This week the 13th season of Dancing with the Stars premiered on ABC to an audience of over 21 million viewers. The eclectic group of B to D list celebrities chosen to dance have been receiving a lot of attention, due to one contestant in particular. ABC's decision to include Chaz Bono, the son of Cher and the late Sonny Bono, has many long time DWTS fans angry, some even refusing to tune in. Why the hate? Recently, and very publicly, Bono underwent gender reassignment surgery. He is very open about his experience, having had a documentary about the transition premier on Oprah's OWN network earlier this summer. Why does Bono's transition matter when he's just dancing?"What about the children?" is the question posed by infuriated viewers. Members of the ABC DWTS forum are deeply troubled by the prospect of explaining Bono's transition to their kids. Fear-mongering folks are claiming that exposing their children to Bono will cause the kids to question their own identity. Sure, explaining the complicated transgender experience and the ins and outs of gender reassignment surgery to children can be a daunting task. However, it is unnecessary. Bono is a transgender individual of the garden variety. He passes. Because his appearance aligns with his identity, his presence on the show will elicit few, if any, questions from young viewers. It is up to the parents to share information about Bono's past and his recent transition.
If parents do choice to engage their kids in a conversation about what it means to be transgender, they are more than likely going to use the "born in the wrong body" explanation. If you google the phrase "born in the wrong body" you will encounter a plethora of heartwarming People magazine articles and 20/20 interviews about children, teens and adults who are transitioning. These stories seem to capture the attention and hearts of viewers nationwide. Using the malalignment of brain and body to explain the transgender experience is problematic. It assumes that for transgender individuals there is one goal and a set of biological obstacles on the way to that goal. These obstacles include having gender reassignment surgery and hormone treatments. The goal is to leave behind the gender identity prescribed at birth for the opposite gender. Once the goal is achieved, this person is no longer considered transgender. The goal here is assumed to be assimilation. However, assimilation renders the personal experiences and the politics of the transitioned transgender individual invisible.
"Born in the wrong body" presents a very limited description of what it means to be transgender in America. It perpetuates the gender binary of male and female, instead of challenging it. Many transgender individuals exist on a spectrum of gender identity. Rather than existing within one gender, some people embody characteristics of both genders and flow between the two. Individuals who challenge the gender binary are invisible on television, in movies and in print. Their stories are not seen as compelling by the public and these people are labeled deviant, perverse and mentally ill. I am happy to see Chaz Bono stirring up conversation about gender identity. However, I hope to one day open a popular magazine and see individuals who exist in the middle of the spectrum, challenging our notions of gender. It is only then that the politics related to the transgender experience can be explored thoroughly.
Michelle I completely agree with your comment about wanting a fluid gender spectrum that does not use the extremes of masculine and feminine as binaries. One person that comes to mind and often plays with the fluidity of gender through dress attire and even singing style is La Roux. I would say her look is often androgynous. However, I am wondering are people who practice this fluidity " invisible on television, movies and print" because we don't look at the larger picture of their life but just one snap shot moment and then re-categorize them as either masculine or feminine? If so, is there another forum that would be more appropriate to look at the politics related to the transgendered experience?
ReplyDeleteIn response to Bridgette and you, Mushy, thinking of how gender binaries affect all people (esp. trans since people expect them to make a physical decision) it would be hard to know their backstory without them telling it. If someone didn't know Chaz underwent gender/sex reassignment surgery, it would not be obvious. We only question the sex of someone when their gender doesn't seem cookie-cutter, like with lady gaga and the androgynous Johnny Weir. He's a figure skater who is flamboyant and categorized as effeminate. By pushing gender expectations, he is pushing conversation, while Chaz looks like a stereotypical man, therefore not pushing conversations.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying everyone needs to dress androgynous in order to change gender expectations, but since less people present themselves in that way it fuels the talk that needs to happen. Until people realize the possibilities, it will always be seen as "other".
Going off of what Vicki said...I honestly did not even know Chaz had had gender/sex reassignment surgery when I first saw him on the news. I wasn’t fully aware of the controversy that was surrounding him, and it was not until a friend later explained that he had not always physically been male. In our society I agree that we give too small of a box for gender/sexuality. It is my belief that with most things in life, not just this specific situation, we live on a spectrum. Whether it is a gay-straight spectrum or a male-female spectrum or anything else...I agree with Michelle in being happy that this has stirred up controversy and hopefully we will eventually be able to see the middle or the “other” as specifically as we see both ends.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Serrano's "Trans Woman Manifesto" I feel as though I can see Bono's media attention in a completely new light. Serrano says, "The media objectifies our bodies by sensationalizing sex reassignment surgery and openly discussing our “manmade vaginas” without any of the discretion that normally accompanies discussions about genitals" (16). Although Bono is a trans man, Serrano's point is still applicable; that trans folk are reduced to whatever's sitting in their underpants.
ReplyDeleteI think that what makes many people (especially the parents dreading explaining this to their children) so uncomfortable about trans people is everyone's fixation on their genitals. The matter is too strange, too mysterious, too curious to let slide, even though it is a private topic and probably not welcome in "polite company." From what I've seen involving trans folk, the media rarely fails to put the most private of parts under a lens and invite everyone over to take a peek, and yet Bono here is the deviant? Oh, society.