Transgendered Sportswriters On Real Sports W/bryant Gumbel - Hbo

[Guest ChloëC]

This seems to be the week for transgendered people on major TV.

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel will be interviewing three transgendered sports writers. I saw a preview and the writers looked and sounded very professional and very together. Let's hope that the interviews will show them that way.

Chloë

[Guest Valerie_LeeAnn]

I have my DVR all set up for it.

This seems to be the week for transgendered people on major TV.

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel will be interviewing three transgendered sports writers. I saw a preview and the writers looked and sounded very professional and very together. Let's hope that the interviews will show them that way.

Chloë

[Guest ChloëC]

Well, it was interesting.

Bryant Gumbel's story was basically about the sports writer in Los Angeles, who transitioned MTF and then transitioned back FTM and committed suicide. There are two other MTF public sports writers , one in Chicago and one in New York that befriended Mike/Christine during the transitioning and both were interviewed extensively along with other MTF people. The two seem to be leading reasonable lives, according to the story.

I thought it was fairly balanced and informative. And at the end, Mr. Gumbel suggested there might be about 20,000 people in the US that have transitioned, based on what is known. And that 1 in 3 tend to eventually commit suicide. Sad numbers.

I did find that of the 4 different segments (I saw), it was the only one where another sports writer or personality did not join Mr. Gumbel in a post segment discussion. He was there all alone wrapping up, which he did rather quickly compared to the other segments. Maybe it doesn't mean anything, but I pick up on little things like that and wonder about them.

Chloë

[Sally]

I believe that those numbers are incorrect but then it is a sports program so numbers aren't really what they do - oh wait - scores are all numbers, that is exactly what they do!

I never believe numbers that I hear on the TV news - the losses in any disaster fluctuate by 300 to 400 % up or down on the same news cast just changing each time a different talking head comes on for their 15 minutes of fame.

If I believed those numbers I would have to stop transitioning now because that would mean that your likelihood of suicide increases after transition - those numbers were supplied by a group that wants to put a halt to all transitioning or just by Bryant himself - he studied 3 trans sportswriters - 1 committed suicide - therefore 1 out of 3 commits suicide - next time check a larger sample!

Love ya,

Sally

[Guest Elizabeth K]

Bullhocky! Only a few - I read .2% - thats NOT 2% - are unhappy with transitioning if they go through the SOC. Now - other issues - discrimination, difficulty in finding a job, and loss of family - that would contibute. ALso there are a tremendous amounts of transpeople who self transition and/or who remain street-people.

Anyone know?

Even if it was 50% I wouldn't be able to stop transitioning. I just couldn't. Maybe if it was 99% I guess, but then I would have to think on it.

I would transition through SRS if there was a 50% chance I would not survive the operation! We are that desparate I think!

Lizzy

... and the number in the USA - which my therapist says are low - 90,000 transsexuals - which is actually 40,000 who are never truly diagnosed or chose to do nothing, 30,000 like me and are intransition - 20,000 who have completed transitioning. Of this only the middle group is likely to be visible for time. Of the last group only the activists are visible as so many go stealth.

The numbers include MTF and FTM.

[Guest Eth]

And at the end, Mr. Gumbel suggested there might be about 20,000 people in the US that have transitioned, based on what is known. And that 1 in 3 tend to eventually commit suicide. Sad numbers.

In response to the last few posts... I don't see how those numbers are all that wrong? I mean, even Laura's quotes that 31% of transgender people commit suicide. That's just shy of 1/3. I don't see anywhere in that quote that said whether they committed suicide before or after transition or surgery or anything. Then again I may be missing some information about that quote as I didn't see the program. As for 20,000 post-op; I don't have sufficient information to support or refute that figure.

Even if it was 50% I wouldn't be able to stop transitioning. I just couldn't. Maybe if it was 99% I guess, but then I would have to think on it.

I would transition through SRS if there was a 50% chance I would not survive the operation! We are that desparate I think!

