The first thing that happens when some new minority becomes visible is that people often start making jokes about it. This is a natural impulse in dealing with novelty and discomfort. On the left this impulse is usually reigned in by a certain degree of political awareness — or at least political correctness. On the right, there is no such restraint, and so the jokes usually tend towards mockery.
In the last few days, however, both sides have been ridiculing transpeople. First, Keith Olbermann introduced a segment about a particularly unpleasant government employee by showing her as a man in a dress. Needless to say, it had to be a man with heavy, dark, beard growth in an ill-fitting blouse and cheap, long blond wig. This combination is the one I see most often used to illustrate the complete absurdity of a man in a dress.
Olbermann then used this person for a reenactment throughout the 5-7 minute segment. Apparently the humorous appeal of showing a man in a dress and wig never wears thin, even at MSNBC. Since Countdown does not expose an email address on the network’s website, I wrote the show which follows, Rachel Maddow. I encourage you to do the same. Here’s the email:
I’m not sure if you’re aware of it or not but Keith Olbermann used an image of a heavily bearded dark-haired man in a fake blond wig and blouse for a full 5-7 minutes this evening during the Don’t Call Me Liz segment.
Perhaps he doesn’t realize that there are transgender people in the gay community. Perhaps he doesn’t realize how hurtful it is to *always* be the butt-end of visual jokes about how ridiculous men in dresses are. Perhaps he doesn’t realize that lots of gay people themselves don’t fit neatly into gender roles and that mocking these people in our community only increases their sense of isolation and the general antipathy already directed towards them.
I can’t find out because Countdown doesn’t bother to list an email address on the MSNBC website. However, as someone who is openly gay, and who has made a point of stating publicly that you don’t exactly fit the traditional fem gender role yourself, I hope you will raise the point with him and/or his producers, or at least forward this email to someone (anyone) who might care at that show.
I am an MSNBC fan for years now. I can’t tell you how painful it is to turn into my “own” station, a progressive station, and still find myself and others I know held up for public ridicule. I expect this from the right. FYI: I think it’s worth mentioning (if you check avp.org) that more than 70 transgender kids – mostly biological males presenting as women – have been violently murdered in just the last decade. The antipathy towards us is often deadly.
It would be nice to see someone in power actually go to bat for us, instead of making us once the punch line.
One Trans Show 
Riki, the show email for Countdown is: countdown@msnbc.com I’ve written Olbermann and Rachel myself as well. I didn’t write about this particular segment (I guess I’ve developed a pretty thick skin for this sort of thing as it’s so common), but I did write Keith with some information and links regarding the history of HRC and their “support” of transgender rights after he headlined an NYC HRC event recently, and I’ve written Rachel asking that she save at least a little dollop of the love she’s been giving on her show for gay and lesbian issues for transfolks and the issues that matter in our lives.
I’d love to see someone in mainstream media advocate for us instead of using us as comic relief, but I’m still not even convinced anyone at MSNBC actually even reads our letters. Maybe it’s time to make this point publicly in a way that can’t be easily ignored?