New York Times Meeting With GLAAD About Trans Media Coverage

After some problematic stories in the New York Times that drew the ire of the trans community, a meeting has been arranged to take place today between GLAAD, representatives of the local trans community and the Times to discuss their coverage of trans people.

The New York trans community was already upset about the exploitative piece on Lorena Escalera's death and the stubborn refusal to retract or correct it.   Now they just poured gasoline on that smoldering controversy with the latest scribblings about the Christopher Street trans youth culture.

Janet Mock said about the Christopher Street piece, “My problem with this piece is that trans women, specifically those of color in this gentrified environment of New York City, are under layers and layers of oppression – none of which are examined and or mentioned in this paper of record.”

GLAAD stated on their blog about this meeting: "Our meeting with the Times will explore those layers, and encourage the paper to consider telling these stories - as well as explain exactly how these stories could cause harm to trans people, youth in particular.

As the paper of record that people and politicians on both sides of the aisle read, it's vitally important that the New York Times get it right the first time when they comment or write stories about the trans community and the issues that impact it.  

Let's hope that message is received by the Times and we see a corresponding major improvement in trans community stories and coverage of our community as a result of today's meeting.

Also wouldn't hurt New York Times if you actually hired trans people as reporters to cover that community  

Cristan's Take On Chloe Sevigny's Hit and Miss

The BBC is now several episodes into broadcasting a show called Hit and Miss about Mia, a pre-op trans assassin who discovers she has a child from a previous relationship.

The character is played by Chloe Sevigny.  Hit and Miss has gotten some buzz based on the premise of the show and I even heard about the show during my double secret weekend trip.

Cristan Williams had this to say on her Ehipassiko blog about it.

I decided to see for myself what all the fuss was about and watched the 6 available episodes. If you like assassin shows, it’s your standard fare. Now, about Sevigny’s portrayal of a pre-op transwoman… It’s good. At times my reaction to her portrayal of gender dysphoria is visceral and may be a trigger for some. At other times, I rolled my eyes at some aspects of the scripted portrayal. Having said that, the good outweighs the bad.

Here's the rest of Cristan's thoughts about the show .

An 'In The Life' Conversation With Janet And Isis

In The Life recently had two of my sisters in Janet Mock and Isis King get together to have a conversation about the perceptions of #GirlsLikeUs in the media

The Roberts Test For Trans POC In Media

I read an interesting post over at Womanist Musings in which she revised the Bechdel Test for disabled people .   It was built off of a post Tami Winfrey Harris wrote for Clutch magazine that created a Winfrey-Harris Test for POC's.

What's the Bechdel Test you ask?   It originated in 1985 from Allison Bechdel’s comic strip “Dykes to Watch Out For” and is based on three simple questions:.

1. Are there two or more women in it who have names?
2. Do they talk to each other?
3. Do they talk to each other about something other than a man? 

Tami expanded the Bechdel Test in her Clutch magazine post to include the following four questions to ask in terms of POC representation in media created by her and several bloggers of color that included a certain Timmy's Ice Capp loving Canadian. 

          1. One or more named people of color
          2.  Who talk to each other
          3.  Who don't act in a service capacity (No magical brown people!)
          4.  Who are reflective of their culture and history, but don't communicate that through stereotyped action, such as an affected accent.   

Since the representations of transpeople in media are just as fouled up and especially for transpeople of color, introducing the Roberts Test For Trans POC's In Media to set up minimum standards for positive portrayals of us in these films, plays and television shows.  

     1.  Are there one or more named trans people of color
     2.  Who talk to each other
     3.  Who aren't shown putting on makeup
     4.  Who aren't killed off in the first five minutes of the show
     5.  Aren't played by male actors in drag     
     6.  Aren't the butt of a demeaning joke
     7.  Who aren't sex workers or drag queens
     8.  Who are accurately portraying the complexity of trans lives and reflective of their culture and history
                                                               9.   Don't communicate that through stereotyped or exaggerated actions such as speaking in drag queen English.  

If there are other rules for trans POC's in media you think should be there, leave them in the comment section.

Arsenio's Back In 2013!

