Logo Says Sashay Away to 'She-Mail' & 'She-Male'

4/14/2014

After controversy surrounding a recent mini challenge, Logo has announced its decision to remove the terms “she-male” and "she-mail" from future episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and pull the controversial "Female or She-male" segment.

Here is what the show's executive producers had to say:

“We wanted to thank the community for sharing their concerns around a recent segment and the use of the term ‘she-male’ on Drag Race,” said a network spokesperson. “Logo has pulled the episode from all of our platforms and that challenge will not appear again.”Furthermore, we are removing the ‘you’ve got she-mail’ intro from new episodes. We did not intend to cause any offense, but in retrospect we realize that it was insensitive. We sincerely apologize.”

How do you feel about the decision?

45 Comments

Alicia Manfredi

4/14/2014 01:22:45 am

I'm seriously going to cry.... This is the most ridiculous decision. This show will be gone soon...I've watched your network for years and years now... What the hell has LOGO become?!? 99% straight...mainstream... Beside our weekly fix of Rupaul...and now this will slowly be transformed into something it was never meant to be... I have ALWAYS paid extra on my cable packages to make sure it included LOGO... I never thought I'd hear myself say this but I don't believe I'll continue to include logo any longer...what a disappointment you've become... Over "You've got She-Mail" which is offensive in absolutely NO WAY!!! See ya Logo.

dollseye

4/14/2014 06:28:01 am

I agree, I don't know what mini game is causing an up-roar, but i have always loved the "oooo Girl you got she-mail". I find is utterly rubbish that after all these fabulous years people are now gonna clutch their pearls... I don't get it. What a shame.

Coco

4/14/2014 03:01:51 pm

I do think that the "you've got she-mail" thing being pulled was a little overkill. Especially because it's become a staple phrase throughout the drag race fan base. However, the mini-challenge definitely came off as a little "insensitive". It was a challenge where the queens had to look at an image and decide if the person was a biological woman or a "psychological woman" and/ or female. There are differently some key points in this challenge that may have (and in most cases, did) offend the teams community. So I can see how both sides of this have their opinions, but I think logo made the right decision to cover their ass before any more attention was brought to the unpleasant situation. But I'm definitely keeping my logo subscription!

noelani

4/15/2014 09:52:00 am

I agree with Coco. I thought it was odd that, in the mini-challenge, RuPaul used the term "psychological" woman, and applied it to pictures of Detox and Raven. I would have chosen a different word, there, but RuPaul has done SO much good, over more than 20 years, that I think for him to be attacked and criticized like this is beyond ridiculous!

Tiffani

4/14/2014 01:24:49 am

I think that bull with being TS myself. I loved the Classic saying of Oooh Girl You Got She-Mail. I think that it is an awesome catch phrase and i always thought and knew it was talking about male. the TS people that challenged this episode I am sorry but yall are emo. I enjoyed it thought it was hilarious. Stop being so concerned with how you are percieved. If you are fishy enough and passable wtf does it matter. Seriously people there is more to do in life than bitch about the small shit that doesnt matter.

DEE

4/14/2014 01:33:26 am

Please leave the saying alone...its part of the show and that would take away from its standing...RuPauls Drag Race is a positive and most exciting tv show on LOGO..its part of we should be able to say what we want within reason...and The RuPaul Drag Race is the Best reason...leave it alone

ADRIAN

4/14/2014 01:52:22 am

succumbing to bullies is NOT courageous! it's cowardly! we are better than this. we don't bully & we don't bully are own community. they are drag queens, they are not transgendered. they are she-males & if we as a community cannot LAUGH at ourselves..... where are we going? this is a HUGE backward step! if you don't have a sense of humor, change the channel.

Manoel

4/14/2014 01:55:17 am

This is ridiculous. If they took away everything that some group would find offensive there would be no show at all.

noelani

4/15/2014 10:47:49 am

You are SO right! If we censored everything that someone could find offense in, there would be nothing left of ANY TV show, movie, photograph, etc..

Samson

4/14/2014 02:15:04 am

Wow, THANK GOD. As an actual trans person, I am very, very relieved that LOGO is doing what it can to support some of the most violently oppressed members of the queer community. The term is offensive and in poor taste. This isn't about compromising, it's about listening to your community. It's about dispelling slurs. Thanks for putting that work in LOGO.

4/14/2014 07:09:07 am

Wow really? How was this in any way shap or form hate towards trans people. This show has trans people in it!!!! Like seriously people need to get a grip. People who think this sort of thing is offense need to pull the stick out of their butt.

