Dr. Phil Misrepresents Transgender Identity

[Natasha]

Dr. Phil Misrepresents Transgender Identity

http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/dr_phil_misrepresents_transgender_identity
Allison Steinberg
11/25/2008

Shame on you, Dr. Phil. As a man who's own personal mantra is urging people to "get real," Dr. Phil was decidedly unreal in his approach to transgender rights on a show that aired last month. (You Tube clip at the bottom of this post.) Allison Steinberg's latest post takes Dr. Phil to task for allowing a phony doctor with ties to Focus on the Family to be an "expert" on his show regarding to transgender issues.

[mickie88]

dr. phil misrepresents himself, i can't stand his show

[almost,angie]

That was just trans bashing. That guy need to get his facts right.

[Susan]

Added the video...

[lisagurl]

dr. phil springer?

[Ellieka]

Crack head Phil. The guys a moron. I can't stand him either.

[Kate Thomas]

If you want to issue a formal complaint to Dr. Phil, GLAAD, the foremost LGBT watchdog organization recommends that you contact Stephanie Granader, the show's Producer

The email link  is on the article page.
http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/dr_phil_misrepresents_transgender_identity
page

[sarahb]

Yea, that guy's an idiot. People like him completely tune out the facts. He said the parents should guide the child toward masculine traits, and the parents say they did, they say they tried telling him he had to wear boys clothes and stuff and he just got more depressed. Yet, the guy still believed that was the way. They totally tune out anything but the things they want to hear. It's so frustrating.

On another note, those people on stage were awesome and their comebacks were spot on. You could tell they knew what they were talking about, while the guy in the audience was just making up his own "facts."

Also, his argument was that at that age kids don't know about gender, their just kids, so we as parents have to guide them into their gender. What a load of BS! So does that mean that if you abandon a kid on the streets and he grows up with no parents that he's going to somehow drift into wanting to be a girl or something. His reasoning makes no sense at all.

[lady amarant]

I've never liked Phil. Every show he's done about transgendered people left me with a very bad taste in my mouth. He passes himself off as really educated and objective, but everything he does demonstrates the reverse. The fact that he IS so popular and influential is really concerning.

~Simone.

[Truth Seeker]

I only watched the video, didn't read the article, so maybe I'm missing something - but I didn't see anything negative about Dr. Phil's role in that conversation.

All he did was give due weight to both sides of the debate. Just because you strongly disagree with one of those two people does not mean Dr. Phil was a jackass for allowing him on the set, what would be more offensive is if he had been so biassed one way or the other that he refused to let us hear both sides.

Each side made some good points, regardless of your beliefs or feelings, and the naysayer certainly presented himself in a calm, mature and surprisingly evenhanded way. At the end of the day, he clearly lost that debate because he had no substantiating facts, and just a few contextless examples.

But we cannot fault him simply because he believes differently than us, that alone does not give us the right to judge him, or Dr. Phill in a negative way. If we did, how would we be any better than those whom we oppose?


Truth Seeker

[sarahb]

I didn't see anything negative about Dr. Phil's role in that conversation.

I agree with that. Dr. Phil didn't put more weight on one side or the other. Actually at 1:13 he kind of refutes the guy. The only issue I have is the title on the screen, "Gender Confused Kids." They're not confused about their gender...they know more about themselves and their gender at that age then the adults trying to help them. It's only the weight and anxiety from the bigotry of society as they grow up that leads to their confusion about themselves.

I think a lot of people put too much emphasis on the fact that kids are "kids." Just because they're young doesn't necessarily make them naive about everything in life. I think children have the capacity to understand a lot of social issues better than adults because they haven't been ingrained with the societal beliefs of the majority. How many people in the trans community can say they knew about themselves very young, around age 5 or 6. Most of them would say definitely. What's that tell you about the naivety of children.

[Truth Seeker]

Well I would think that it actually would be pretty confusing to be born into one gender while identifying with another.

