Barbecuing Flame Monroe's Ignorant Radio Interview

I met Flame Monroe briefly when he lived in Houston for a hot minute.  We ironically had the same person, Marie Asmar, as our electrologist.   Flame moved back to Chicago and I basically was living my Air Marshal life that morphed into 20 plus years of trailblazing activism on behalf of the trans community.

So when I began to get asked what were my thoughts about Flame Monroe's massively problematic The Breakfast Club  interview, I was still in the midst of traveling between San Francisco and Austin and prepping for the Equality Texas gala. 

So I didn't get to see and hear the video of it until last night, and ugh. what a cluster.   Glad I did so on an empty stomach.

Note to Flame and all you drag queens.   Since you and other drag queens have made it abundantly clear you are female impersonators or men, do all us trans women a favor. Keep your mouths shut about anything relating to trans women when a microphone is in your face or a TV camera is rolling. 

We already have a major problem with cis people conflating trans women and drag queens, which you made worse with the 30 minutes of breathtaking ignorance you spewed the other day.

Far too often when you drag queens open your mouths to talk about trans folks, it turns out to be as in this TBC interview, massively ignorant and wrong.

Leave the media discussions about trans people to trans people trained to handle it or who have the lived experience to do so.  We trans folks are the experts in talking about our trans lives, not some ignorant drag queen.

Let me say this louder for you peeps on The Breakfast Club and 'errbody' else who engages in either innocently or willfully conflating drag queens with trans women.   

Trans women and drag queens are not the same. 

The fact that this cluster of a 30 minute interview happened on The Breakfast Club, which already has raised the ire of the Black trans community with its glaring transphobia problem, and willful anti-trans ignorance being spewed on its airwaves, made this interview all the more egregious and maddening to those of us in Black Trans World who work hard at educating the public on trans issues.

The fact it happened during Trans Awareness Week also adds to the pissivity I and other trans women feel about this hot drag queen mess of an interview.

And I have a major problem with anyone in Black Trans or SGL World who thinks this is 'no big deal'.   This is the kind of ignorant speech you cis peeps cosign that leads to Black trans people getting disrespected, assaulted and killed.

But let me turn my focus on Flame Monroe's azz.

No Boo Boo Kitty, demanding respect for our humanity, human rights and our lives and fighting back against anti-trans oppression is NOT 'forcing your lifestyle on someone else'

Miss me with that bullshyt.   Also miss me with that problematic 'lifestyle' word as well.   Trans people live trans lives, not a 'lifestyle'.

If you think otherwise, question for you.   When did you choose to live a male lifestyle?

And yes Flame, trans women are not only women, trans men are men.  If you actually hit Google every now and then, you would be more aware of that point. You would also be aware of the increasing body of scientific research that comes down on the side of trans people being authentic parts of the diverse mosaic of human life.

You would also be aware that being born with a penis or a vagina doesn't lock step determine whether you are male or female.   Your brain does.   Gender identity is between your ears, not your legs       

Finally, words matter, especially when it comes to media opportunities for a marginalized group.

You set this community's education efforts backwards with this interview, and played right into the transphobic ignorance that The Breakfast Club likes to push on their show.

You may dismiss that fact or even this post as something you don't care about, but I do care about the trans community, and have given 21 years (and counting) of my life to fighting for its human rights.

Your words do matter to the trans folks and trans kids who will be harmed by the cisfolks repeating them, and claiming you're 'keeping it real'. 

You're 'keeping it real' alright.  Real ignorant.

Your words also matter to our enemies who will take what you said in that massive fail of a Breakfast Club interview and weaponize it for use against us.

TransGriot Update: Heard this post and my FOX26 interview plucked Marcus' nerves.  So much for that tough talk the #HeSheDummy was spouting in that studio.