This Week in the Transgender World

It seems that transgender topics have been in the mainstream news the past day or two...first with Chaz Bono being selected for Dancing with the Stars, and tonight's ABC Primetime Nightline program on transgender kids.

Chaz Bono's selection has caused a major issue with many. They say he is overweight and was selected for the show based on who his parents are, but the same complaints were issued for Bristol Palin when she was on the show. The main reason people are complaining is because they "don't want the transgender stuff shoved down their throats." It comes down to many reasons...some feel it threatens their religious philosophy, some are fearful based on their own dark secrets, and some are just afraid of how to explain it to their kids.

As Sarah stated on Alice Radio this morning, "we took the parental controls off the internet and just tell the kids to go look it up" as they discussed how parents should handle the whole situation. Kids can learn hate, bias, and discrimination from their parents almost too easily. As long as the parents take some initiative and explain what is going on, the kids won't grow up to be just like many closed-minded adults.

I liked what Vinnie had to say, as well, "He looks like a dude. If they just introduced him as Chaz and left it at that, there wouldn't be the controversy...but he has his famous parents, and I'm sure they'll play that card."

(I'm paraphrasing Sarah and Vinnie, as I do not totally recall the exact words that they stated.)

I found the program on ABC Primetime Nightline to be very different from many transgender news programs of the past. This one seemed more real and told very moving stories, but unfortunately, they did not include any transgender boys in the stories...only girls.

The program starts with 10-year-old Jackie in her first few months as a girl. It continues with Dyson and his mother, Cheryl, who has written a book called "Princess Boys". Next they followed Vanessa, 19, who ventured to Mexico for feminization surgeries which she funded by working the streets. Because most news programs tend to provide both sides of the story, they interviewed Charles Kane who transitioned from male to female, and then back to male. He discussed his regret and his eventual de-transition. They finished off with Kim Petras, a 19-year-old internet pop singer from Germany who had SRS at the age of 16.

These two items would typically be quite a bit this week. But wait, there's even more yet to come.

Two years ago, Caster Semenya's gender came into question at the 2009 World Track and Field championships. Although Caster Semenya is believed to be intersex and not a transsexual, she's racing this week in the World Track and Field championships in Daegu, South Korea. Caster still faces questions about her masculine looks and her gender identity, but I wish her luck in my favorite track event...the 800m.

Overall, though, I'm sure we'll be seeing more about Chaz, along with plenty of transgender topics, in the near future.