Boring late night shows, your days are numbered.   I'm extremely happy to hear that Arsenio Hall is coming back to reclaim the late night throne he once occupied in the late 80's-early 90's    

Late night television hasn't been the same since Arsenio left the scene in 1994 and has regressed to the monoracial state of affairs that existed before he shook up late night with his highly rated syndicated show.

Hall's show debuted in 1989 and was a surprise hit that had crossover appeal, elected a president, won an Emmy Award and was a hip, cool venue that was the launching pad for many of the chart topping artists of the 90's

Now comes the welcome news that Arsenio Hall has inked a deal with CBS that would bring him back into the late night arena starting in September 2013

"In the end I'm a comic, and nothing fits the talk-show mode like a stand-up comic," Hall told the Los Angeles Times. Referring to the crowded field in late-night TV that includes "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" as well as traditional venues such as "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" he said : "I know there are a lot of shows, but I think there's a space for my show."

There most certainly is.   The other thing that CBS noted is that the 18-34 demo that watched Arsenio then is now in the coveted 35-54 demo that watches late night shows.  .  

The yet untitled show would be broadcast at 11 PM and reports are that 17 stations, including WGN-TV in Chicago and KTLA-TV in Los Angeles are already on board to carry it.  Those stations, plus six major-market CBS-owned outlets and seven from station group Local TV LLC, will give Hall instant access to more than half the country and a shot at replicating the success he had in the 90's.

So starting in September 2013, get ready to check out Arsenio Hall Show 2.0

The Root's Trans Free Black LGBT List

Since June is Pride Month, in honor of the occasion The Root put together a list of 20 notable Black LGBT people    I was curious to see if things had progressed in the African-American blogosphere since I had to call the Grio out about a trans free LGBT leaders list in 2010. .

On the one The Root compiled many of the folks on this list I have had the pleasure of meeting and I admire such as Aisha Moodie-Mills, Phill Wilson, and Donna Payne are on it.   The others they included are familiar ones like poet Staceyann Chin, Jonathan Capehert, Don Lemon, Sapphire, Keith Boykin, Jasmyne Cannick and Wanda Sykes.

What I didn't see in this Black LGBT list was you guessed it, Black trans people.

No Janet Mock (who made the Grio's 100 list BTW).  No Laverne Cox.  No Kylar Broadus, Isis King, Valerie Spencer, Rev. Louis Mitchell, Miss Major, or even some award winning blogger who was part of the first ever trans panel at Netroots Nation 2012..

Just the same old crap, different day in terms of Blackosphere media outlets putting together these Black LGB(t) lists and not including any trans people in them.

Bottom line, if you're going to take the time to put together a list that purports to be representative of the LGBT community leadership, then I, the trans community and our allies expect that trans people be included in said list if you claim it is a TBLG one.

Far too fracking often these trans free lists are overwhelmingly LG dominated, B peeps as an afterthought with no T ones.

Black folks, y'all need to get with that include the trans community program as well because we Black trans peeps are beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of being erased from these Black TBLG leaders lists y'all put together.  

We aren't ashamed of being Black and trans but the constant erasure and the frequency with which it happens make us wonder if you're ashamed of us.  

That erasure of African descended trans persons leads to situations in which Black transpeople haven't even been invited to discuss trans issues that impact us like the CeCe McDonald case on the Melissa Harris Perry show or NAACP convention LBG(t) town hall meetings with no trans people on those panels

Will be eagerly watching the upcoming NAACP convention next month in my hometown to see if Julian Bond keeps the promise he made in LA last year to ensure the next NAACP convention town hall has trans representation on that panel. 

And the 'we can't find any trans activists' excuse doesn't wash now any more than it did two years ago.

Sadly what I said in the post calling out the erasure and non- inclusion of Black transpeople on Black LGB(t) lists is applicable in this one as well.

My point is that if our own people don't or won't show us some love when you compile these leadership lists, and you write for one of our leading blogosphere sites directed at the African-American community gay and straight, how in the hell can we Black trans leaders who are doing the work expect the predominately white TBLG community to respect us as well?

It's bad enough that Black transpeople get shut out of the predominately vanillacentric upper middle class narrative and get very little to no media attention except when we get killed in a hate crime.   It's disappointing and hurts even more when we get ignored by our own media outlets.

Carmen, When You Agree To Be The Butt Of A Reality TV Joke...

