Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Thank You Tyra


I was moved to post this comment on The Tyra Banks Show website after running across a few less that enlightened comments posted in response to a show Tyra did that was broadcast yesterday called 'In Love With A Transsexual'.

I have to thank Tyra and her staff for consistently tackling transgender topics with the respect and dignity they deserve. She's been one of my role models in terms of the type of sistah I wanted to be and project to the world. It makes me happy to hear that one of my role models considers herself a friend of the transgender community. I hope that one day I get to tell her how much I and other transpeople appreciate that in person.

My posted comment:

One of the things I get so sick of hearing as an African-American transwoman who transitioned a decade ago is the sanctimonious bigoted comments of people that either profess to be 'christians' or 'supporters' who arrogantly assert that transpeople aren't 'real women' or 'real men'.

I am a Big 'C' Christian and I know that God loves me as much as you folks who were fortunate enough to have your gender identities and bodies match up at birth

Transgender people are just trying to live quality lives with the hands we are dealt and could do a lot better job of that without the ill-informed, intolerant attitudes and ignorant moralizing that overwhelmingly comes from people who claim to be 'christians'.

It's past time some of you quit cherry-picking scriptures and wake up to the fact that gender identity is between your ears, not the configuration of the genitalia between your legs.

Thank you Tyra for all you've done to help educate people to the fact that transpeople are human beings, too

4 comments:

Jackie said...

It's always good to make visable in an educational and positive light, folks from the GLBT community, especially the trans commnuity because so many people just don't understand or see trans people that much.
I appreciate Tyra too, although she did concentrate on the sexual aspect a bit too much, IMO. I do give her kudos for putting it out there, listening and trying to understand.

Monica Roberts said...

This isn't the first time she's done a transgender themed show.

While I agree with you that far too much time is spent obsessing over what's betwen our legs, there is a genuine curiosity from enlightened people concerning what it's like to be in relationships in which one or both of the partners genitalia don't conform with society's expectations of male or female.

Jackie said...

Yes, for sure. Tyra only had pre-op trans women on and that's gotta throw some peeps for a loop because they were with straight guys. I think all of the partners of the trans ladies did a good job of making the point that their attraction was to the person as a woman, regardless of genitalia.
Josh (transman) really seemed to rattle Tyra the most. She said it did. Good interview with him.
I think they all did a good job.

Monica Roberts said...

I think transmen tend to rattle some biowomen's cages. It drives home the point that there's a fine line between male and female.