Australia: Newspaper faces backlash for describing trans murder victim as ‘she-male’
A newspaper in Australia has come under heavy criticism for describing the transgender victim of a brutal murder as “she-male”.
The front page of the Brisbane paper, the Courier-Mail today described transgender murder victim Mayang Prasetyo using the derogatory term, reports the Brisbane Times.
The headline of the News-Corp paper read: “Monster chef and the she-male”.
Trans Health Australia has demanded an apology from the paper, labelling the use of the term as “soul destroying.”
The front cover of the Courier Mail
The paper also faces a Change.org petition, which has gathered thousands of signatures, and a backlash on social media, with users calling the cover “sensationalist”, “disgusting”, and accusing the paper of “stigmatising” and “villifying” the victim.
Ms Prasetyo was murdered and reportedly dismembered by her boyfriend Marcus Volke in Teneriffe. She three years ago described herself as a “sexy she-male in Bali” on dating site Badoo.
The use of the term on the front-page of the paper has been described as a “set-back” for the trans community in terms of social acceptance.
