shemale

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See also: she-male

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From she +‎ male.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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shemale (plural shemales)

  1. (offensive, proscribed, especially in pornography) A male-to-female transsexual or transgender person; a trans woman.
  2. (biology, nonstandard, see usage notes) A male animal which displays female traits or behaviors; for example, a male reptile which gives off female pheromones.
    • 2001, R. Shine, B. Phillips, H. Waye, M. LeMaster, R. T. Mason, Benefits of female mimicry in snakes, in Nature (414, 267):
      She-male garter snakes exploit the amorous attentions of other males to warm up.

Usage notes

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  • The use of shemale to refer to trans women is offensive and proscribed by several authorities.[1][2] It is found especially (though not exclusively) in pornography, where it and the similarly offensive term tranny are the primary references to trans women.[3][4]
  • The use of shemale in biology has been criticized (e.g. by biologist Joan Roughgarden) as "degrading [...] borrowed from the porn industry" and unprofessional.[5]

Antonyms

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Translations

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See also

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References

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Anagrams

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