Thought SyFy Channel’s Lost Girl [Caged Fae] Was LGBT Friendly? Think Again!

Guest blogger Diana O'Brien is a transgender advocate, writer and licensed esthetician & electrologist in Wilton Manors, FL. She current writes a guest column for the South Florida Gay News.

The third season premiere of Lost Girl just demonstrated the well-worn path for advancing gay/lesbian/bisexual themes in the media. That path continues to be walking over the crushed public image of transgender people.

Lost Girl has received a lot of attention for its sexually charged plot lines and positive portrayal of lesbian and bisexual female characters. Even GLAAD has taken notice of the show, promoting it in The GLAAD Wrap and What to Watch.

Season 3 Episode 1 titled Caged Fae brings transphobia and trans panic back into the mix It depicts this week’s villain as a man impersonating a female prison warden so he can impregnate the all-female inmate population and sell their babies. After “outing” the corset-clad warden with a telling kiss, the show’s heroine Bo leaves justice in the hands (and riot sticks) of the female prison guards. The men-hating prison guards do a hands-on package check, and haul the warden away for some off-screen punishment. This whole scenario sets up the moment when Bo and her female love interest decide to make their lesbian relationship status official.

So here we have it – the whole reason our opponents say trans people (specifically trans women) should not have rights.

We are just a bunch of men that want into women-only facilities so we can “trap” them and violate them. We deserve whatever severe punishment our discoverers decide to meet out. We are the villains. Again.


It is particularly offensive that SyFy Channel takes a page out of the defense playbook of Angia Zapata’s murderer. Trans panic was the supposed justification for beating Angie to death in 2008, after her boyfriend “found out” she was trans. A jury saw through this defense and found her murderer guilt of first degree murder and a bias-based hate crime. This episode shamefully exploits trans panic violence as justified.

This kind of defamation has to stop. The media needs to take responsibility for its continued promotion of transphobic stereotypes and justification of trans panic violence. NBC Universal and the SyFy Channel need to be held accountable and take corrective action. We need GLAAD to take direct action on this now, and stop promoting Lost Girl until its content is friendly towards the whole LGBT community!

WAIT, GLAAD. WHAT? Batesville Guard Responds to "Lies and Deceptions"

GLAAD's steamrolling over local advocacy group CAR results in another embarrassment.

It all started with a Little Rock AR Advocacy group's call to action. The Center For Artistic Revolution (CAR) wanted its members to contact the Batesville Guard and request they amend their obituary policy to enable same sex partners to be included in free obituaries.

Enter MEDIA MEGA SUPERSTAR GLAAD.

GLAAD did as it has always done before proceeding autonomously completely ignoring the local advocacy groups and media who originally initiated the actions.

GLAAD quickly proclaimed victory! GLAAD proclaimed it single handily took on the Batesville Guard and convinced the editor to change the papers policy!



Honestly, that sounded rather dubious to me.

I had talked to the Batesville editor the day before and again today. Her attitude was at first caustic comparing this mans need to be mentioned in their paper to other peoples desire to have cats and dogs included in obituaries. Really!

I appealed to her sense of journalistic integrity and our conversation ended on a slightly positive note with the editor recognizing the possible gain in readership should they make this cutting edge change. But that, and nothing more. No promises.

Today the Batesville Guard published that it was not going to change their obituary policy and evidently never promised anyone they would.

Where is GLAAD getting its information from? Are they that desperate in light of it's recent exposure as a duplicitous corporate entity taking money betraying our communities need for Net Neutrality ?

I think GLAAD manufactured this victory.

Well, the Center For Artistic Revolution had a long conversation with GLAAD regarding their presence in Arkansas.

A note from Kelli: GLAAD I can live without your obnoxious narcissistic media whoring.

And CAR would respectfully ask you to take action. Again.

GLAAD To Honor Kim Cattrall SIN Star for Racial Profiling Transgender Defaming Elitist Classism

GLAAD is going to honor Sex in the City star Kim Cattrall at the GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco on May 14.
GLAAD's announcement makes no mention of the "Half Man Half Woman tranny hooker" "Chicks with Dicks" Sex in the city episode. Cattrall's racial stereotyping of transgender woman working to survive was bad enough but when she threw the bucket of water down on them knocking one persons wig off stripping that woman of her humanity, that was too much. Add physical assault to the list.

But does GLAAD give a flip as long as she has a lesbian GF and supports SSM?

