Sam Winter from Hong Kong University recently wrote to the Quasi Governmental Broadcast Authority in HK about a programme ATV ran a couple of weeks ago about Thai transwomen, "in which the Cantonese slang word 'yan yiu' ('human monster') was used consistently, and to the almost complete exclusion of any other word (for example 28 times in the space of just 11 minutes)."
"We wait hoping for a resounding rebuke of the TV station's behaviour in this regard," he says.
I recall that the local Chinese media used to label transsexuals "yan yiu" in the past, but that practice seems to have stopped. Today, they call transsexuals "bian xing ren", which, translated literally means "sex change person". That's as good as it gets, really.
Meanwhile, I await the AGC's reply to my email enquiry.
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2 comments:
The monsters in this instance are in the media.
I agree. Ignorance breeds contempt. Which is why we need to continue to raise awareness.
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