Media

[DeeNile]

The media tends to portray crossdressers in a negative light. Most people only know of RuPaul, what they have seen on Jerry Springer, or the butt of jokes in movies such as the 40 year old virgin or Two and a half men. With Bruce Jenner coming out and going public with his transition, how do you think the media will portray him? There is no way that I could be the posterboy and endure the scrutiny he is undergoing. I am too young to remember Bruce Jenner the olympian And too old to know him from keeping up with the kardashians.

[Tina B.]

The media seems to be handling it fairly good, but don't stop to read the comments by readers on line, they are using it as prove that it's all a choice. They say since he was married twice, has kids by both wives, proves he is all man and he just chooses to be weird.
Seems no matter how well we do with the law, we still have a long way to go with the general public.

[arbon]

Bruce is not being portrayed as a crossdresser.

He has the money, he could have quietly went off some where and transitioned - the scrutiny he is under is of his own making for whatever reason.

[ChelseyD]

Personally, I think he is doing more harm for us than good.

[Lynn Marie]

All I can figure is that he's been hanging around too many women for too long and is feeling the urge to have a period at the same time of the month as the rest of them!

Okay, that was all in jest. A full transition is one thing and CDing is really another, even though CDing is obviously the start of a decision to transition. Sort of like those who only smoke pot and don't go further into other drugs.

[PaulaQ]

CDing is obviously the start of a decision to transition. Sort of like those who only smoke pot and don't go further into other drugs.

Wrong. There are many who transition who don't wear women's clothes until we start transition - sometimes not until months later.

So far, Jenner has been treated pretty much typically by the media - as a freak. Our portrayal is improving, but make no mistakes about it, trans* are viewed as being less than human by vast numbers of people. The media has helped to create this situation.

[Jackie7]

In general the media does not yet distinguish amongst hetero male crossdresser, MTF in transition, and gay drag queen. The Amazon show Transparent got to the end of its 10-episode season without any of this being clarified. The more information and media attention, the better -- the more opportunities the fuss creates for real questions and discussion. So you go Bruce, use your fame to let people see who you are and learn how you got there.

Oh, BTW there are people who went on from pot and alcohol to harder drugs, didn't enjoy the consequences, and returned to pot. And likewise there are people who got on the road to SRS, didn't enjoy the consequences, and returned to crossdressing with female impersonation. moi for example, on both counts.

[Kate Simmons]

The Media is fickle and should be taken with a grain of salt. They are only interested what sells headlines and not anyone else's best interests.:)

[susann_gardener]

[QUOTE=Lynn Marie;3688325][B][I][COLOR="#800080"]All I can figure is that he's been hanging around too many women for too long and is feeling the urge to have a period at the same time of the month as the rest of them!

I think your right on. Having grown up in a house with 3 (sometimes 4) women, I felt the effect of their hormones.

[Caden Lane]

I do not think he is intentionally trying to do damage to the community; I feel he is simply unable to follow a "road-map" of what to do, as it differs for every person, he is attempting to take his transition on the way he feels he should. I've met several people on my blog recently who seem to be transitioning on their own terms, and not following any acknowledged protocols. Several have stated they are receiving hormones from their Primary Care Physician, but are not under the care of gender therapy or psychologists. I had no idea such a thing was possible or feasible. So in theory, if they can and will do as they please as far as transition, and sort of take a hapless "freestyle" approach to things, who is to say he isn't as well?. He may also be taking bad advice from his publicist or God knows who else, which ends up making him appear foolish. I despise the way media approach his transition, especially TMZ. They do tend to make him out to be some sort of freak or whackjob, while we know he is just tormented. And God forbid they actually get any experts to render an analysis of what is going on with Bruce.

Ever & Always,
Caden Lane

[Samantha Clark]

Media focuses on transsexuals like Bruce Jenner, Zoey Tur, and Kristin Beck, because the story fits so neatly into the gender binary narrative: there are males and females, and sometimes a female is born with a male body. Crossdressing is much more heretical to the gender binary, and is much more complex, and is therefore either stereotyped or ignored.