Queen Khloe Del Rey

4/14/2014 10:01:08 am

girl really I'm trans and i do drag and i have never in the 6 year i have never seen his as offensive and in my opinion if u do find this offensive well whats next are u gonna ask not to include the trans community in the LGBT community seriously i will miss oooo girl uv got she mail and i hope they bring it back but seriously build thicker skin if someone says ur trans or something are u gonna sue them for h8 crime ?? no so i dont see why this is offensive

noelani

4/15/2014 09:18:38 am

Thank you for your insight on this! When I watched the new episode last night and saw that they had taken "you've got she-mail" out of it, it made me sad!

jeanbill

4/14/2014 02:49:16 am

I watch RPDR since the biggining and i found that really "stupid" than "girls you got a she-mail" affecte people like 6 or seven year latter. and also, Ru Paul show us to make fun of us, don't paid attention of what people thin about us, to be strong, to be oppen mind with transgender (Carmen Carrera and Monica Beverly Hills). That show never bully anyone, that show make us stronger, make us realise than, yes we are normal, yes we are beautifull and yes we are fierce.
What Logo do now with the "she-mail" thing is the oposite of what RPDR show us.

JAy

4/14/2014 04:48:20 am

Wait so for 5 and a half seasons it was fine? Next they will remove all recordings of "Trannychaser" and "Ladyboy" from previous episodes...

Travis link

4/14/2014 06:22:36 am

Lets save it! http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/save-rupauls-youve-got

Jennifer

4/14/2014 06:58:51 am

I seriously dislike this decision. How can we petition to bring it back?

Azul Astrid

4/14/2014 07:29:07 am

Okay im not a Trans person or am I a drag queen. I know the mini wasnt offensive for me but idk how people who are trans feel. I know it wasnt meant to be offensive to people who are. She male is a term for drag queens in the show. Theh didnt put a picture of carmen up there so someone can call her a shemale. They put drag queens as shemales. Even tho there is a big confusion between drag and trans I dont think this was something to get worked up on. Thats like MAC lipstick is getting offended because their lipstick is being written on a mirror.

joe

4/14/2014 08:38:05 am

What is next ? show will be cancelled because real women feel ugly next to the Drag queens?

Brian M

4/14/2014 04:00:05 pm

That or drag queens will be offended by being labeled "Drag" and change the show title to "Rupaul's Female Impersonation Race".

Bears Mom

4/18/2014 04:51:54 am

Raven made that point to Mystique in country realness epi. I'm a biological woman and couldn't I get offended by drag?

Instead of seeing it as glamorizing women I could see it as making fun of us (which some do).

I choose not to be offended and have fun with it.

People are too fucking sensitive. Instead of looking at the word we should look at the intention.

Joe

4/14/2014 09:05:12 am

I get that it can be offensive, I totally get it. I get offended when people "jokingly" call guys girl, fag, queen, etc but I won't go as far as push a TV network to make changes. There are MUCH bigger problems in this world. How many stereotypical gay guys are there on TV? Too many and I can't be bothered to count. I personally make a decision to not watch those shows because I find them offensive since that's what perpetuates gay people as. I don't force others to change their ways to make me feel comfortable.

Thejay

4/14/2014 01:06:36 pm

Logo has been making bad choices since they cancelled Noah'sArc I don't know what community they are listening to when making these decision

Max

4/14/2014 02:07:29 pm

Logo and World of Wonder chose to no longer use the phrase "she-male" because they listened to people speaking up about how the term was offensive. Logo and World of Wonder were not compelled to no longer use the phrase. RPDR would have gone on with or without the phrase and as a whole, transgender people do not have a great deal of power in society as a whole, with rare exception, and this includes in RPDR.

Why the lashing out at people who have vocalized offense at a term? Why the anger at Logo and World of Wonder for carrying forth the message of the show (such as inclusion, being yourself, expressing yourself) by purposely no longer using a term that is exclusionary, reductive, ignorant and a slur.

I understand that the term and particularly its usage within RPDR is not offensive to the majority, including those posting here. See beyond your own POV. It may not be offensive to you, however clearly it is offensive to others. It's not about censorship. It's about people holding RPDR to a high standard when it comes to being a place of diversity, acceptance, inclusion, empathy and kindness.

And some of that image is due to how RuPaul behaves in relation to actual trans women on the show, and after the show: Carmen, Monica, Sonique. How many of the posters here are abiding by the concept: "Everybody say love"?

In addition, "biological woman" or "psychological woman", while rhyming, is also stigmatizing and reductive. At such time as society as a whole, and this includes fans and viewers of RPDR, has put themselves in the shoes of transgender people, listened, read, learned, kept and open mind, and looked within at potentially their own internalized transphobia for those in the trans closet, then perhaps we can have the luxury of a joke such as "you've got she-mail", or "female" or "she-male". But we're nowhere near there, as evidenced by some of the commenters here and elsewhere.

