My visit there brings to mind \u201cWilly Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.\u201d Much like Charlie\u2019s journey in Roald Dahl\u2019s children\u2019s book, in which a grim reality was revealed just beyond a fanciful entrance, my troubling fate awaited me beneath a staircase, one of many unique sets of stairs, this one mirrored a double helix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our group of American students stood together in a tired sweat as we surrounded our English-speaking tour guide. She introduced an exhibit<\/a> featuring work by Diane Arbus, an American photographer who published most of her work during the 1960s. Arbus is most recognized for her style of direct and intimate photographs of \u201csocial deviants,\u201d which often included members of the LGBTQ+ community, drag artists, nudists and sex workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In introducing the exhibit, the tour guide said, \u201cDiane Arbus\u2019 subjects included \u2026 homosexuals and transvestites.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n My mind stopped, and I was taken back to Pride 2019 in New York City. Outside a sea of rainbow joy, transphobic protesters roared vile messages and \u201ctransvestite\u201d was their slur of choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the tour guide\u2019s usage was different. She wasn\u2019t angry; she was addressing the subjects of Arbus\u2019 work in a calm manner. I was struck. I had only heard this word paired with rage. I kept asking myself two questions: \u201cHow could this be said so casually? Is it possible they said the wrong word?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I raised my hand, my only instrument to break the silence. \u201cWhy is it necessary to use the word transvestite?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIs there a different word you\u2019d prefer?\u201d the tour guide responded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, perhaps the word transgender or\u2026\u201d I offered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before I could finish my sentence, the tour guide told me there is a significant difference between the words transgender and transvestite. In the same breath, she said this was the language tour guides were instructed to use for a plethora of reasons \u2014 including the fact that Arbus used that word to title her works<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I knew the difference between the words and realized I should have used the word cross-dresser. The 11th edition of the GLAAD Media Reference<\/a> Guide says cross-dresser has \u201creplaced the offensive word \u2018transvestite.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tour guide serves as an educator and, in that role, has tremendous influence. I fear if global visitors to LUMA Arles hear a tour guide using the word, they will use it, too, without realizing how offensive it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This usage of this word upset me in 2019 and now again in 2023 for the same reason, but I too often forget that strangers don\u2019t know why. I think everyone should be concerned about the usage of offensive language, but this word cuts deeper for me. I came out as transgender over eight years ago with pride and fear that still lives inside me. Today I have the privilege of \u201cpassing\u201d as the woman that I am. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Each day I function like the entire universe knows that I am transgender. I\u2019m always on guard, but it\u2019s a personal battle only I\u2019m aware of. To my knowledge, the LUMA tour guide didn\u2019t know. This left me thinking, if she had known would she have used the word transvestite around me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I take issue with the fact that Arbus had enormous power over her subjects. She was a cisgender white woman who was born into a wealthy family. There is a distinct power dynamic in which she held a remarkable amount of privilege over her subjects. She\u2019s celebrated for her intimate portrayals of underrepresented subjects, but to me all of her work feels exploitative, as if she crossed a line that wasn\u2019t hers to cross. I\u2019m not the first to raise this issue; it was debated in her own <\/a>era. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/projects.ieimedia.com\/2023arles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Kylie2nd-1024x912.jpg\")