Trans in the Media: Unlearning the 'Trapped' Narrative & Taking Ownership of Our Bodies
Posted by: Janet Posted date: July 9, 2012
http://janetmock.com/2012/07/09/josie-romero-dateline-transgender-trapped-body/ (http://janetmock.com/2012/07/09/josie-romero-dateline-transgender-trapped-body/)
A friend of mine who is a producer on Dateline NBC told me that a piece on a trans girl was airing on Sunday night so I decided to watch and live-tweet my thoughts.
What stood out most to me is this: It took Hoda Kotb approximately 13 minutes into her segment to ask 11-year-old Josie Romero of Tucson, Arizona: "Do you feel trapped in the wrong body?"
Whenever this question is posed, I find it to be more of a leading statement rather than a true inquiry or invitation for a trans subject to speak about their life experience or outlook on their relationship with their bodies. Frankly whenever it's posed it never sits well with me, and I shared my frustration on Twitter, saying: "'Trapped in the wrong body' is a convenient, lazy explanation but it fails to describe #trans people & our bodies every time."