Crossdressing more accepting on TV?

[missattitude]

I was watching deal or no deal on channel 4 yesterday during the game the contestant was betted 5 dollars to wear heels, dress ect... This guy was not a cd, but he did look cute in the black slinky dress.The moral of the story is that I think that it is happening more and more on tv, and is more accepted than ever before. It is not this forbidden thing that once was . Society is changing for the better. it will not be long for us to do it whenever and wherever for it to be a norm in society.

[Nicole Erin]

Sometimes they go for shock factor on TV.
But when people see something enough times, the shock goes away, people get desensitized.

[waspookie6]

Sometimes they go for shock factor on TV.
But when people see something enough times, the shock goes away, people get desensitized.
Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!
i'm sorry, so could not help myself on that one :o

To some extent it is becoming more "open" on teevee but I still see it in the way of laughing at, not laughing with. It is evolving though because as you said, exposure desensitizes sheeple. In this particular case they did show how wonderful a man does look in a dress as opposed to how "clownish" it has been presented in the past.

Lets hope the writers strike continues a bit longer - we may actually get more good stuff like this in homes all over! :happy:

[KandisTX]

I have to agree with MllErin on this one. On television, they tend to go for the shock factor and anything that will get the viewers to keep watching is okay. It is all about the viewers making the ratings. If the show doesn't get the ratings, it gets cancelled.

Kandis:love:

[joann07]

It's true that we're seeing crossdressing a little more on TV, but like Erin said, it's more of a shock value.

I remember a TV show on TBS called "He's a lady", which some of you may remember.
It was an interesting show I wished I was on because I definitely would've loved to have done all the girly activities they had to do. I guess, due to low ratings, it was only on for that one duration.

In other countries, such as in Europe and Asia, people are more open minded and so CDing is a lot more accepted.
Here in the U.S. it not as much, but I guess it depends on where you are.
For example, if you're in places like San Francisco or Seattle, crossdressing is a little more accepted. However, if you're in the Bible Belt conservative southern states then, its not very accepted. You even get killed.

On the other hand, most of the time its negative news that you see and hear about.
Last year, there was that firefighter in Ohio who was drunk and prancing around in a park wearing a ladies bikini. Then in Des Moines Iowa, there was a convenince store robber wearing a dress and he got arrested after getting his pantyhose caught in chicken wire.
And in December, there was a man dressed as a woman wanted in Polk County, Fla who tried to solicit a child.
There are stores like these popping up everywhere so until the media shows that there are more decent law abiding crossdressing citzens, the public will always have that negative image in their minds that all crossdressers are psychos, criminals, perverts, or child molesters. :mad:

[Amy Hepker]

It has been on TV for years. It was always considered funny on TV, but not in real life.

[Julie York]

When it is not something that anyone would BET someone to do for entertainment value......then you've made progress.

[Alice B]

I think that there are changes in how some TV presents cross dressing. The days of Jerry Springer are gone. A great example was Boston Legal last year, when they dedicated the main story line to to a staff member that cross dresses. It was presented as very open, understandable and friendly to the dresser, and carried the story line for 3 episodes.

[deja true]

MIssed that one, Alice, but despite the weirdo news stories there have been more favorable programs about gender issues in recent years. Not only "He's a Lady" which was more sympathetic than I thought it would be from the teasers before it aired, but made for TV movies,as well.

The more sensitive programs that actually show the TG person as a hero are usually on the women's channels, though. And the better, more thoughful programs or movies generally have Transexuals as the protagonists. Seen "Soldier's Girl" about the murder of Calpernia Addams' army boy friend? Seen "A Girl Like Me", about the murder of teen TS Gwen Araujo? They're true stories and yes there's murder involved, but the cental characters are tragic heroines and portrayed very sympathetically.

That these movies and others are being shown, and reshown, on women's channels may actually do us a lot of good. An empathetic message about TG people is being directly put to the people who can do us the most good, our wives and SO's.

