Black Transwomen Contestants Disrespected On America's Got Talent

[Natasha]

Black Transwomen Contestants Disrespected On America's Got Talent

http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2009/08/black-transwomen-contestants.html
Monica Roberts
8/7/09

Thanks to Renee at Womanist Musings I was alerted to this latest steaming pile of transphobia on our nation's airwaves.

Transpeople such as the Diva League have dreams and aspirations just like anyone else in this country. It was tough enough for them to make it to that stage to begin with. But to perform and then get disrespected on national television had to hurt.

[tekla]

Pretty much the point of that show, and the American Idol one is to diss a lot of people - who tells these people they have talent, or can sing?  For the record, I did see this act, and they sucked.

[metal angel]

I'd say he's just playing his roll as "the mean one" all those "australia's got tallent" or "america's got tallent" etc. will have a "the mean one", his comments don't seem much more transphobic than the typical comment against a woman is sexist, i think his job as "the mean one" is to hate all groups equally? They were an ok drag act, but nothing special as far as "tallent" goes, i think he just phrased this idea rather impolitely?

[lizbeth]

For the record, I did see this act, and they sucked.

this. they sucked.

[tekla]

You know, if you can't stand the heat....

If there were playing for some church social, or an old folks home, sure, but in prime time, bad reviews are part of the show biz game.

[lizbeth]

yea, and in years past they have been very accepting to the transgender contestents. the Britany impersonator went all the way to the top 8 and "boy shakira" even made the top 20 or something somehow. last year they had the opera singer than sang in soprano and tenor and probably others that i'm not thinking of.

the diva league picked bad music, had bad (read: too simple) choreagraphy and didn't even lip sync well and i didn't even like the theme of their outfits.

meh. i admit it. i'm an america's got talent fan, but I swear it's the only reality show I watch! :p

[Nero]

I agree, Nikki. Transphobic? How do we know they're trans? They're presenting as drag queens.

[Suzy]

Personally, I don't find them to be what America needs either.  If transwomen want to be taken seriously, show some serious talent. 

Kristi

[V M]

Granted, the show was somewhat Michael Jackson meets Madonna in Las Vegas. But I feel that dude's comments were uncalled for and he should take his happy butt back to merry ole England and get stuffed 

[barbie]

A similar episode happened here about 4 years ago:

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200503/200503270008.html

The debut show of the pop group was simply diastrous, because of their poor performance in both dance and singing. Nobody criticized them on the ground that they are transgender, although the singers complained about discrimination. However, the TV producers did their best to let them appear in TV. The group broke up within less than 1 yr thereafter.

Barbie~~

[Miniar]

Over the top hair and makeup.
Lip syncing.
The dancing was... nowhere near "good". Nowhere!

It didn't look like they were presenting themselves as trans-folk. I mean, Sharon's too "political correct" to refer to them as "men" if they had introduced themselves as "women" at all.

So..
Yes, the comment was harsh (but not unfair!), but I don't see it as transphobic.

[Natasha]

How do we know they're trans? They're presenting as drag queens.

drag queens are transgender.

[Miniar]

drag queens are transgender.

Not the straight, cisgendered, bloke who participated in a drag contest in Iceland last wednesday, and won.

[tekla]

I have a friend, long time now, who was in a band that sold buttloads of records.  Huge amounts.  You might even have one, and even if you hated them (and many did) you still can sing along to the songs, which is part of why you hate them.  The critics always hated them.  Never stopped the records from going gold and platinum.

My favorite band, if they ever got a good review I never read it.  The critics hated the music, how it was performed, the recordings, the song choices, the drugs of the band and after that they went after the fans, who they also hated.  Never bothered us.  We kept on show up, they did 3,000+ live shows in their career, and ten years gone we still trade the live show tapes (now CDs) back and forth.

Bad reviews are part of the game.

And CDs, of whom DQ are a subset, are transgender.  Perhaps the majority group under the TG umbrella. 

[Krissy_Australia]

Possums. I think if Barry Humphries had performed the reaction would have been far greater