgender experience by targeting the most vulnerable of our community, those who for various reasons are forced into survival sex work. It also a validates the lie that the original (reads, the real reason) the vast majority of people transition is our sexual orientation.
The above cartoon propagates the misogynistic male concept that females are somehow less than males. It suggests that ridiculing anyone, including police officers, who are non gender conforming in the workplace is acceptable and expected.
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The complaint procedure is painless, only taking moments and is the most important component of this advocacy.
Click Here to file your complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority. UK residency is not required.
You can also add your voice to Cartoonstock: Stop using cartoons to ridicule Transgender people. It is not acceptable.
Click Here to view the original PR at the DTAA