Media activism on transgender issues is not limited to RPDR. However, RPDR has gotten some focus because of the hoped for positive response from the production team and now that's happened. Activism also happens on the political front with transgender rights ordinances up for debate, gender identity and expression inclusion in non-discrimination laws, etc. Does RPDR's decision to be more sensitive mean all work is done? Nope. It does mean transgender and allied voices were heard. Was I offended by the segment? I was partially offended by the term personally, but I was also offended because it was a cheap, dumb segment that wasn't entertaining, and most of all, I was offended because I know other transgender people and other allies would have their feelings hurt more than me. Because I care. I have a thick skin to these things, but sometimes as LGBT people are skin can be too thick. We need to speak up, hold each other accountable, hold media and politicians accountable, and continue to be ourselves.

The T in LGBT will no longer be silent. I'm two of those letters and I'm not splitting myself in half. Everybody say love.

Dash

4/14/2014 02:24:51 pm

I do not see the term as offending tho i am currently transitioning but even before hand i have never seen the term as offensive in any way shape or form i see it as a pun the word shemale we have to learn how to laugh at it was just a joke and if we start taking offence out of every little thing it will end up coming back at us i personally don't care if they do remove it or not as long as they remove it for the right reasons if we see the word she male as a bad thing then it just give all the homophobic bullies out there a mother name to call the newer generation so i personally don't approve of the reasons they are taking it down

Max

4/14/2014 03:05:08 pm

I understand the term does not offend you. Clearly it offends some others. Do you understand that some people are genuinely offended by the term? And do you understand that people who kill transgender people are not further empowered to do so by RPDR's recognizing that some people are offended by the term she-male and then no longer using it?

On a rhetorical level, reclaiming a word can be a way of taking power away from the word as oppressive. But we're not just talking rhetoric here. We're talking violence and oppression against transgender people. And when a transgender person is being oppressed, assaulted, mistreated in healthcare, in education, on the street, within a relationship, in a gay bar, in a straight bar, etc., you deciding to personally reclaim and not be offended by RPDR's use of a term does not protect that transgender person from harm.

I totally get that it's a phrase on a show. It's also an opportunity to raise awareness. I'm glad the phrase didn't hurt your feelings. And while it offended me, it didn't hurt my feelings at the core. But it's a shared way to reach out and talk about it, talk about having empathy. I understand it didn't offend you. Do you understand it offended others? And it offended them because they say it did. That is there experience the same as you have your own experience.

There are much bigger battles than this. And I think it's a deep recognition that the train of accountability is coming that some are reacting and trying to sweep this under the rug. You are speaking from your experience and I respect that. I just don't think you speaking from your own experience should mean losing the ability to see things from someone else's point of view.

And what I'm most glad about is a diversity of trans voices. It will only grow.

Taylor

4/15/2014 01:13:02 pm

People who kill transgender individuals are not watching Rupaul's Drag Race. That's a bit of histrionic exaggeration to make the leap that "You've Got She-Mail" empowers trans* killers, let's get real.

Bears Mom

4/18/2014 05:00:46 am

The word "biological woman" is not stigmatizing, it is identifying. Be proud of who you are and don't worry about who has a uterus. It doesn't stop you from feeling how you feel or being the unique and beautiful person you are.

I'm also a brunette.

Patricia Edger

6/16/2014 11:44:32 am

It concerns me when people tend to stir up fake offense at email segment on a reality show. Logo and Rupaul do not insult people by saying "she - male or she mail." The first describes what drag is and the other says that the email. Please do not change the show for a few people who are just trying to get attention. I believe if keep changing it to please zealots you will loose the charm of the show !!!!

Riccardo

4/14/2014 03:12:38 pm

Unfortunately, some people in that section of our wonderful rainbow family are aggressively overly sensitive, and they simply look for excuses to be offended and draw attention to themselves! All this does is fracture our community and foster mistrust between us.
By the way, congratulations to Carmen and Monica for spectacularly biting the hand that feeds them! Nobody would have ever heard of either of you if not for Drag Race!

Max

4/15/2014 12:22:10 am

Being part of what you call a wonderful rainbow family does not mean putting up with slurs used by other members of that wonderful rainbow family. Nor does being someone's biological relative mean putting up with slurs by that biological family member. Everyone is accountable to treat each other with respect, including members of biological and chosen families. Your definition of a wonderful rainbow family means you're a bully. You don't get to treat a group of people badly and then when they speak up call them overly sensitive. That is deflecting your own personal responsibility and doing the work of the enemy. This would deeply offend RuPaul.

