Media portrayals make huge impressions.
Google "Time Magazine Jan 21, 1966 Essay: The Homosexual in America". I can remember reading this as a kid who was wondering all about sex. After seeing it, I was left with all kinds of fears about the future.
Although the "sob stories" seem too simplistic, at least they are not frontal attacks like the Time magazine essay was in 1966. I think that the recent Stonewall anniversary is in better context after reading the Time essay again. The fact is, the far right in America today still wants the LGBTQ community like it was portrayed in the essay.
I think that some of the "sob" moments in the current Trans stories (like the previous gay stories) don't really say how pitiful our lives are, but rather that there are lots of challenges, problems, and other issues that one must face that the straight community does not face . These stories may be helpful in gaining support for various LGBTQ legislation that the right calls " preferences". All in all, I think that the sob stories may be informative to the audiences at large. It is certainly a giant leap forward from Time in the late '60's.

Austen,

I have been a part of the media of the Trans community since my good friend, and two year ago recipient, of the IFGE Trinity Award, Cheryl Costa and her wife at the time, were the first married couple (with one Trans person) to do a show with Phil Donahue. Wow, that was a while ago.

You are right. Nothing has changed and the story remains the same from one person to another. If anything, the present trend seems to be univeristy students calling any Transgender source in their area all the time to do a paper for their class on Transgender people, in unprecedented numbers. Years ago it wa the professors who were calling us to come in and educate people.

If anything, I consider the media blitzes about Transgender people to place an unfair burden on Transexuals as opposed to other gender diverse persons in the community, which far outnumber the small number of TS's by comparison.

This has gotten so bad now that to be Transgender is to be Transexual in many minds, especially within family and friend circles. Gender diverse people who would like to come out more are scared back into their closet, because they just don't want to have to deal with the only concept of Transgender people that is shown in the media all the time.

And you are correct. This is not going to get any better until the younger generations of Transgender people either make the whole concept of prying into Trans lives "old news", by showing the positive and productive lives of young, talented Transgender people, until that becomes "old news".

My generation did what it could under terrible circumstances that destroyed many of us. From the ashes of those lives, I see younger Trans people building their lives with more honesty and success. In generations to come, people will look back and be amazed at the price we had to pay just to be ourselves. I think that is why Hate Crimes and ENDA legislation is so important to many of us. It's not so much what it will do for us any longer, it's about leaving a meaningful legacy for others, that legitamizes our lives as activists and explorers of gender diversity in society.

When some of us older set get together and talk, we all seem to agree on a few things. It's never been easy to be Transgender and out and we were born to soon. One other thing I think we all agree with, is how proud we are to see the younger generations of Transgender people who are doing remarkable things in our perspective and escalating the arguments for equality.

Many of the good things that have happened to the Transgender Community are a direct result of the support and acceptance of the GLB community.

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Sara

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Oh my Goddess, as a post-op male to female I am so tired of these woe is me stories. Get over it!!! People transition, or at least I did, to live life to the fullest as who we were meant to be. Yes i have been disowned by old family and friends. Their loss. They don't know the wonderful womyn I am today.
I have made all new frinds and family and what a wonderful journey that still is. to mee, being me is a whole lot more important than what others think or judge. Only I can live my life and at 61 years old I am one happy womyn these days with many friends, both trans, gay and straight. Life is great as a womyn, I don't regret transitioning and live a joyful life today. And I don't allow idiotiotic social conservatives to bother me. I bother them.
I tell a story of hope and fulfilled promises of a life of joy after transitioning. After all, why else transition. I wish I was on one of those shows. I would send out the true message; life is so much better and liberating after coming out and being who we really are. That's the story I would tell and do tell when I speak.

Great article! I'm so glad to see I'm not alone in my 'get over it' feelings. Yours, and the comments of so many sisters and brothers, is so encouraging. For years, I'd given up on 'the community' - feeling that those like me (post-op transsexuals) had been pushed out for the wave of all encompassing, politically correct 'transgender' folk. As I told my best friend, 'I feel like a push-up bra at a feminist rally!'

