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Media portrayal of transgenders
Transgender portrayed in mass media
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Gender Satire
Bruce Jenner has recently become top priority in media because of his decision to transition into a woman, and formally be known as Caitlyn Jenner. Some people refuse to call Bruce by his new name, while others never look back. Whatever the case, in today’s day in age almost any subject can become offensive to someone. In order to make light of the seemingly uncomfortable situation, satirists step in and explore many different outlets and ways of loosening tensions. When a problem becomes a common topic in the media, satirists find the next topic they will write about. However, there are some topics that are always controversial such as gender discrimination. Not only women against men and visa versa, but also transgender against
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The author states that “looking back now, it was pretty obvious she – sorry, He – was a little different” (“Army Welcomes”). The fact that the author makes fun of the way people mess up the pronouns turns the tone of the article very flippant. However, the author is not attacking any single individual and is not meaning to hurt any single person’s feelings. Therefore, it is categorized as a Horation satire. This light heartedness softens the shell of those who are so uptight about transgendered or any gender discrimination in general. Other than making fun of the way some people speak, the author also touches on making fun of coalitions for LGBT rights. They make up a fake group for LGBT pets called Paws Across the Rainbow, hoping that soon dogs all across America and eventually the world will one day get the recognition they deserve (“Army Welcomes”). The author also mocks those who take polls whether or not they would work with LGBT animals or not. They say that the army should provide free gender-assignment surgery to all the pets that can apply. It becomes even more ridiculous when it extends the animals that are part of the LGBT community from dogs to horses. The mocking of the organization and people is not out of bad taste, and does not have the intention to
Being a black woman in 1979, Dana has developed a strong sense of identity; therefore, when people challenge this identity she uses her inner strength to find a calm way to combat the controversy. In the present, her relationship with a white man is mocked by a fellow coworker who mutters, “‘Chocolate and vanilla porn!” [She] close[s] her eyes in exasperation. He always did that. Started a “joke” that wasn’t funny to begin with, then beat it to death. “God, I wish he’d get drunk and shut up!” (56) Dana
Andrews begins his narrative by comparing the outlooks upon being transgender to a more normal stance or as his girlfriend (who is bisexual) put it “‘Why can’t you just be gay?’” “‘Why can’t you be normal?’” Being transgender was still a fairly new concept at the time whereas being gay or bisexual was more widely accepted. He affirms the outlook upon being transgender by means of a quote from his current girlfriend “‘Why do you have to mess with this whole transgender thing?’” He
Laverne Cox is a prominent actress and advocate for trans rights, most recently gaining attention for her role in the Netflix original show “Orange is the New Black”. Cox plays a transgender prisoner named Sofie, who throughout the course of the show faces bigotry and cissexism from her peers as well as the prison staff. The role gained attention for being one of the first prominent trans characters to be played by a trans actress in a way that accurately demonstrates the difficulties trans individuals face. Though recent years have seen an increase in trans awareness, there is still a distinct disconnect in the communicative cultures between trans and cis speakers when it comes to the subject
In his 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer on April 24, 2015, Bruce Jenner came out as a transgender woman, making her interview television’s “highest-ever rated newsmagazine telecast among adults 18-49 and adults 25-54.” Following her highly successful interview, Jenner’s emerging identity was revealed in a Vanity Fair cover interview by Buzz Bissinger. The magazine featured Jenner on its cover page, titled “Call Me Caitlyn” and photographed by Annie Leibovitz—the magazine’s first issue to feature an openly transgender woman. Upon its release, the image garnered immense public attention, and has been noted to mark a cultural shift in our thinking.as one
A current event that is stirring much controversy in the media is the story of Bruce now known as Caitlyn Jenner. This story is in the headlines for several reasons. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the subject is not the issue I will be discussing, however, I will address in this paper the debate whether Caitlyn Jenner deserves the title of Hero or not. To analyze this debate we must look at what constitutes a hero in today’s society, what does this individual represent, lastly, is it wrong to use the label of a hero for Caitlyn Jenner? Knowing these answers will hopefully result in a further definitive answer.
Jenner...shouldn't get to define us.” (Paragraph 9) It implies that she is resistant of being define by trans women and denied trans community. I think that is offensive to transgender people because their words can be wrong, but we can't ignore them from our community and hurts their feelings. However, Jill Filipovic in response to Burkett thinks Transgenders people are being discriminated. In the article, she said "...suffers the kind of violence and discrimination heaped on trans women should of course, make transgender rights a feminist issue." (Paragraph 13) That states how unfair trans people are treated and the needed support for trans women to be part of the women group. Even if trans women are not originated women, but their positive attitude and efforts should be appreciated and be recognized as the sign of society
The news article I studied is from March 12th 2014 and found in the Fashion and Style section of The New York Times. Its title is “In their Own Terms- the growing transgender presence in Pop culture.” This article outlines the culture surrounding transgender and transgender situations in the United States, whilst following the lives and transformations of some known citizens of pop culture.
