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Dear Sasha, I was in Toronto recently and noticed that they have an entire section in their adult classifieds devoted to “shemales.” Upon returning home to Montreal, I realized that we too have ads for the same services, I just never noticed them before. I have several questions.
What is the profile of the person interested in having sex with a man with a functional penis and breast implants who identifies as a woman? Male, female, straight, gay, bi, adventurous, freaky? I’m also curious why they often advertise that they’ll only be in town for a few days or weeks. Does the briefness of the window of opportunity encourage people to call in the same way the “perfect for first timers” tagline does? Or is there some connection between being transsexual and living a nomadic lifestyle?
—Curious Georgina
Dear Curious,
If you wish to use a more appropriate expression, you would say that a shemale is a person who is female-identified, not a man who identifies as a woman. That said, trans sex workers often advertise as shemale because this is the sex industry term for their niche and it also implies they are pre-op. In this capacity, it is an accepted self-objectification—you may have noticed that other sex workers niche themselves similarly by promoting their race, breast size or age.
Now, for your inquiries: “The first question has been answered to death,” says T-Girl club owner Mandy Goodhandy, “but it always comes down to what they think their profile is when realizing their attraction to T-Girls.” In other words, Georgina, if you are sexually attracted to T-Girls, it’s up to you to label yourself.
Many sex workers travel from city to city—this is not unique to trans sex workers or the general transgender population. “Escorts travel around to make as much money in many locations as quickly as possible,” Mandy elaborates. “Regular clients in their home city may get bored quickly with the same escorts over and over again. There are also the T-Girls who like to meet people in a bar or nightclub setting, an example being Goodhandy’s in Toronto and Cleopatra’s in Montreal. Some T-Girls feel safer in this setting, with lots of watchful eyes looking out for them.”
As for the “perfect for first timers” tagline, Mandy says this is a marketing strategy used to attract people that might be nervous about a first time or think that some escorts may not take a client who is new to the T-Girl experience.
Dear Sasha, I know someone in the Philippines who has shown me their birth certificate and claims it lists her wrongly as a male. She has told me that because of this mistake, she cannot find a job and is currently working as a prostitute. I asked her if she is transgender, she said no and that she is a woman.
She claims altering her birth certificate is an expensive process, even though it was a simple mistake, and that an attorney would also need to be involved. I’m willing to help her out with this but I’m wondering if I’m being led up the garden path and that it’s all just nonsense.
-Andy
Dear Andy,
While there is a law in the Philippines that allows for corrections on birth records to be made where there are clerical or typographical errors, it explicitly forbids any change in nationality, age or sex. One question: is the name on your friend’s birth certificate also male? This might give you a better sense of whether it was an error or if your friend is trans and reluctant to tell you.
If your friend is transgender, unfortunately there is no chance that she can have the sex on her birth certificate changed anyway. As Sass Rogando Sasot—who is a core member of STRAP, the Society for Transsexual Women of the Philippines—writes me, “As of the moment, because of the October 2007 decision of the Supreme Court of the Philippines [in the case of Mely Silverio] transsexual people cannot change the gender on their birth certificate.”
Regardless, the Rainbow Rights Project (rainbowrightsproject.multiply.com) can offer her legal advice and she can also consult STRAP (tsphilippines.com). Providing her with experienced local support seems the best solution—for both of you.
Got any questions for Sasha? E-MAIL: POULEDELUXE@YAHOO.COM
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