This segment made me bawl like a baby, but it also made me hopeful. I remember the Ellen coming-out controversy in 1997, and how her show sunk soon thereafter. Ten years later, she’s back on an extremely popular daytime talk show, catering to a moderate “average American” audience, and she’s able to talk about issues like violence against the LGBT community, encourage her audience to vote for candidates who support LGBT rights, and get a standing ovation.
Obviously there’s still a long way to go, but things are changing — and quickly. I can’t speak for all progressive and feminist-minded people, but I know I often get depressed and frustrated by how regressive so much of American society can be. I want it to be fixed now. Stuff like this is a good reminder that while there’s still a ton of work to be done — after all, a child is dead because of his identity — things do improve. Talking about it on daytime TV is a small thing, but it’s certainly significant.
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Great, now I’m crying like a baby too:)
I think “talking about it on daytime TV” has more impact than you may think. It’s the specific medium that got Oprah started–and now look who she is and what she’s doing (and I’m not talking about that awful reality show either).
I’m not sure I understand why so many people are against LGBTs but it really hurts me. Conservatives, Christians, etc seem to spread the most hate especially about transgendered people. So much hate and hypocrisy for no good reason. I also want the problem fixed now! I have a friend who was in an ob/gyn program who was doing very well until it came out that he was trans and wanted to become a woman–he got fired without cause.
I love Ellen. She’s funny, she’s not afraid to be goofy and normal and un-Hollywood sometimes, and I love that.
And I get exactly what you’re talking about, because I see it first-hand with my own mom, who watches a lot of daytime talk shows as she works. Ellen is her absolute favorite. My mom is a diehard liberal on a lot of issues (reproductive justice, environment, anti-war, etc.) but she is a child of the fifties, and has had some internal prejudices to overcome. She’s always had gay friends and respects LGBT people, and is anti-bigotry and anti-violence; but there’s always been an internal struggle between her upbringing and her liberal beliefs- Ellen’s actually helped to change that ! My mom has finally reached a point where she supports gay marriage (total equality, not just civil union separate-but-equal) and I’m so proud of her.
I have a lot to thank Ellen for.
I also love Ellen. I don’t watch much daytime tv, but if I had to watch a talk show, I’d certainly pick hers. She’s just so normal compared to other Hollywood types and really seems like she’d be a fun person to be around. And I also have relatives that have come around on a number of equality issues thanks to Ellen.
Did anybody else click through to the Time magazine article about this linked at AlterNet? The article is horrible.
quoting the Time article:
only 18% of gay and transgender students said they had been assaulted in 2005 because of their sexual orientation (only 12% — probably many of the same kids — said they had been assaulted because of the way they express their gender). By comparison, according to a 2007 Centers for Disease Control report, 18.2% of male students and 8.8% of female students reported being in a physical fight at school in the last year.
So it’s okay then? That’s too much violence period but getting into a fight is not necessarily the same as being assaulted for who you are.
The article goes on:
True, 66% of gay and transgender kids said they had heard homophobic remarks. But roughly the same proportion — 62% — had heard sexist remarks
So there you go, nothing to look at, move along.
I wish I had something eloquent to write here but I don’t. It makes me angry and sad and at a loss for words. I’m glad Ellen is on a national stage, I just wish more people were tuning in, with open minds and open hearts.
Women Hating Women…if you have not already seen this, check it out and click through to today’s — March 2 — Charlotte Allen piece in the WashPo. It is truly astonishing.
http://matthewyglesias.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/03/math_is_hard.php
Arthurkc:
Thanks for the link! I can’t believe that nonsense was actually published! She “coasted” through her academics relying solely on memory and communication skills? Wow! Those skills sounds totally useless in academics and life! Good thing we have men for…. driving?
Gahhhhh.
sorry for the unclosed article link!
Thanks Ellen!
Women Hating Women, Part II….
Turns out there is a second such piece on the Post today.
Duncan is all over it: http://atrios.blogspot.com/
Here is the piece: women are “fickle”…!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/29/AR2008022902991.html
Well, one thing that I think that DeGeneris missed, is the fact that Lawrence King was killed not just for being gay, but more importantly for being gender-variant. Ze apparently dressed and presented in a feminine fashion, and had been severely harassed for it. There’s also the possibility that ze was trans, but we’ll never know, as the media and much of the public conflate being gay / lesbian with being trans; “gay” and “trans” are the same to these people – in both cases the victims are “faggots” or “dykes”.
The straight-acting “androphile” dudes who are trying to out-macho the Marlboro Man aren’t, for the most part, the ones getting murdered. It’s trans and gender-variant people (including straight and bi) who are taking the brunt of the violence.
I think so, too. My very conservative mother adores Ellen and watches her every day. I definitely think that the more exposure people like my mom have to GLBTQ people, the more they get to see them as actual, real-life people who aren’t really all that different from themselves, the better. I don’t see how it can’t have at least some impact.
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