AUTOSTRADDLE
NY Daily News Tells Story Of Accused Transgender Maid In Most Offensive Manner Possible
Posted by riese on July 8, 2012
http://www.autostraddle.com/ny-daily-news-tells-story-of-accused-transgender-maid-in-most-offensive-manner-possible-140963/ (http://www.autostraddle.com/ny-daily-news-tells-story-of-accused-transgender-maid-in-most-offensive-manner-possible-140963/)
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,122814.new.html#new (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,122814.new.html#new) Related article
ETA Monday 1PM PST: GLAAD has released a statement on this story and you can read the entire post at their website. Here is part of it:
GLAAD reached out twice last week to Orlando news station WKMG, which appears to have first reported on the incident, as well as the Orlando Sentinel and the New York Daily News to address these outlets' offensive coverage.
By showing such little respect for Vanessa and for transgender women as a whole, journalists reproduce harmful stereotypes that have negative consequences for transgender people's everyday lives. Stories of crime can be especially damaging when the media's misrepresentations end up falsely connecting the fact that an alleged perpetrator is transgender to the crime itself. This is a gross inaccuracy that makes it possible for states like Florida and more than 30 others to refuse to hire someone simply because they are transgender. It is important that the media be held accountable for these stories like Vanessa's, and for portraying all transgender people in a fair and accurate manner.
Usually we steer clear of reporting extensively on stories about various sensationalized crimes allegedly perpetrated by LGBTQ persons, unless they involve giant jungle animals. Coverage of these crimes tend to suggest that the suspect's actions are somehow related to the suspect's orientation or gender identity — if the two are genuinely related, we're there. But that's rarely the case: unfortunately, evil does not discriminate and therefore people of all gender identities and sexual orientations kill and assault their exes, abuse innocent people and drop severed limbs in the mail.