This thread is for folks to discuss tags that they think should be renamed and/or have their usage redefined.
I'm afraid that just about everything I say in this post has the potential to offend
someone. It is not my intent to do so, and I have done my best to explain my reasoning behind everything.
My first suggestion:
'Forced' should be renamed to 'Rape'. Let's not beat around the bush. I know, the word might bring back traumatic memories for any survivors who happen to frequent the site. Still, I think that using the clearest, most accurate term possible is more important.
The rest of this post was originally posted in
this thread, where it gathered no small amount of negative feedback (presumably due to its rather sensitive subject matter).
Anyway, I decided to move it here, since it didn't really fit in there (it was late when I wrote it, ok).
The other post starts after the horizontal bar.
JohnFNSeiler wrote...
Futa, newhalf and trans are three totally different tags and dickgirls is just a less elegant word for futa.
*crossed out items are portions that I have determined were not entirely accurate on my part. I'm keeping them visible because I have received a sizable number of downvotes for this, and I don't want anyone to think that my numerous edits to this post were an attempt to hide portions of what I said*
After looking around the site and the internet a bit, I have come to the following conclusions:
First, the problems with the existing tags:
The trans tag should be mostly eliminated (hold your horses, I'll explain why shortly. I know trans-anything is a touchy subject these days). The trans tag needs to have clear and explicit critera for when it should and should not be applied to something. I am aware that this is no easy task, as it seems as though everyone (myself included) has their own definition of what trans means, and the meaning seems to constantly be evolving. Still, if we can't clearly define when a tag should and should not be used, it isn't a very useful tag.
The previous version of this paragraph said that the tag should be mostly eliminated. I acknowledge now what a poor choice of words that was. I was basically asserting that if a proper usage for the trans tag was defined, it was likely that many of the works that currently have the tag would no longer qualify, which, assuming that things were updated to reflect this, would thus lead to a significant reduction in the trans tag's usage.
The futanari tag should be renamed to hermaphrodite, and it should be verified that all works with the tag contain one or more characters that possess
both types of genitalia. Also, as far as I've seen, in the west, the term futanari is just used as a blanket term for characters with breasts and a penis, whether or not they also have a vagina. I know, this isn't using it correctly, but people might get confused if Fakku was one of the only sites that used the term correctly.
Newhalf might just need to be done away with, as, in the real world, it seems to just be a Japanese term for a transgendered person (and is thus redundant). Also, there are only six items with the newhalf tag, and all of them also have the trans tag.
Okay, so after further reasearch, it looks like newhalf actually refers to a trans person who has, to some degree, physically transitioned, so maybe there is a place for it. There's probably a better term we could use, though; I've only very rarely seen the term newhalf get used in English (and that's my only language, so...)
I said I'd explain myself regarding the trans tag, so here goes:
Although it often does in the real world, in hentai,
dickgirl/cuntboy =/= transgendered
Edit: to clarify, I'm asserting that the former items do not
necessarily always equal the latter. I'm not saying that they are mutually exclusive. Also, note that I explain my usage of the terms dickgirl and cuntboy near the bottom of this post.
The world of hentai is a magical place where, sometimes, people have mismatched primary and secondary sexual characteristics. No explanation is given for it, they just do.
If it is explicitly stated or indicated that a character transitioned at some point (or if it is actually shown in the work itself), then yeah, the work in question should have the trans tag. Otherwise, we should not automatically assume that a character is transgendered just because they are a dickgirl/cuntboy.
And now, the tags I think we should use instead
and their definitions:
Hermaphrodite
Any character possessing both male
and female genitalia
Dickgirl
Elegant or not, it's a common term, and people know what it means: a character who looks and acts female, apart from having a penis.
Cuntboy
Same as previous, but the other way around.
Trans
If it is in some way indicated that a character that warrants one of the previous two tags wasn't always that way (or if they are explicitly stated to be trans),
then a work should have the trans tag, and the should be in addition to one of the previous two tags.
Anyway, that's what I've got to say for now.
Edit: I'm not entirely certain which portion(s) of my post are responsible for rustling the jimmies of so many people. It'd be nice if someone could tell me, it's really
not my intention to offend here. I do understand just what a sensitive subject this is, though.
I should clarify that my suggestion to mostly eliminate the trans tag was referring to the way in which it is
currently used. I'm not saying we shouldn't acknowledge it when an actual trans character is in something, I'm just saying that, this being hentai we are talking about, we shouldn't automatically refer to any character with mismatched primary and secondary sexual characteristics as trans. Sometimes girls in hentai have penises, there's no need to read anything further into it than that.
Also, regarding my usage of the terms dickgirl and cuntboy: these are not terms I would use in real life. In most of the hentai communities I have been a part of, these are commonly used terms that describe characters in a purely visual manner.
If you've read this whole post, and have a problem with part of it, I ask that you make a post explaining what that problem is. Just downvoting me and leaving isn't all that helpful. I assure you that I am not trying to be offensive. If I come off as ignorant, it is entirely possible that I am.
The intent of this thread is to initiate discussion within the community, so that we can try and agree on what the tags here should be called, and how they should be used (and then suggest these changes to those in charge, I guess)