I've started to inch my way back in because I've realized how important it is for young sisters and brothers to have as many positive role models as possible. To see that it's possible to have a full life outside of activism and reality tv - we are doctors, lawyers, scientists, elected officials, wives, husbands, and parents - and that's what society needs to see.

Gg

I'm happy to see shows like this one on the TV as a documentary. It shows that some of us do have families that we have created trying to be someone we weren't. I know that some say we are women who were born with the wrong bodies, in which I do believe but in trying to get from point A to point B there are some steps we have to take. Having others who stand up shows that it can be done. Granted we are not all the same so the whole dynamics do change from one family to the other. I'm really talking about me as I have transitioned and I'm in the right body now. I transitioned late in life, late forties early fifties. My life now is as normal as you can get. I'm still married, I have a job and go to work and pay bills. I'm much happier now than before but still there is the lawn to mow. For the people who are transexual and feel they were the opposite gender that was put on their birth certificate, the time that they have to put in, in the transitioning part, is hard. Learning and the physical and mental parts are very eye awakening.

great editorial austen. i am sooo tired of the "tragic tranny" stories, so exploitative. i have had some experience with media and they always want to take that angle. then later i have folks say they felt sorry for me. blehh!

"small groups do not change major social systems overnight at this level."

Respectfully, I offer this quote:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

No change happens over night, but if time has taught us anything it is that change is inevitable. Our actions, as individuals and groups, are what decide upon the direction of that change.

one thing that always bothers me with these documentaries, is that they love to show 'men who became women... but stayed married to their wife'. It's like they're saying 'see, it's not really a woman, just a man in makeup - same wife, same home, same job, same same same!'

Where are the hetero post-op women?.. when did 'assimilation' become a four letter word?..

For me, the only way for me to fully become a woman was to move away and start fresh - that was the only way to truly shed the remnants of the 'old ways'. Granted, I was not married, but I knew the pull of 'trying to make old friends and family comfortable'.

Gg

I have seen lots of documentaries and not all have the woman stay in the marriage. I would say most don't. There are a lot of girls in the documentaries that go on to be hetero girls. I think most of the documentaries have been good there were a few that I didn't like but most were good. If it wasn't for all the advocacy and media, I don't think we would be where we are now. I do know that some of the girls who transitioned earlier, before all of the hoopla, have done great but there were those that we don't know of, who have died or whatever and didn't make it. How about all the botched surgeries that went on. With all of this "advertisement" (lack of a better choice of words) there have been more people seeking help and getting it. There are more surgeons now, for the people who do want surgery. Back in the 50's, how many doctors would have removed healthy breasts? So, I do like all the documentaries and I like just being.

I really think it is up to the person and the family whether or not to bring their children in on the filming. I wouldn't do it to my family either unless I had control of the cutting. I certainly wouldn't just let anyone, like Phil, do a filming on me or my family. Because we have such media out there, we have had more people come out of the closet. Do you remember the 50's, you had to act just so, it was not the good old days. "Happy Days", hah. Girls had to wear dresses and boys had to have their hair just so, there was so much back then. Divorce, which is common place now, was look down on. I'm from a family in the 50's where divorce took place. You would have thought I had the plague. Why do you think that the 60's was the sexual revolution? A lot came out then. There were some bad things happening but somethings are common practice now and no one thinks any different. The more we are out there the more we will look like common people.

Tammie, I think you said it right. I have a hard time with words and putting them together, I also have a hard time staying on track.
What is it that we want from all of this advocacy. I know for me is just to be happy and live the life of a female, the life that should have been from the beginning. I want the same laws others have and I want to be equal in every respect. I know that you can't stop bigotry even with all the laws in the world. We do have laws against bigotry towards certain people and they are still discriminated against. I know of a store manager who won't hire anyone who has a missing front tooth. How wrong is that. You just don't have to say your not hiring them because of the tooth you just don't hire them. No need for a reason. So there is discrimination out there. So, what do you want to have in life? All most people want is to live their life the way they want to live it.