News and Events => Opinions & Editorials => Topic started by: Shana A on May 23, 2012, 09:35:22 AM Return to Full Version
Title: The Media's Sleazy Treatment of Trans Women
Post by: Shana A on May 23, 2012, 09:35:22 AM
Post by: Shana A on May 23, 2012, 09:35:22 AM
By s.e. smith
The Media's Sleazy Treatment of Trans Women
Lorena Escalera's life as a performer and model was cut short, and the Times decided to mark that by sensationalising and exploiting her death.
May 22, 2012
http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/155531/the_media%27s_sleazy_treatment_of_trans_women (http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/155531/the_media%27s_sleazy_treatment_of_trans_women)
How would you lead a story about the tragic death of a 25-year-old woman in a fire?
If you're The New York Times, apparently like this:
[...]
Oh, the article goes on to mention.
"She was born male."
Herein lies the difference between the sensitive treatment of death and the exploitation of a community tragedy: Lorena Escalera was a transgender woman of colour. Like many other women in her position, she was only considered newsworthy after a death in "suspicious" circumstances, at which point the paper took care to rake her name and identity through the mud.
Much is made in the article of the fact that Lorena was a sex worker, a not uncommon occupation for trans women of colour, who often struggle to support themselves financially. While her actual friends describe her as a friendly and outgoing woman with a lot of friends and fans, she's made out to be as sleazy as possible in the article courtesy of quotes from neighbours and people on the street. Tellingly, the article skims over one of the most critical facts of her death, the fact that substandard electrical work was evidently performed on her apartment.
The Media's Sleazy Treatment of Trans Women
Lorena Escalera's life as a performer and model was cut short, and the Times decided to mark that by sensationalising and exploiting her death.
May 22, 2012
http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/155531/the_media%27s_sleazy_treatment_of_trans_women (http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/155531/the_media%27s_sleazy_treatment_of_trans_women)
How would you lead a story about the tragic death of a 25-year-old woman in a fire?
If you're The New York Times, apparently like this:
[...]
Oh, the article goes on to mention.
"She was born male."
Herein lies the difference between the sensitive treatment of death and the exploitation of a community tragedy: Lorena Escalera was a transgender woman of colour. Like many other women in her position, she was only considered newsworthy after a death in "suspicious" circumstances, at which point the paper took care to rake her name and identity through the mud.
Much is made in the article of the fact that Lorena was a sex worker, a not uncommon occupation for trans women of colour, who often struggle to support themselves financially. While her actual friends describe her as a friendly and outgoing woman with a lot of friends and fans, she's made out to be as sleazy as possible in the article courtesy of quotes from neighbours and people on the street. Tellingly, the article skims over one of the most critical facts of her death, the fact that substandard electrical work was evidently performed on her apartment.