[cdinmd206]

The news media could care less about what Jenner wants. They are going to print what ever they think is going to generate the biggest headlines and further their careers.

[Lily Catherine]

Crossdressing is much more heretical to the gender binary, and is much more complex, and is therefore either stereotyped or ignored.

As cynical as it sounds the media (and I say this especially of tabloids) is a hype machine in an echo chamber. Stereotypes tend to fall down into being comforting and non-threatening, if not outright simplifying issues that do not crop up in the ideal typical backyard.

[MelanieAnne]

I don't think Bruce Jenner is doing us any favors.

[Paula_Femme]

So far, Jenner has been treated pretty much typically by the media - as a freak. Our portrayal is improving, but make no mistakes about it, trans* are viewed as being less than human by vast numbers of people. The media has helped to create this situation.

You're right, because of his association with the wretched Kartrashians, the media, for the most part, will approach him as just another juicy chapter in their train wreck freak show. Mind you, he has agreed to sit down with Diane Sawyer for an interview, so, who knows, we may hear something sensible and even enlightening... but I won't hold my breath!!!

And as for the Trans community being viewed as less than Human, with the media being to "blame," they share that blame wholeheartedly with the knuckle-dragging mouth-breathers from the Religious Right, who only ever seem to be happy when they have someone to hate! :angry:

[Adriana Moretti]

I really hope he handles this right......for our community....that goes for everyone under that umbrella.......cd/tg/bearded dude in a dress... whatever.......

my sister pulled a funny yesterday bringing it up at the dinner table ( she knows about me & she is a lesbian ) .....she just wanted to see me blush and get a read on mom...... the table went awkwardly silent.......i guess mom knows whats up.

[PaulaQ]

they share that blame wholeheartedly with the knuckle-dragging mouth-breathers from the Religious Right, who only ever seem to be happy when they have someone to hate! :angry:

I dunno, I've taken plenty of crap from liberal people too. They don't really get us any better. They are just less strident about it.

[Jackie7]

Nick Kristoff wrote a sympathetic and thoughtful column this morning about Bruce in the New York Times.
.

[bridget thronton]

I am not sure Bruce Jenner owes us any favors - he struggling like many of us are

[pamela7]

i'd never heard of him before, so now I see he's celebrity, and I remember the Decathlon times now.
I'd say Bruce represents a genuine opportunity for new understanding to emerge across the public domain about TG, and perhaps also CD.
Having a top athlete come out can only be for the better. In the UK sport, particularly soccer, is somewhat homophobic (ever so slightly - like a lot), and the emerging players revealing themselves is raising awareness.

[scarletcd]

I've been working & been involved in 'The Media' for 10 years now and I have seen first hand that there is a problem of representation.
Crossdressers & TG's in general are often portrayed as butts of jokes in a lot of cases. Fortunately the image has begun to change but progress is going to be slow. You also have people like myself working hard to change perceptions. It's something I want to write a piece on but haven't gotten around to it.

[Ally 2112]

The media loves a freak show it sells it makes money thats all anybody is interested in anymore .Reality shows are very cheap to make and bring in lots of cash .Bruce could very well be the next one. I do not whatch them i hate to see people put their private lives in front of millions of people to judge them when they really do not know them

[sometimes_miss]

The Media is fickle and should be taken with a grain of salt. They are only interested what sells headlines and not anyone else's best interests.:)

^this. It's no longer news. Time and time again, you see a quick ad for 'see more at 11!' When they could clearly tell you the important news in less than a minute. Instead, they just give a teaser so you'll watch the whole news show, that way their ratings go up. It's all the fault of the gov't, back when they granted the media licenses they insisted that the companies reserve specific amounts of time for news. But they also allowed advertising, so the news programs quickly turned into entertainment instead of news. At this point, very little actual news is broadcast, and what they do show, isn't accurate or complete. They only show what they think will get good ratings. 'If it bleeds, it leads' was the saying regarding what story the channel would show first in order to get a larger audience.
I don't think that Bruce Jenner ever had much of a chance. He's been in the media spotlight way too much, and probably hid this from the rest of the world as long as he could tolerate it, just like a lot of us here. I wish him the best, whatever comes of the rest of his life.