Dash

4/15/2014 12:52:35 am

my point here is not that other peoples opinions should not matter obviously people do take offence of the term my point is that if we take offence over the term i do speak of my own experiences and i do understand that others went through other forms of oppression but through my experience if you take offence ore the term that just gives everyone who wishes you harm more power over you now i come from and extremely closed minded society where i am being gay is illegal if you do drag you get sent to jail and if you are trans or if you are a ladyboy (please don't take offence of the term i just mean people who had cosmetic surgery to look like girls but still remain male and i apologise for anyone who had their feelings hurt) you get executed i am as out as i can be in a society that is so closed minded but i make do people can tell there is something different about me and for many years of my life i was made fun of and bullied because i thought that being gay is bad and being transgendered is worse and if i do come out and own it i will just get bullied even worse but intact the opposite happened when i did come out and i did say i am transgendered and proud (to certain people the bullies being of of the people) people stopped they new they couldn't call me gay or trans or she male because they new i am gay or i am trans and i will not take offence to it and let alone they stopped calling me names but they had a hole new respect and through me accepting who i have opened the mind of everyone that used to call me a girl she male fag and gay and that is the point i am trying to push through is that if you are gonna take offence to something first think and say to you self what is offensive about the situation or the term and after that if you could still see why it is offensive then by all means stand up and say so

Nunya

4/15/2014 08:42:30 am

Shut the fuck up bitch. Your comments would deeply offend RuPaul you fucking bullying cunt.

Nunya

4/15/2014 08:43:11 am

That was for Max btw.

Dash

4/15/2014 08:56:31 am

before starting to insult people i think you should have read the entire comment not just the last sentence which was this would deeply insult rupaul all max said was that you can't make bully someone and then when they get upset you say they are overly sensitive and that the comment he/she was replying to would offend rupaul (to nunya)

Benson

4/14/2014 03:49:12 pm

I'm going to call anyone I don't like a "shemale" now that I know another oversensitive group of people dislike the word.

Max

4/15/2014 12:27:58 am

This is even worse than RPDR's use of the word. At least on that show, the original intent had been humorous. Then when they listened to transgender and allied voices about how it was offensive and hurtful (especially dangerous in a world where transgender people face violence and discrimination), they chose to stop using the term. Whereas, you know it's offensive, don't care, and will now choose to begin to use it as a slur to hurt people. Even if you use it in a negative way on non-transgender people, that still is hurtful, the same as using the word gay to describe something or someone bad as in "that's so gay". Look in the mirror. Treat others as you would hope to be treated. And understand that you are speaking from a place of privilege where the word she-male doesn't hurt you but it does hurt people you may already know and care about (or would know and care about if you got to know them). You don't get a pass on using a slur because you read this blog or watch RPDR. You're on the wrong side of history.

Dash

4/15/2014 01:02:27 am

see now this is proving my point exactly because we see the term as offensive we give or we allow people like him the power to call these names and gives him the power to hurt owed feelings

Kam

4/15/2014 02:38:50 am

As a trans person, I'm deeply offended that they would pull this. Bullshit like this is why no one takes the trans community seriously. A few whiny and bitchy members make it harder on the rest of us. I'm sick of it. Bring She-Mail back. We're all sick of bullies.

Shawn

4/15/2014 04:16:22 am

Someone please explain to me why the phrase "you got she mail" is the backing behind killing? Before RPDR came on that was happening. I thought the term had to do with drag queens not transgender people because they are trapped in the wrong sex body right? Not trying to mad or insensitive, I'm really confused over this situation. And why go on a drag queen competition show if you feel you're a woman trapped in a man's body. I'm totally clueless. Sincerely would like clarification on this matter. Thank you to those that are helpful. I appreciate it.

Noelani

4/15/2014 10:03:00 am

I think it's RuPaul who deserves an apology! Good Heavens, is NO ONE immune to be accused of being insensitive?

bill link

4/16/2014 12:24:31 am

that's all we need is more fags on this beautiful earth....

Paul B.

4/16/2014 09:14:32 am

As a straight man myself I'm offended that LOGO would pull that off.

dbc

4/16/2014 11:39:41 am

LOGO is intended to give a voice to those in the LGBT community. It is intended to educate those who know little about the LGBT lifestyles, thoughts, feelings, fight for equality, etc. As in any place on the face of the earth, there will be those who are very strong and determined people. There are those who have no voice but want and need to be heard and LOGO can help with that. And there are some who are very vocal about themselves and the world in which they live. Some people are tough and some are sensitive. This is in every walk of life. Any opinion expressed by any human being will find its way to somehow offend another human being. Every person has different levels to which they reach to be "politically correct".Bottom line, no matter what you do, what you say, what your orientation is, what your opinions are, someone is going to be offended. We are all human and all have different
personalities.Someone is going to take offense to something. It has happened from the beginning of time and will continue to happen. Let LOGO remain what it was created for...to educate those who want to be educated and entertain those who want to be entertained. If someone finds offense, they only have to change the channel.

Kris

4/21/2014 04:19:40 am

I don't see what the big deal is. I never even thought of she male until I saw this. I always looked at it as a play off of email, she mail. The last episode seemed extremely lacking with just oooo girl.

Logo Says Sashay Away to 'She-Mail' & 'She-Male'

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