I really don’t remember the first time I heard the phrase “Protect the Dolls” but it seems to be, at least according to Wikipedia, a relatively recent rallying cry.
From the article:
Protect the Dolls, usually stylized in all caps, is a slogan in support of transgender women that was taken from the 1980s Ballroom scene and introduced on a viral white T-shirt by American fashion designer Conner Ives.
…The term “doll” is slang within the transgender and wider LGBTQ community, used to positively refer to a feminine trans woman.
Okay, I LOVE being called a doll, lol. And honestly it doesn’t seem that often a new (or resurfaced) word comes along that is a positive label.
And the labeling is what got me thinking about all of this. We as a community tend to focus on terminology and how we can, or should, identify. The subtle but also significant different options that include non-binary, crossdresser, transgender (to name a few) may not feel quite right or may shift over time can sometimes be stressful when it comes to answering “Who am I?”.
You’re a doll.
If you want to be one, that is.
Love, Hannah