It's not all bad. As I stated in another post, it's a two-steps-forward-one-step-back kinda thing. For every Springer freakshow, there's a Helen Boyd (My Husband Betty author)interview on Oprah.

respect & love (is growing slowly, but it is growing),

deja

[JessieB]

I think there's more compassion / tolerance for TSs than for CDs. TSs are portrayed and percieved as women trapped in men's bodies, whereas CDs are still largely thought of aw just pervs. Here in the states, I've seen some in-depth stories about TSs, but nothing much about CDs.

[Eugenie]

I wouldn't count those game driven TV shows as being more open about x-dressing...

These shows are basically making fun of X-dressers or using X-dressing as a gimmick. Taking x-dressing as a support for making fun of people doesn't really change our image for the better...

The other category is when male artists impersonnate women just for fun... Mocking a wedding ceremony, or a female singer, etc...

Of course some X-dresser characters have the leading role as in Tootsie, or Ms Doubtfire, just to quote two (More on http://www.cinematter.com/tgcinema.html)

However, I would tend to agree that there has been some change in television programs. Some "semi-serious" TV shows have brought forward the subject of x-dressing in a rather decent way lately. We had several ones here in France that, albeit not perfect, were giving a fair image of x-dressing. I'm curious to know if such TV shows where X-dressing isn't just used to make people laugh, or just cry, were broadcast in the USA or in the UK or any other countries...

I think that we will have reasons to feel better when crossdresser characters will be part of television series or television talk shows without being the primary character of the series or of the talk show.

This has started to be the case with characters who are gays in a serie where homosexuality wasn't the basis for the stories. As far as I know, this is not yet the case for x-dressing characters...

:hugs:
Eugenie

[TGMarla]

Clarence on Boston Legal crossdresses as Clarissa. It's openly accepted by his colleagues as well. Be that as it may, Clarence is depicted as a real nice guy with some serious social problems. So we're not there yet, folks. It's a start, but we're just not there yet.

[Shelly Preston]

The uk has coronation street britians longest running soap opera

This link will tell you more

http://www.pfc.org.uk/node/22

[Kieron Andrew]

The uk has coronation street britians longest running soap opera

This link will tell you more

http://www.pfc.org.uk/node/22

Difference is Hayley is a born female playing a TG person, its not the same thing as a TG person play a TG person

[Shelly Preston]

Difference is Hayley is a born female playing a TG person, its not the same thing as a TG person play a TG person

I agree its not perfect but had we waited for a TG person to get the part it might not have happened

At least the issue has a bigger profile due to this programme

[Stargirl]

I still have a postcard of SGT Klinger from M A S H. Yes, it is sad that the public connects crossdressing to crime, and mental illness. You never hear the news anchor say "The Barnesville Axe murderer was a family guy wearing Dockers" but we would hear : " The Barnesville axe murderer was convicted today. You know, the loner who wore DRESSES and PANTYHOSE to off his hapless victims".

[Nicki B]

I'm curious to know if such TV shows where X-dressing isn't just used to make people laugh, or just cry, were broadcast in the USA or in the UK or any other countries...

I'd say Channel 4 in the UK has a pretty good track record of transgender programmes, plus a few on the BBC (both TV & Radio)?

The most recent was probably the coverage of the Miss Pageant (http://www.tvscoop.tv/2007/04/not_miss_world.html) contest in Thailand, following Leah True's progress?

http://www.tvscoop.tv/2007/04/not_miss_world.html

[shirley1]

yeh i saw the leah miss pageant thing excellent ! and shes a cder in the closet or ar at least was till then - so theres hope for us all ! did you see the programme a few years back about 2 cders 1 married the other divorced an the one girl wanted to be a bride and did so at the end - it was really good - there should be more programmes on tgism i dont see many in the tv weekly (magazine) for television - lucy the teen ts was good but not necessarily helpfull to cders but was good to watch all the same !

[megan163]

We still have a long, long ways to go for society to really accept CDing like normal. Just last week in the local news, a boy was shot dead at his school by a classmate boy. One of the believed "motives" for the shooting - the victim was openly expressing his transgender feelings, wearing girls clothes and makeup. So you see, even in the younger generations we think might be more open-minded there is still a lot of hate. My sympathies to the victim and family.