I agree! As for the first part... Depends. Do you mean if there was a 99% of me dying during surgery, or a 99% of me dying from ANY transitioning? If it was for surgery, I'd probably cry tons but I'd go without it probably. If it was for general transitioning I'd have to go for it. A 99% chance of death is 1% better than if I didn't transition.

[Guest Donna Jean]

Well, as Lizzy always says....

"42.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot!"

Huggs

Donna Jean

[Guest viv]

Very interesting ,,I cant get HBO on satellite . Maybe I can

see it tomorrow on the "net . viv

[Guest ChloëC]

Ok, I did not record anything as I watched, what I put down all comes from memory. Mr. Gumbel quoted something like the following - 1 in 10,000 males and 1 in 20,000 females. I am not sure if he said these are people who desire to transition, are transitioning or have transitioned. But he said that comes down to 20,000 (or more closely about 22,500) in the US people who he strongly suggested are like the three to five people he interviewed.

About the suicide, his comment was that 1 in 3 (either attempt or) commit suicide and from the 3 he closely interviewed, that statistic bore out.

He did not seem to ask what I would consider salacious or lewd questions, he wanted to know what the people felt, what they were going through, what they thought about the future.

But I would guess if that one sportswriter had not committed suicide, he would not have done the segment. It took something spectacular for him, his producers, or HBO to decide to delve into the story.

And of course to those watching who are not understanding of what transitioning is, I suspect they left mostly with a 'why do they do it, if the risks are that great?

And on another note, I was watching RuPaul's Drag Race the other night, and a promo came on for a new show on Logo starting in a week or so. Trans- something or other. The previews show what looked like she-males and/or drag queens but seemed to profess itself as a show about transsexual or transgendered people in general. Not a good beginning.

Chloë

[Carolyn Marie]

Well, as Lizzy always says....

"42.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot!"

Huggs

Donna Jean

"Statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital."

Aaron Levinstein

[Guest Donna Jean]

Yeah, Carolyn.......

Statistics can be 100% correct, yet, 100% wrong!

How?

Well,

100% of all people that ate carrots in 1850 are dead now, therefore, carrots are deadly!

See?

Donna Jean

[Guest Valerie_LeeAnn]

I was just sad that the poor woman completed suicide, and then women of her church were turned away at the funeral services.

Though now I am keeping an eye out for programs such as this, so I can tell the people I trust, and came out to. . . Go watch this!

[Guest ChloëC]

Valerie LeAnn

I agree with you 100% (and you can take that statistic to the bank), that while the suicide was tragic, it was also very sad that the people who supported Mike/Christine were not allowed to attend the funeral and were told not even to ask where it would be held. A few found out, tried to attend and were turned away.

To me, the family was in complete denial about Christine's own personal problems and saying and believing that it was a choice she could make when it wasn't at all, and when Christine decided to transition back to Mike that it was a 'see, we told you so' moment. It's things like that, that set back the whole gender dysphoria issue to the dark ages.

It also wouldn't surprise me that the family is still in complete denial and might even possibly blame the other transgendered friends for causing 'Mike' to go through the initial transition. I would be surprised if they ever get past the Denial and Anger stages.

It's one thing to be selfish about oneself - sometimes, it's the right thing and a good thing to be. However, it's another to be selfish about someone else. You can like them, love them, but to force someone else to be something they aren't for your own selfish reasons is unacceptable.

My personal feeling is that if you don't accept someone for exactly who and what they are, you're not really loving them. My spouse sometimes irritates me, and our children wonder why I put up with it, but they don't understand that that is part of loving someone. It's when (or if) I fall out of love, that I'll have to decide what I should do then.

To me, Mike/Christine's family did not love her. They selfishly wanted her to be something she wasn't, and she wound up not being able to deal with it all. My heart goes out to everyone in that or a similar situation.

Hugs,

Chloë