Plotsummary: Samantha has another cocky problem: gross transsexual whores in front of her window.

I am calling on GLAAD Media director Rich Ferraro to treat transgender people with respect and not give this award to Cattrall.

In a exchange recently with Rich Ferraro sparked by a recent Washington Blade post defaming transgender people he responded emailing me:

"We do a lot of work with mainstream media regarding transgender issues –because it’s an area where so many have a lot to learn. One of the key goals of our team is to also push out positive stories about LGBT people – and I hope that more will continue to run. Perhaps this can happen in LGBT media as well – it seems like whenever we do an action speaking out against transgender discrimination/offensive media images, we (GLAAD) get hit very hard by the gay and lesbian people on our list. There needs to be more work done to reach those people with images that move them to support the trans community."

"I do have some relationships with LGBT media/reporters so I do hope that you can continue to send items like this to me or if articles run that misrepresent the trans community. I’m happy to put you in touch to relay concerns. I recommend that happensbefore public blog posts go up on your site though."

I emailed back pointing out to him that when you kick the hornets nest of transphobia you are going to get stung regardless if the hornets are straight of gay! To be honest I didn't really know how to react to that last line. It almost seemed threatening but I emailed him back agreeing maybe we should work together.

Rich, just a observation. You just kicked the transgender hornets nest. Do not award Cattrall for her transphobic hatred.

Email Rich Ferraro ar Ferraro@glaad.org

Live in San Fran? Get protesting! Info on the Facebook event

Demand NBC Pulls SNL Estro-maxx skit Humiliating Transgender people

Demand SNL apologizes for and pulls "Estro-maxx" skit exploiting the most vulnerable of minorities.




In this skit Transwoman are intentionally misrepresented by male actors as gay in these enduring images of 'bearded men in dresses with penises'.

SNL has NO BALLS.

SNL achieves cheap laughs by explaining the effects that Estrogen has on a biological male physique pointedly explaining how it shrinks the testicles. This is true, but not mentioned is that estrogen also shrinks the size of ones penis. Both effects being undesirable for MTF's who are contemplating a inversion type sexual reassignment surgery (SRS) since it may limit the amount of material used for depth of the vagina during the inversion process.

Now SNL, SRS takes balls.



This attack by SNL on our image is possibly the single most violence enabling action any network could ever undertake.

I suggest SNL should GROW a PAIR and MAN UP. Heck I got a bigger pair and I've been on estrogen for five years.

Comment at NBC/Comcast about the SNL video Estro-maxx

Join with GLAAD in condemning the SNL skit Estro-maxx

B4 the 1st kiss: TELL your date you're transgender! What was GLAAD thinking?

Save a life! What was GLAAD thinking?

Before your first kiss make sure you tell your romantic interest about your being transgender and exactly what you have between your legs. Period. To do otherwise makes you culpable and at least in part responsible for your partners anger if they should react so when learning of your genitalia or history post kiss. If you are in it for a meaningful relationship honesty is the cornerstone.

What is GLAAD Thinking?

The New York Times in open public discourse recommends honesty, discretion and respect between perspective romantic partners even if the cisgender person feels rightfully mislead and Glaad objects

Open public discourse between cisgender people involving our emerging transgender community invites some unintentional misuse of language. However was that a typo by the New York Times "transgender ed" or a taunt aimed at GLAAD?

Are transgender people being used as a weapon welded by the NY Times and GLAAD? If this is so, in this instance, GLAAD needs to seriously reconsider it's motivation and the results of its actions on the transgender community. The same people it portends to champion.

Persecuting those like Cohen who did not strictly adhere to the guidebook hurts the transgender community by inhibiting dialogue and discourse. Wars are averted by discussion a good friend reminds me.

GLAAD What are you thinking?

Kelli Busey 7/13/2010

GLAAD email to Correct David Letterman on Transgender Parody

From Gladd Blog

“Late Show with David Letterman” Contributes to Problematic Reporting on Amanda Simpson

January 6, 2010 by Anna Wipfler, GLAAD's Transgender Advocacy Fellow

Yesterday we reported on President Obama’s appointment of Amanda Simpson as a senior technical advisor at the Commerce Department and some of the problematic news coverage about her becoming one of the first openly transgender presidential appointees.

