Transgender On Tyra

[Guest dolly]

wow. i was actually impressed by tyra's talk show today. normally i just change the channell cus she does a ton of fluff pieces with very little depth but today she had a show on tran-femmes including one who went through srs and allowed them to tape the procedure on the show. it was a very encouraging episode. and nowhere near the crap that maury does or springer does on their shows. she came across as very acepting ofthe trans community and did her best at using proper terms althugh you coul tell it was very new to her. the show was very good. it had two guests on it. one being the complete transitioning woman by the name of alaina an one who is actually a member of her cast who is just stating and got a makeover. now, tyra isnt new to the transgender community. on her show she has already done one about transmen as well as had a bra expert on who is a transwoman.

needless to say it was a very good episode. thought id share darlings.

[MaryEllen]

It's good to hear a positive reaction. All to often these shows are more for exploitation than for enlightenment.

MaryEllen

[Guest Rika-chama]

I usually hate Tyra's show but this sounds interesting. I know shows like Oprah and Montel have had positive TG episodes too. Jerry Springer of course never has any Maury did have one positive one about transmen. It wasn't the best but it was better than what he usually would show. Still a little "Maury-ish" but compared to his other shows I'd say it was decent.

Ni-paa~

[Guest dolly]

oh definately. all te shows shes done so far about trans pople have been more about learning tan about shock factor. i get disgusted at the maury ones-especially when he goes into the audience and asks them to determine if the person on stage is a guy or a girlor the springer ones. ugh.the one she had on transmen featured one who is a singer and wh did a song that wasa duet with him bfore he started transitioning and now after hes done transitioning. its a big hit on logo or so i heard.

[Guest elenag]

oh definately. all te shows shes done so far about trans pople have been more about learning tan about shock factor. i get disgusted at the maury ones-especially when he goes into the audience and asks them to determine if the person on stage is a guy or a girlor the springer ones.

I distinctly remember Oprah doing those type of shows in the early days (1980's) as well as Phil Donahue. The other day I found a Montel Williams episode from the 90's on youtube that was along the same vein doing the "guess her secret" shtick. At some point in their careers, almost all talk TV hosts have exploited transgendered for ratings, with the exception of Tyra Banks.

[Guest dolly]

its kinda sad to think they'd all do that-especially montel (cus i love his show) but its true,i think personally it just adds to the problem rather than help inform like the tyra episodes have done in some way or another.

[Guest Leah1026]

Sorry, but I have to disagree with the original poster. I posted the following on another board:

<rant mode>

From previous shows I thought Tyra was starting to get it, but no, this show was horrible. After you've seen enough of these shows it becomes quite easy to pick out all the things they do wrong.

1. Emphasized sex all the way through. Nobody explained the difference between sex and gender.

2. Idenitity was hardly mentioned at all. This explains why Tyra walks all over her guests in many ways.

3. Several times before Alaina come on stage Tyra used copious amounts of male pronouns.

4. Several times Tyra used the old "men who want to become women" line. :nails on a chalkboard:

5. Tyra uses "transgendered women" instead of saying transsexual. As a matter of fact I don't think the word "transsexual" is even used in the show. To me using "transgendered" conflates us with crossdressers, drag queens et al. Ummm NO!

6. Seemingly mandatory boy pics and repeated use of birth name.

7. Tyra puts Alaina's boyfriend on the spot with the pics.

8. Tyra asks boyfriend if he's gay. EDIT: She asked if his friends thought he was gay.

9. Tyra asks Alaina if she uses her penis during sex.

10. No mention of there being a formal process of transition, therapists or docs period. Implying that this is something anyone can do.

11. Footage of Alaina's surgery. Unnecessary.

12. After welcoming her back 3 weeks after surgery Tyra calls her a "real woman now". I want to hit Tyra up side the head and say "It's about identity stupid! She's always been female!"

13. Tyra asks her what's it like to sit to pee (like she wasn't already doing this most likely).

14. Tryra asks what her vagina looks like.

15. Tyra asks Alaina's Mom if she's seen Alaina's vagina. Mom says she hasn't seen it and doesn't want to see Tyra's either.

16. Asks the boyfriend same question.

17. Asks boyfriend if his friends know Alaina's medical history. Answer "No". Tyra says "They do now!" The boyfriend had a pained/worried expression on his face.

18. Asks about sex (remember it's only been 3 weeks from surgery).

19. Tyra was unaware about basic facts about surgery. "You'll have sensation???"

20. Really stupid moment where Tyra is instructing Alaina how to hover when using the potty. :roll eyes:

21. Then in an incredibly expolitative segment Tyra introduces us to Hannah, a show staffer around 40(?), who's EARLY in transition. I think Hannah will later regret doing this segment.