Don't be surprised, shocked and angry when the producers of that show disrespectfully treat you like one.

Carmen Carrera from Season 3 of RuPaul's Drag Race is in the process of transitioning and she recently appeared on an episode of the ABC show What Would You Do when she portrayed a transitioning waitress in a New Jersey diner to test the reactions of the patrons to another actor playing a transphobic customer.  

She agreed to appear on Monday's episode of the TLC reality TV show Cake Boss as part of a joke that was being played on Cousin Anthony   Well, the show appearance didn't quite turn out the way 24 year old Carmen envisioned it would.

Im so upset right now, I cant stop crying. My heart truly hurts. I need people to understand that I KNOW I was born male and not ashamed of it. I wouldn't of cared if they said I was born male or USED TO BE male. By calling me a 'MAN' promotes ignorance and makes it ok to call transgender women, men. PEOPLE GET BULLIED, BEAT UP, AND KILLED FOR BEING TRANS BECAUSE OF THIS IGNORANCE! There was a time it was like that for gay people, even for some ethnic groups. Its not ok to call a gay person a fag, its not ok to call a spanish person a spic, its not ok to call a black person a nigger. THIS IS THE SAME TYPE OF THING. I made it VERY clear to the producers on how to use the correct wording before agreeing to filming this but instead they chose to poke fun and be disrespectful. Thats not what Im about! Please voice your opinion.

Be careful what you wish for Ms. Carrera, because the TransGriot is about to do precisely that in this post.

First lesson my trans youngling, is that all publicity ain't good publicity.   Ask trans folks who did the Jerry Springer Show or similar tabloid TV fare back in the day when they were your age or older and came to later regret it. 

Carrera tweeted this comment a little later concerning her thoughts about what happened on Cake Boss.

Im really trying to be a positive role model for trans people and it upsets me that after I SPECIFICALLY asked the producers of "Cake Boss" NOT to disrespect me or trans people. Before I agreed to do this show, I was assured and then reassured that it wasn't going to be like the JERRY SPRINGER show or MAURY. Let me make this clear. CALLING A TRANSGENDER WOMAN A MAN IS WRONG. Period. Its degrading, its rude, and its very hurtful. I may not have been born a woman, but im NOT a man. I told them I would mind if they said "born male" or "was a male". After taking this journey its not fair at all to be lied to by the producers. PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG. EDUCATE AND PROMOTE EQUALITY AND RESPECT!!!!!!!

No problem.  I have your back sis and will signal boost your comments.  

But back to the post.

Carmen, I'm also happy to hear that you want to be considered as a positive role model for our community and sincerely wish to use your celebrity status to discuss equality and trans human rights issues.

But appearing on Cake Boss ain't and wasn't the place to do it. If you want to be taken seriously as an advocate, you need to go to media venues where you will be treated with dignity and respect. 

Granted, the tired borderline transphobic Austin Powers reference was uncalled for along with Cousin Anthony's transphobic tweet aimed at you I didn't like for which he and Cake Boss star Buddy Valastro both later apologized for.

But the fact remains you were an agent in your own oppression when you agreed to not only go on that show, but be the butt of a joke on top of that. 

Carmen, chalk this experience up as an activist lesson learned.   Since you expressed an interest in advocating for our community, I would urge you to get in contact with GLAAD and participate in one of their media training sessions the next time they conduct one in your area.

Because my dear trans sister, you have the prerequisites needed to be a great activist.  You have the desire to be an advocate, a heart full of love for our community and you're drop dead gorgeous on top of it..

''Single Ladies' Season 2 Starts May 29

Y'all are well aware of how much I loved VH1's series Single Ladies and was happy it got renewed for a second season.   While LisaRaye McCoy and Charity Shea will be back reprising their roles as Keisha and April, Stacey Dash will not be returning as Val.

She's being replaced by Denise Vasi who'll be playing Keisha's best friend Raquel Lancaster

Get More: Single Ladies (Season 2), Single Ladies Season 2 , Single Ladies Cast, Single Ladies Show, Denise Vasi

It will kick off Season 2 May 29, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this one plays out.

