Talk A Walk On The Wide Side!

Is it transphobic?

Or is just about a subculture in the trans community?

That is the hot question that is being discussed in the trans community.

Canadian Student Association Apologizes For Playing ‘Transphobic’ 'Take a Walk on The Wild Side’
mrcTV
By Ashley Rae Goldenberg
May 17, 2017

The student association at a Canadian university is apologizing to members of the transgender community who may have felt “hurt” or devalued by overhearing Lou Reed’s “Take a Walk on the Wild Side.”

In a statement on Facebook (archive link here), Ontario’s University of Guelph Central Student Association apologized anyone who was upset by the “hurtful” “transphobic lyrics” played during a campus event. The student association claimed the song “Take a Walk on the Wild Side” was picked for a playlist of ‘70s and ‘80s songs out of “ignorance” and showed “an error in judgement” [sic]:

It’s come to our attention that the playlist we had on during bus pass distribution on Thursday contained a song with transphobic lyrics (Lou Reed, Take a Walk on the Wild Side). The playlist was compiled by one of the Executives with the intent of feeling like a road trip from the 70s and 80s. The song was included solely on those terms and made in ignorance as the person making the list did not know or understand the lyrics.

We now know the lyrics to this song are hurtful to our friends in the trans community and we’d like to unreservedly apologize for this error in judgement.

The student association also said they are “committed” to being more “mindful” of the music they play during events in the future, and suggested students attend a meeting to “discuss how we can create better playlists in the future” with songs that are “more inclusive."

Okay, my take on this is; were there trans people who ran away from home and went to California? Yes. Are there trans people still leaving home and transitioning? Yes again.

The article goes on to say,

The student association page continued by saying the mere concept of the song, taking a walk on the wild side, is “problematic” and “dangerous” because it describes transgender people (reportedly 0.5 percent of the Canadian population) as being “unusual," which they claim is “dehumanizing” and makes people somehow less supportive of transgender rights:

Additionally, stating that conversing, spending time with, or having sex with a trans person is “taking a walk on the wild side” is also problematic. It labels trans folks as “wild” or “unusual” or “unnatural” which is a dangerous rhetoric.

The student association ended their lecture about “Take a Walk on the Wild Side” by admitting that although the song promoted transgender acceptance at the time, “it is now being consumed in a different societal context” and it is “not always consumed in the ways that it was intended,” which apparently justifies people being offended by it.

Well it is a lot more than “transgender acceptance at the time” it is still going on today. All you have to do is visit a bus station at night to see runaway trans kids.

So I see this debate trying to hide a highly marginalized segment of the trans community.

So what are your thoughts?

Is "Walk on the Wide Side" Transphobic

Yes

No

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