Kimberly Reed and"Prodigal Sons" on "Oprah" (video)
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/123219-kimberly-reed-andprodigal-sons-on-oprah/As filmmaker Kimberly Reed appeared on Oprah to discuss her film Prodigal Sons, a banner ran across the screen reading "Kimberly—born a boy". With its soft purples and powdery feminine font this caption drew a soft, but immovable line between the purposes of the guest and the host on the show. While Oprah focused on Reed's gender change as a personal journey that all can take heart from, Reed takes a far broader approach to transformation. In fact, one of the most important aspects of Prodigal Sons is that transgender issues are not the sole focus of the film.
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Oprah's focus on the other hand is with "Kimberly—born a boy". She questions Reed's inner life as both a boy and a woman and talks with Reed's mother and high school friends about their surprise at Reed's revelations. While Oprah is always sympathetic and never once condescending, these are the same questions that have been aired and answered since the first transvestites and transgendered persons appeared on TV talk shows. From Donahue to Sally Jesse Raphael to Jerry Springer, the questions remain the same and the fascination with transgender issues stays fixed and immobile, in need of a transition itself.