But maybe I'm being overly semantical?

Personally I just don't see why that title is offensive anymore than the term "Gender Identity Dissorder", it seems to be a descriptive term that's attempting to remain neutral within the argument.


Truth Seeker

[deviousxen]

Dr. Phil Misrepresents Transgender Identity

http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/dr_phil_misrepresents_transgender_identity
Allison Steinberg
11/25/2008

Shame on you, Dr. Phil. As a man who's own personal mantra is urging people to "get real," Dr. Phil was decidedly unreal in his approach to transgender rights on a show that aired last month. (You Tube clip at the bottom of this post.) Allison Steinberg's latest post takes Dr. Phil to task for allowing a phony doctor with ties to Focus on the Family to be an "expert" on his show regarding to transgender issues.

That guy in the glasses needs to lose his dick for a few weeks and then come back and tell us how it feels.


Overall I think its pathetic that Dr. Phil has a show like this. Its so one-sided, and its trashy, bashing-bull->-bleeped-<-.

The glasses guy is going on and on about how strong a parent must be to their kids.

I've always had a viewpoint on parenting. Its a general concept that has never proven itself wrong with what I've seen.

"A scab will fall off of the body when it is picked at."

That is all.

[lady amarant]

But we cannot fault him simply because he believes differently than us, that alone does not give us the right to judge him, or Dr. Phill in a negative way. If we did, how would we be any better than those whom we oppose?

The key difference to me is in presentation of evidence. Strongly biased people have a tendency to ignore or misrepresent evidence that doesn't fit their beliefs, and in a public forum like Dr. Phil, that misrepresentation can then go on to influence the audience and viewership at large. People hosting a show like this have an obligation, IMO, to be well informed enough about the subject to know when a guest is misrepresenting things or lying outright, and to correct them. Both sides. Unfortunately the clip is edited to show only the doctor from Focus on the Family, but Dr. Phil himself has a history of bias against his transgender guests.

There's also a more subtle bias at work in the show. Notice that the segment is titled "Gender confused children", and in shows on transgender people, the use of pronouns and names. "Gender confused" is a phrase fundies are notorious for using to describe transgendered people. Using it in the context of the show lends it weight in the minds of the audience.

Dr. Phil has a history of dubious ideas and utterances on gay and transgender people. On the one hand he's said that gay people aren't "sick", but on the other he's advocated that gay people go through Exodus, a religious right "reparative therapy" group, has called transsexuality a choice, and thinks trans and gay can be cured.

The man is dangerous.

For some background, here's a good article on him from MSN:

http://tv.msn.com/tv/celebrityfeature/dr-phil/?GT1=7703&silentchk=1

And a perspective from a mental health professional on the show itself:

http://www.sexualhealth.com/blog/?p=17

~Simone.

[Janet_Girl]

Dr. Fool is at it again.  Siding with the Immoral Majority again.  What Cracker Jacks box did he get his degree out of.  And who is the jerk talking, someone who knows what it is to be Transgendered?  No it is another of those hate mongering right wing Christian idiots.

[Northern Jane]

Obviously the guy with the glasses is a student of the Money/Zucker theory on gender. Of course, when someone comes on from a religious-based institution you can expect them to try to prove away what doesn't fit

[Ellieka]

Dr. Fool is at it again.  Siding with the Immoral Majority again.  What Cracker Jacks box did he get his degree out of.  And who is the jerk talking, someone who knows what it is to be Transgendered?  No it is another of those hate mongering right wing Christian idiots.

Well said sister!

[RebeccaFog]

I love it when we make fun of Dr. Phil! (and it has nothing to do with his shows on transgender issues).

I am holding a memorial ceremony to mark the passing of the countless insects that were trapped by Dr. Phil's gaping maw as he walks from his house to his car.  So many have been lost forever.   

There will be cake in the foyer after the ceremony.

Be there or you're next 

[Ellieka]

I'll bring punch!

[RebeccaFog]

good idea.