Unfortunately, as coverage of her landmark appointment continues, so does the disrespectful treatment in the media. During last night’s “Late Show with David Letterman” on CBS, David Letterman announced Simpson’s appointment and reported that she is a transgender woman. He also showed a photo of her. The show’s announcer Alan Kalter then reacted to the news with disgust and mock horror, saying, “What? Amanda used to be a dude? My God!” He then hurried off stage to hearty laughter from the audience, apparently to go collect himself after the shock of this discovery.


Using this type of reaction to the discovery of a person’s transgender identity for comic effect appears to be a current trend in entertainment media. We’ve recently criticized similar instances of such defamation on FOX’s “The Cleveland Show.” Depicting people reacting in horror to transgender individuals is a dangerous stereotype for popular media to perpetuate because it contributes to the societal conception of transgender people as abnormal and deceptive, which all-too-often results in anti-transgender violence and/or discrimination when played out in reality.

We are reaching out to CBS “Late Show with David Letterman” with our concerns about this transphobic joke. Please send your concerns to CBS at: http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.php

Take Action: Demand that Colorado Radio Host Trevor Carey Disavow Remarks Condoning Violence Against Transgender People

Cross posted from radical queer news
Origin GLAAD

Contact: Richard Ferraro, Director of Public Relations
Phone: (646) 871-8011 Email: ferraro@glaad.org

Contact: Adam Bass, Media Field Strategist
Phone: (323)634-2018 Email: bass@glaad.org

In a disturbing diatribe on KNUS radio on March 14, host Trevor Carey engaged in a conversation with a caller in which both men condoned violence against transgender people, blaming slain Greeley, Colo. resident Angie Zapata, an 18-year-old transgender woman, for her own brutal murder.

(Transcript from Colorado Media Matters):


CAREY: And what the transgender segment of our society needs to be telling their type is, you don't commit fraud because –

CALLER: No, that's exactly what it was.

CAREY: A), you're at least gonna get your teeth kicked in, and B) – [caller laughs] – here's a story from Greeley that turned out very tragic, and you should pay attention to this, because –

CALLER: You know, when I was growin' up in Greeley, I grew up in Greeley, that kind of stuff didn't ever, you know, surface in this town. And it's just sad, you know; my heart just weeps for all, everybody that's concerned. But, you know, we gotta go back to basics. You're a man or you're a woman, and, like you said, if you're fraudin' somebody, then you deserve to have your teeth kicked in. Not necessarily hung or you're killed, but it just – they shoulda known better, you know?
Carey sustained his gratuitously defamatory tone throughout the entire show, and his remarks during the segment – including a false representation of a conversation with a GLAAD representative – make it clear that his references to Angie and her tragic murder will continue to be disrespectful, abusive and inaccurate. The transcript and audio for the program can be found on the Colorado Media Matters website.

Carey owes the family of Angie Zapata, the transgender community and all Coloradans an apology for condoning and promoting the very hostile climate that puts transgender people in harm's way and then blames them for the resulting acts of violence committed against them.

TAKE ACTION NOW!
Please contact Trevor Carey and ask him to disavow his remarks that condone violence against transgender people. Call on KFKA and KNUS to hold Carey accountable for his remarks and establish clear standards to ensure their media platforms will not be used to condone or promote violence towards any parts of the communities they serve.

Please forward this link to any of your friends and others who may also wish to take action. When contacting KFKA and KNUS, please ensure that your emails and phone calls are civil and respectful and do not engage in the kind of name calling or abusive behavior that we are expressing our concerns about.

Trevor Carey
Host, KNUS, "Trevor Carey" and KFKA, "AM Colorado with Trevor, Troy and George"
Phone: (720) 434-2714
trevorcareywork@aol.com

Justin Sasso
General Manager, KFKA
Phone: (970) 356-1310
justin@1310kfka.com

Kelly Michaels
Operations Director, Salem Communications (KNUS)
Phone: (303) 750-5687
kelly@salemdenver.com

About GLAAD
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org.

Glaad: Demand The New York Times Discontinues Anti Gay Advertisement

From the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD.)

In the December 5, 2008 edition of The New York Times, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty published a full page advertisement that makes inaccurate and unsubstantiated claims about supposed “violence and intimidation” against religious groups by “mobs” since the passage of Proposition 8.

The New York Times needs to hear from you. Contact them TODAY and demand that they discontinue allowing inaccurate claims in their advertising.

By kelli Busey
Dec. 5, 2008
planetransgender