Chloe Sevigny Discusses Playing A Transwoman In Upcoming BBC Series

Chloe Sevigny once played the girlfriend of transman Brandon Teena in the movie Boys Don't Cry, and now she's playing Mia, a pre-op transwoman contract killer with personal life complications beyond her gender issues in the upcoming BBC television series Hit and Miss.

In addition to discussing her character in this series, Chloe has an interview in which she talks about the prosthetic penis she wore in this series and how it made her feel to do so.






The SkyNews Interview

Renee Discusses Motherhood And Feminism

Happy Mother's Day TransGriot readers!  Since it's your day, what better way for me to spend it than listening to one of my favorite mommy bloggers who is all that and four bags of ketchup flavor chips?

Renee of Womanist Musings spent a few moments on Friday as a guest on the CBC Radio show The Current discussing the topic of motherhood and feminism.




And as you those of you who read her blog know about her, she's going to tell it like it T-I-S when it comes to motherhood and the different ways she intersects with the topic.  

The Current is hosted by Erica Johnson, and here's my Timmy's IceCapp drinking homegirl for your  TransGriot listening pleasure.

Tamron Hall Brings The Pain

Damn I love Tamron Hall!  

Her weekday MSNBC show at 1 PM CDT is Must See TV for moi and the fact she's a sista Texan and no nonsense journalist adds to her appeal for me.

She just has poor taste in NFL football teams being she's an Arlington Cowchips fan.

But back to the post.  Tamron called out Romney spokesbot Art Carney on a recent show for disrespecting her and accusing her of 'ambushing' him for this interview he agreed to do.

Dude, don't ever piss off a journalist from Texas.   Another note for you, not all Texans are conservafools. 

Thank you Tamron for bring the pain. More media people should follow her example and call out the disrespect when it happens.   The politicians need y'all, not the other way around and it's past time journalists started acting like journalists and not stenographers to power

Our demoracy depends on unflinching journalism asking tough questions of the people running for office so we peeps heading to the polls have solid information to base our decisions on, and that's supposed to be the reason why the Fourth Estate folks get paid the bucks they do.

Watch her bring the pain to a Romney spinmeister who made the mistake of disrespecting her on her show.

What Would You Do?-Transteen Trying To Come Out

The ABC Show What Would You Do? isn't shy about tackling trans issues, and another one they took on recently was a trans teen trying to explain at a restaurant to his disapproving mother that he needed to be a girl.

The mother and transteen were actors in this case and the hidden cameras ganged the reactions of eh people who witnessed the situation.

Rachel Drops Knowledge On 'Meet The Press' Conservafools

Ever since David Gregory took over for the late Tim Russert on NBC's Meet The Press I have refused to watch the show because he leans too much in the conservafool column for my tastes, much less sucks as a moderator.

Rachel Maddow was on yesterday morning's edition of Meet The Press along with Hilary Rosen to confront Alex Casrtellanos and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) who the Republifools have been ttrotting out to spin their abysmal War on Women policies by going into denial about them.

But the best way to beat a conservafool spinning is drop megatons of facts on them.    They tried the tactic of cutting her off while speaking.   Rachel also calls Castellanos out for his misogny

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

 

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2012 White House Correspondents Dinner

While I was attending our local Unity Dinner, in 'Hollywood For Ugly People' AKA Washington DC  the annual White house Correspondents Dinner was taking place.    I got to see it after I came home, but for those of you who missed it, here's the POTUS poking fun at himself and various people inside the bltway and the media who cover them.

Dick Clark Passes Away

As my milestone birthday rapidly approaches, another one of the iconic personalities I grew up with has passed away.

I was saddened to hear that Dick Clark, who hosted American Bandstand for over 30 years, the $10,000, $25,000  and $100,000 Pyramid game shows, founded the American Music Awards and since 1972 rocked New Year's Eve for us, died of a massive heart attack in Santa Monica, CA yesterday morning. 

Dick Clark was not only an iconic presence on our television screens, but also helped integrate the music industry.  One of the first major predominately white shows that Motown artists got exposure on was his  American Bandstand, and the Bandstand dance floors were integrated.

But what I and everyone else will fondly remember is spending our New Year's Eves since 1972 courtesy of  the Dick Clark's New Year's Rocking Eve show in which we got to see our fave music artists perform just before the ball dropped to usher in the New Year from New York's Times Square with him.



