Obama’s Appointment of Transgender Advisor Signals Progress in Policy but Highli

[Shana A]

Obama's Appointment of Transgender Advisor Signals Progress in Policy but Highlights Pitfalls of Some Media Coverage

January 5, 2010 by Anna Wipfler, GLAAD's Transgender Advocacy Fellow

http://glaadblog.org/2010/01/05/obama%E2%80%99s-appointment-of-transgender-advisor-signals-progress-in-policy-but-highlights-pitfalls-of-some-media-coverage/

President Obama has appointed Amanda Simpson as Senior Technical Advisor to the Department of Commerce, making her the first openly transgender presidential appointee in the U.S.  As national news coverage of her nomination increases, we are seeing reports that run the gamut from full and fair descriptions of her life and work, to defamatory headlines promoting sensationalized conceptions of transgender people.