On Thursday, September 15, 2011, the news world was a-buzz with a decision out of Australia that allows intersex individulas to select “X” as their sex when applying for a passport. People who are transgender are not allowed to choose this option, however it is an important step in combating some of the issues surrounding issues of sex and gender. It certainly caused quite the discussion, behind closed doors, here at GeekMom.
Out of all the social issues of today, I personally feel issues of sex and gender to be the most misunderstood and least talked about. If you want to cause me to start a rant or spew out a lot of words, then use the terms “sex” and “gender” as if they are interchangeable. Among regular people, I try to not let it anger me. But when the media does it, a body who’s job is to inform, it really bothers me and hurts me to the core. The reason for this is because transgender issues are an extremely personal issue to me. One day, I will write about this and share my own personal story. However, I’m not ready to take that leap yet.
It is because I’m not ready to take that leap yet that I am so very thankful and grateful to Chaz Bono for having the courage to speak-out about gender issues and what it was like to be a man trapped in a female body. I also think he did an amazing job explaining something I’ve yet to find proper words for and that is what it means to have the gender of your brain not match up with the sex of your anatomy. I am also very thankful to Ellen DeGeneres for having Chaz on her show on September 14, 2011, in an effort to shine a light on such a misunderstood topic.
If you missed this episode, you can watch a couple of minutes of it on The Ellen DeGeneres Show‘s website. However, I think you need to watch the full episode. Ellen had some very wonderful words to say about reality television and bullying, plus more regarding the treatment of media and backlash Chaz has received for his participation in Dancing With The Stars. You can watch the full episode here on CTV.ca. I’ve been told that there are no regional restrictions.
Below is a small part of her opening monologue. It caused me to cheer.
Also, if you are a trans individual or are the parent of a trans individual, please watch it and share it with your children. Knowing that one is not alone in these struggles can literally mean the difference between life and death. It can also mean the difference between being able to cope with being different and developing an unhealthy lifestyle as a result.
Kudos to Chaz for being a visible advocate– there is a huge amount of ignorance & bigotry out there on this topic– with even “liberal” institutions like The Daily Show using transgendered slurs as punchlines– so it is great to have someone out there putting a visible face on the matter.
When I saw this post come up on my feed, I had assumed it was from a political blog. I did not expect to see it on GeekMom! But I’m so glad you posted it, because these issues *do* need more visibility. Kudos!
Hi, this is a great post! Thanks..