Transgender in the Media

Given the fact that I knew close to nothing about transgendered people and the struggles they face, Serano’s Whipping Girl gave me a lot to think about. In particular, I found her analysis of the plight of the trans woman to be particularly powerful. It makes sense that people, even within the LGBT community, would show more acceptance towards trans men than trans women. If we consider the gender binary, it makes sense that one would want to move away from femininity and towards masculinity because masculinity has been equated with power. Thus, in this vein of thought, it makes little sense to transition from masculinity to femininity. I think the key concept here is understanding. What people don’t understand, they tend to fear, as we discussed in class. And with fear comes animosity and dismissal. Our culture has achieved just that with transgendered people, and trans women in particular. Serano cites three ways in which our culture has dismissed trans women: hyper feminization, hypersexualization, and objectification. Trans women are hyper feminized in the media by being conferred certain overemphasized deprecating “feminine” characteristics such as frivolity, hypersexualized by making it appear as if all trans women are “sex workers or sexual deceivers” (16), and objectified by focusing on and sensationalizing sex reassignment surgery. All three of these are used to create a public image of trans women and at the same time make such an image negative and freakish. This “freak” image has penetrated deep into the consciousness of the masses. It has even entered the realm of psychology. In the DSM-IV (there was a proposed revision for the DSM-V, I couldn’t find any evidence that such a revision was made), behavior consistent with those who feel an incongruence between their physical embodiment and their inner selves (such as cross dressing) has been categorized as a mental disorder: gender identity disorder. If this is the message that people are receiving about transgendered people, what else can they conclude other than it is abnormal and unacceptable?

So the question becomes, where to begin. Serano writes a lot about the transgender movement needing to be at its core a feminist movement. While I agree, I think that for the movement to be taken seriously by the general public who are fairly ignorant about the transgender experience, awareness needs to be spread. People need to better understand what it means to be transgendered and the struggles that come with it. Perhaps steps are already being taken which we aren’t really aware of. Take for example, a new show (originally aired on WE a few years ago) on Discovery Fit and Health called Sex Change Hospital. At first glance, I thought that this was a perfect example of objectification of transgendered people through the sensationalism of the surgery. On the surface and especially in the title, there’s a whole lot of sensationalism going on. However, in watching the actual show, you get to see and experience firsthand the struggles and feelings and thought processes of someone through their transition process. The focus is not on the surgery itself, it is on the journey leading up to the surgery; the feelings of confusion and conflict and incongruence; the struggle for acceptance in their families and in the wider community. While this doesn’t perhaps spread awareness about transgender politics or the transgender movement, it puts a face to a phenomenon. It helps to show that these people aren’t weirdos or sexual deviants. They’re normal people. However, a certain amount of sensationalism is needed to draw people into watching the show. And with that sensationalism does come objectification. I’m still struggling with whether this show and other shows or documentaries like it are helping or hurting the transgender movement, or maybe both. What are your thoughts?

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2008-10-14/entertainment/17908682_1_transgender-mark-bowers-change-hospital