22. Tyra gives Hannah a makeover. It was hard to watch.

Those are just the points I can remember. The show seemed to be 90% sex, 10% identity to me, IMO it should be the other way around. And the show was pretty exploitative. Definitely a thumbs down. The only good thing was seeing how good Alaina looked. Oh that brings up another point:

23. After Alaina is introduced at the beginning, she comes out and Tyra is just awed. She says something like "I thought you'd look good, but you're REALLY pretty" translation: "You don't look like a man."

24. One more point. A couple times Tyra used the phrase "anatomically female". In my mind she was implying "this guy was now outwardly female". She should have used some phrase to emphasize wholeness.

Okay enough whining. The one show I've liked in the last year or so was Barbara Walters special on transgendered kids. You could see that Barbara was clearly touched by the plight of those kids.

:sigh:

</rant mode>

I think Tyra needs to watch Calpernia Addam's video "Bad Questions".

[Guest Just_Call_Me_Nick]

Man...how do I miss all these shows....I would have liked to have seen it bad or good...seems to me I need to turn off my stereo and watch a bit more tv now and then...gee...I miss all the good things...

Nick~

[Guest Sheila]

Sorry, but I have to disagree with the original poster. I posted the following on another board:

<rant mode>

From previous shows I thought Tyra was starting to get it, but no, this show was horrible. After you've seen enough of these shows it becomes quite easy to pick out all the things they do wrong.

1. Emphasized sex all the way through. Nobody explained the difference between sex and gender.

2. Idenitity was hardly mentioned at all. This explains why Tyra walks all over her guests in many ways.

3. Several times before Alaina come on stage Tyra used copious amounts of male pronouns.

4. Several times Tyra used the old "men who want to become women" line. :nails on a chalkboard:

5. Tyra uses "transgendered women" instead of saying transsexual. As a matter of fact I don't think the word "transsexual" is even used in the show. To me using "transgendered" conflates us with crossdressers, drag queens et al. Ummm NO!

6. Seemingly mandatory boy pics and repeated use of birth name.

7. Tyra puts Alaina's boyfriend on the spot with the pics.

8. Tyra asks boyfriend if he's gay. EDIT: She asked if his friends thought he was gay.

9. Tyra asks Alaina if she uses her penis during sex.

10. No mention of there being a formal process of transition, therapists or docs period. Implying that this is something anyone can do.

11. Footage of Alaina's surgery. Unnecessary.

12. After welcoming her back 3 weeks after surgery Tyra calls her a "real woman now". I want to hit Tyra up side the head and say "It's about identity stupid! She's always been female!"

13. Tyra asks her what's it like to sit to pee (like she wasn't already doing this most likely).

14. Tryra asks what her vagina looks like.

15. Tyra asks Alaina's Mom if she's seen Alaina's vagina. Mom says she hasn't seen it and doesn't want to see Tyra's either.

16. Asks the boyfriend same question.

17. Asks boyfriend if his friends know Alaina's medical history. Answer "No". Tyra says "They do now!" The boyfriend had a pained/worried expression on his face.

18. Asks about sex (remember it's only been 3 weeks from surgery).

19. Tyra was unaware about basic facts about surgery. "You'll have sensation???"

20. Really stupid moment where Tyra is instructing Alaina how to hover when using the potty. :roll eyes:

21. Then in an incredibly expolitative segment Tyra introduces us to Hannah, a show staffer around 40(?), who's EARLY in transition. I think Hannah will later regret doing this segment.

22. Tyra gives Hannah a makeover. It was hard to watch.

Those are just the points I can remember. The show seemed to be 90% sex, 10% identity to me, IMO it should be the other way around. And the show was pretty exploitative. Definitely a thumbs down. The only good thing was seeing how good Alaina looked. Oh that brings up another point:

23. After Alaina is introduced at the beginning, she comes out and Tyra is just awed. She says something like "I thought you'd look good, but you're REALLY pretty" translation: "You don't look like a man."

24. One more point. A couple times Tyra used the phrase "anatomically female". In my mind she was implying "this guy was now outwardly female". She should have used some phrase to emphasize wholeness.

Okay enough whining. The one show I've liked in the last year or so was Barbara Walters special on transgendered kids. You could see that Barbara was clearly touched by the plight of those kids.

:sigh:

</rant mode>

I think Tyra needs to watch Calpernia Addam's video "Bad Questions".

hi all,

no wonder people are so uneducated. people watch television and believe everything they see and hear. like it's gospel or something. we'll never forward our cause with such negitivity.