Barbie is tall, thin, has large hips and a large chest; she is beautiful, blonde, and she loves to shop; overall, Barbie is the feminine ideal. As researchers Jacqueline Urla and Alan Swedlund acknowledge, “little girls learn, among other things, about the crucial importance of their appearance to their personal happiness and to their ability to gain in favor with their friends” (1995:281). Gender roles are both centered around behavior as well as around bodies; this poses huge problems for transgender people, as well as explanations for transphobia; society has, for so long, accepted gender and sex to be synonymous. Because of this, a person whose gender is female and whose body is (rhetorically) male is a frightening and concerning deviant to most people’s understanding of the way in which gender exists. Everything that has to do with ideals for bodies leads to problems for transgender people; whether it is, as Urla and Swedlund also commented, that “...woman’s body was understood through the lens of her reproductive functions” (1995:287), or the general idea of “norms” for body proportions. When considering women’s bodies’ main purpose to be that of reproduction, it is apparent why the concept of transgender people may be concerning; transgender women -- that is, people, assigned male at birth but who live as women -- are women whose bodies cannot reproduce in the way that women are expected to; transgender men -- people assigned female at birth but who live as men -- may still have bodies which are viewed as useful mainly for their reproductive capabilities, but which they do not intend to acknowledge or use as such. When things stray so drastically from a norm which has long been accepted with minimal thought, onlookers panic that other norms will start to change as well. Straying from this norm also
Discrimination has always been prominent in mainstream society. Judgments are quickly formed based on one’s race, class, or gender. The idea that an individual’s self-worth is measured by their ethnicity or sexual preference has impacted the lives of many Americans. During the early colonial period, a social hierarchy was established with white landowners at the top and African-American slaves at the bottom. As equality movements have transpired, victims of discrimination have varied. In the late 1980’s when Paris is Burning was filmed, gay rights were still controversial in society. The lack of acceptance in conventional society created hardships in the lives of transgender women and gay men.
Same sex marriage has been a controversial issue since homosexual couples started to petition for their civil and marital rights. Even though homosexuality existed long before our society labeled it, it is still not socially accepted by many groups as well as individuals. As a result, people tend to be biased when reporting facts concerning homosexual marriage. Biases can be hidden in many literature works like books, journals, magazines, and articles. Through these documents writers try to provoke an emotional response from their readers in order to influence their view of a usually highly debated matter. An example of this would be three articles through which the rhetors dissimilarly influence the opinion of their audience by omitting or emphasizing certain facts about the legalization of gay marriage in New York State.
Kane, Matt. “Victims or Villans: Examining Ten Years of Transgender Images on Television.” GLAAD. N.p., 21 Nov. 2012. Web. 08 Mar. 2014.
Along with ethos and small touch of logos, the author Roxane Gay uses a strength appeal of pathos to persuade her audience onto her argument. “White people will never know the dangers of being black in America, systemic, unequal opportunity, racial profiling, and the constant threat of police violence. Men will never know the dangers of being a woman in America, harassment, sexual violence, legislated bodies. Heterosexuals will never know what it means to experience homophobia.” (Gay). In this paragraph, the author is identify the inequality between racial barriers, genders and sexual orientation which an emotionally involved topic to bring up. How people are treated differently how the way they look, where they come from. Woman would
In the United States, there are certain inalienable rights granted to all. As the Declaration of Independence of the original thirteen colonies states, "among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."(Jefferson, 1787, Declaration of Ind., Pg. 1) These rights are not "special rights." While the U.S. government cannot hold back upon these rights, it does have the power to ratify and enforce laws that will enable or restrict its citizens' use of them.
Within the recent years, the transgender movement has become more apparent than ever. With television shows like “RuPaul’s Drag Race”, “Keeping It Up With Cait” and “I Am Jazz”, the voices of transgender people are more public than ever. Celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner and Laverene Cox are changing the face of the movement by showing people that it is never too late to be their true selves. American laws acknowledge the rights of transgender people, but not in a positive way. These are just people trying to be their best selves.
However, it has not been until the past century that transgender individuals have been able to act upon their feelings and work toward changing to their preferred sex. They can now seek medical interventions through hormone replacement pills and/or sex reassignment surgery to fulfill their needs and happiness. Transgender individuals who undergo a sex change are sometimes referred to as transsexuals but these terms are often interchanged in articles and society. A very current and well publicized example of this is Bruce Jenner, a men’s decathlon Olympian winner, who recently underwent a sex reassignment surgery and is now known as Caitlyn Jenner. She states that her “brain is much more female than male” (Sieczkowski, 2015). She has flourished with her new identity and now has her own reality TV show to share her experiences and life with the world. Bruce Jenner’s coming out with his identity issue and him changing into a woman has opened doors for many people dealing with gender identity problems. But the harsh reality is that not everyone has the transition as easy as her. There are many controversies and prejudices that go along with transgenderism and transsexualism. Religious people believe that a transgender is going against what God had