When New Year's Eve comes around in a few months and we move from this year to 2013, for a moment it will be a little sadder than normal because the 'World's Oldest Teenager' won't be around to do the final countdown.

Rest in peace Dick Clark, you will be missed..

Tired Of Me Complaining About Trans POC Erasure? Stop Enabling It

If you non-persons of color transpeople get tired of me calling out the erasure of non-white trans voices in media appearances about trans issues every time it happens, then stop enabling it

I know some of y'all were muttering 'there she goes again' when I wrote the Sunday post blasting that vanillacentric Transgender In America panel on the Melissa Harris-Perry show and frankly I don't care.

I'm just as tired of pointing out the obvious to your clueless behinds. If you're going to claim that the trans community is a diverse one, then it needs to be reflected not only in the leadership of it, but its thought leaders and who speaks for it.

And I'm not the only Black transperson who feels this way as much as you peeps who wish to dismiss this commentary or fling the sour grapes accusation would like to think.   Far too often, we have media erasure incidents like what happened on the Melissa Harris-Perry show Sunday in which the trans talking heads are overwhelmingly white.  We all know there are more than a few non-white trans folks who are eminently capable of speaking on behalf of this community but are repeatedly erased, ignored and frozen out of media opportunities to speak for this community.

And if you think I'm going to be silent about it, y'all don't know me very well do you?

Bottom line is I along with POC transpeople are beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of being erased from another cable media discussion on trans issues once again. 

If you want the support of cis minority communities and more trans people of color to join the trans rights cause, it is imperative that we non-white transpeople and our cis POC community members see the entire trans ethnic rainbow represented.  

As someone said on my Facebook page in the rant I posted that jumpstarted this post:: 

It's the unwritten rule.  Act like you don't see them or hear them and they will go away.  If no one says anything then we are irrelevant.

We are anything but irrelevant to the trans community and aren't going away.  We are makers and molders of trans history and we must be heard, especially in light of the fact we're taking the brunt of the anti-trans violence and discrimination.

You can decry that as 'identity politics' all you want, but you're doing the same damned thing when only white transpeople are deemed 'acceptable' spokespeople to go on the media talking head shows.

This erasure was even more infuriating because Melissa Harris-Perry is a Black woman as well.  It was a painful reminder to the Black trans community of how we got erased when Oprah finally got around to having transpeople on her show and never put one of her own people on her stage to talk about trans issues .

The bottom line of me going off about this Melissa Harris-Perry show erasure is not only am I tired of it,  I don't want to have to see the trans younglings who are transitioning now at ages 10 or less having to fight the same damn battles we're having to fight when they get to adulthood.

It's also about our POC transkids who not only need to see us and have role models they can look up to as they transition.   They need to also see us front and center fighting those civil rights battles with our trans oppressors and talking intelligently about those issues in the media.  

They not only need to see themselves represented, but know beyond a shadow of a doubt we trans elders are doing everything we can with every fiber of our beings to make life easier for those transkids when they get to adulthood.

Yep, this is about our POC transkids and I haven't forgotten how I felt growing up when I wondered if Black people even transitioned.  White transkids have had the benefit of an over half century old trans narrative that has an overwhelming vanillacentric scent. 

They have numerous examples of trans role models to point to and leadership ranks overwhelmingly dominated by transpeople who look like them while the people taking the brunt of the anti-trans violence and discrimination disproportionately look like us.

The trans human rights movement is making the same critical mistake the GL movement has in terms of the erasure and visibility of its non-white members. If you want support from cis minority communities for our cause, you have to show them that there are people in those non-white communities who are trans as well.  Those non white trans people need to be the ones primarily articulating the message that we exist and transpeople deserve human rights.

I'm talking about balance here.  I'm tired of us being stuck with the 'tragic transsexual' and 'unwoman' memes in this community.  Seeing transpeople of color eloquently speaking about our issues, especially on national media shows is an important part of the trans human rights effort and you white transpeople in a position to keep the erasure from happening need to redouble you efforts to stop enabling it.

If you don't, you can guarantee the next time it happens (and sadly I can count on like taxes and another transperson of color being killed somewhere) will probably be writing about another instance of media erasure.   And when it does, I damned sure will be calling it out.