Media of Late
Right. So we had a presidential debate ostensibly about LGBT issues. Anybody see it?
We didn't but that's because we're basically too broke to get the special super-duper cable package that includes Logo (and it isn't worth it anyway since we don't watch much TV).
Comments?
Larry King of the Suspenders did some hoo-haa about transgender stuff tonight. Anybody see it?
The Boston Globe is running an article about a doctor transitioning. Anybody read it?
I'm sure there's more...
Anybody?
Posts
8 comments:
Well, I'm getting reports that Larry King was a complete train wreck.
Shocker.
At what point does our need to be on television outweigh our need to be people? Because television isn't doing us any favors.
I think I got lucky by being part of the All My Children gig. They seemed to give a shit about getting it right.
Sigh.
Marti said...
UGG. I taped Larry King. All I can say right now is UGGGGGG. I can't say how horrified I was. Susan Stanton, Jessica Lam, and the transman (I'm forgetting his name) did great. There was a early transitioning transwoman that is Latino, that Larry was confusing the hell out of. I think English is probably not her first language, so he was kinda playing on that. He totally was centered on genitals. He asked all the questions that really are none of his GD business.
Mara better never suggest me for that program, cause I'll ask Larry how big his penis is, and who he sleeps with!
The Boston Globe article is running tomorrow in the Sunday magazine, but there's an excerpt in today's paper here.
The full story will be at http://boston.com/magazine on Sunday 12 August 2007.
I watched the logo forum online - it's focus on almost exclusively on marriage was disappointing - but likely reflects concerns of gay men & women of the economic class that makes large donations to HRC. Who aren't concerned with other issues of economic development, violence, or the blowback from homeland security/immigration legislation in their day to day lives.
The highlights to me were Obama's fantastic answer to the "do you only talk about our rights when speaking to us" question, Etheridge challenging Hillary on the actions of the Clinton (Bill) administration, Richardson doing his best Admiral Stockdale impression and Gravel just being down to earth and holding HRC accountable for trying to excluse him.
Ah - Dr. Berkowitz-Shelton. My ex's doc - who loves her. The Globe did a story on her transition well over a year ago & the Somerville local did a profile of her transition before that. I hope it's good - but - if it's focused on transition - at what point does transition stop being news? 2 years - 3?
I tried to watch Larry King last night but he's simply an idiot and I just felt so bad for his wonderful guest who had to endure everything he threw at them. Alas, it's what I've come to expect from Larry. He needs to retire and save himself from future embarassment.
As for the debate, well, it sucked. We already knew where they stood on marriage, we already know marriage is a dead issue and isn't going to happen anytime soon and yet Joe and the gang at HRC can't seem to focus on anything but. I support marriage equality as much as the next person but why waste all that time asking questions that you already knew the answers to?
It's always been clear that HRC is really just a social club for the wealthy white gay male. The rest of us be dammed. One look at the crowd that night and you could tell those aren't the people worried about losing their job or being denied healthcare. No, they only care about the one thing they aren't going to get so screw them and screw LOGO for going along with this crap.
Larry King's show on Friday was indeed a train wreck. For a minute I thought I was watching an SNL parody of his show, but no, it was the really LK his questions were serious. I squirmed and cringed through the whole thing. He's done trans segments before and you would think he would have learned something by now. All of his trans guests were cordial in replying to his ridiculous questions - I would not have been.
Well, I have to say I've been watching a lot of this kind of through folded fingers, like the way you'd watch a scary movie.
I didn't watch the Larry King, but i've been in contact with Susan Stanton, who feels pretty discouraged about her Larry King show-- I allowed as how she should get herself through transition and get a new job before offering herself up as a poster child, a suggestion that in the past I think hurt her feelings, and now she is beginning to consider.
The Boston Globe piece discouraged me, not only because it wrongly referred to my "divorce," but especially since the headline referred cavalierly to "his" patients, "he" being a post-op transwoman. I thought the piece I read seemed very familiar, kind of the same old same old; and the video that was put up to accompany it was really manipulative.
I feel like these two media events were all very 1987, the kind of coverage I'd expect from a slightly less sophisticated era. Which, I fear, means that this era is not any more sophisticated, and that we may be stuck forever having to see the same shows over and over again.
I will say that I respect Susan and Deborah and the others for participating in these shows-- anytime you offer up your privacy to educate the public, I respect that sacrifice. But I'm also discouraged by these pieces. It makes me feel that we never move forward. And this after a few years where I was begining to think, wow, things are really changing.
I am going to try to remain optimistic, to be grateful our stories are being told at all, to be glad people are finding the courage to get out there and do this work. In time, I just hope other people join them, and other stories get told, in a different way.
Post a Comment