[waspookie6]

Question for the BBC folks: What about Dame Edna?
I've always felt she was probably the most out and about, with plenty of innuendo and non-sensical facial expressions during her show regarding *anything* on gender. She just doesn't seem to tolerate sterotypes for a second - or so it seems.

The show doesn't always air here (I realize it is off the air at present) but was it 'too much' for the US to process or what?

Ever curious,
WSpookie

[Lisa Golightly]

Puts on fake John Lydon voice... *hem* *hem* "Being pointed at and laughed at by the pointless drones who exist only in others video exposure does not equate to equality or freedom in any sense of the word."... and "Coronation street well that's just ****."

[Violet]

Pookie, my guess is that it was the British style of humor rather than Dame Edna's appearance that made it less popular in the States. Broad generalizations ahoy! I think that Americans, as a whole, have a different sense of humor than the Brits and it doesn't always translate well to American sensibilities. I spent a year living in the British Isles, and I can tell you that not one of my American friends has ever found 'Father Ted' as funny as I did.

I agree, too, that most depictions of CDing on tv these days is still relegated to the "easy laugh" status, as if a man in a dressing is just the most funny and original joke out there. *eye roll* Isn't there a CD character on 'Dirty Sexy Money'? I've never seen it, but I think one of the main male characters is either a CD or having an affair with a man who is a CD. The only thing that bugs me about that (and again, I've never seen it, so I have no idea how the character is truly depicted) is that it's a gay relationship with one of the partners being CD. And correct me if I'm wrong, but that doesn't seem to be the CD norm.

I've noticed, too, that I have become more sensitive to those kinds of jokes on tv. I'm personally offended when cross dressing is made into nothing but a punchline. I hope that, in the future, we will see CD and TG characters who are layered and seem like real people, rather than a funny charicature. Maybe we need a program like Will & Grace, only with CDs and TGs! Who's with me?

Kieron, I get what you are saying about having a TG person play a TG person on tv, but at the same time, they are actors, who are hired to play a role. Felicity Huffman did it in Trans America, and while I haven't seen that yet, everything I've read about it indicates that it was a truly sensitive portrayal of what a TG person goes through. Same thing with Hilary Swank in Boys Don't Cry and Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllanhaal in Brokeback Mountain. So, I think that having a sensitive and honest portrayal of the character is more important than whether or not the actor has actually experienced that stuff in person. And, indeed, most actors haven't experienced what their characters have IRL. Pierce Brosnan was never a spy, but he was a kickin' James Bond. Anthony Hopkins isn't a serial killer, but managed to portray one so realistically that I will never watch Silence of the Lambs! Felicity Huffman may be a GG, but from all accounts, she portrayed a TG with sensitivity and grace.

[Eugenie]

I agree, too, that most depictions of CDing on tv these days is still relegated to the "easy laugh" status, as if a man in a dressing is just the most funny and original joke out there.

This remains the case in most Television shows and very few series give a proper image of the Xdresser's lives...

But just a coincidence, I just saw tonight, one on the French television wich was a translated version of a UK series: "New Tricks" In this episode one of the suspects is a transsexual. The story is rather respectful of the transsexual situation. My wife was looking with me and I thought it was an interesting and fair example of the life of a transsexual and her SO (a woman in that case).

In the USA, there was the Television series based upon Armistead Maupin novel, "Tales of the City", where one of the primary characters, Anna Madrigal playing the landlady, is a transsexual person which appears all along the series. The character is quite convincing, her transsexual situation not exagerated at all, having very usual activities and even a romance with a man.

If I remember well there was an episode of the "Experts" (the Las Vegas series) where one of the person who had been murdered was a x-dresser...

These episodes are all rather old ones... We often get them translated in French long after they were shown on US or UK television...

:hugs:
Eugenie

[Nicki B]

Dame Edna (Barry Humphries) is Australian humour - but his bitchiness probably overlaps more with the Brits funny bone than Americans?? :idontknow:

Lise, is there a real Johnny Lydon?? :hmmm:

[trannie T]

There is a long history of crossdressing in theater and television from "Charlie's Aunt" on stage through Milton Berle in the early days of television to the present. Usually the character is a man in a dress comic figure, sometimes as a real human.