Isis Tsunami
Monica Roberts has a post about Isis here, which Racialicious has also hosted here. Da Kitteh Korner has also written a post about Isis, and talks about the ways that Isis’ autonomy and identity as a woman are not respected:
But that’s just one slice of the divine ANTM pie, I love how right off the bat Tyra marks Isis as different and asks a bunch of questions to her that she would never in a million years think to ask a Cis woman. Somehow the status of her genitals, and how long she has “known” she was a girl is up for conversation. The rest of the house seems to think this way too, as they all gather around her later that night to bombarde her with questions about her body. I realize that a lot of Cis people don’t know that much about transness, wahwahwah, but guess what, I DON’T GIVE A SHIT, plz, somebody, educate yourself, I can definitely do without the awkward conversations with people I do and don’t know very well about my body, genitals and guessed personal dna/hormone makeup.
…
Something really painful to watch for me was the constant refusal of most of the cast members to recognize her gender identity. So much love and respect to Isis for being able to pose amazing photos while the other women are telling her she forgot to shave, and that she’s sweating too much.
Read the whole post. I cherrypicked the two parts that happen to coincide with one of my favorite drums to beat, but the rest of it is worth checking out.
The primary problem I have with showing it like this on national TV is that it naturalizes the idea that it’s okay for cis people to ignore trans people’s boundaries, to ask us these questions and expect answers, or to treat us like we’re not really who we say we are.
I don’t hold Isis responsible for any of that – in her position, it probably helps her standing on the show to not object even though no one should be talking to or about her like this. It’s still frustrating to hear about it.
This also ties into the recent discussion on The Bilerico Project.
Also: I’ve never been a big fan of reality shows, but I am hoping Isis wins.
I’ll admit that when I first hear that she was going to be on top model I felt many reservations and now I see that my worries have become a reality. Unfortunately because this is a competition she cannot say what really needs to be said, Mind your own damn business. How would these women feel if they were asked such intimate questions about their bodies, sexuality or genitalia? Well Isis is far tougher than I because I do believe I would have to tell them something about themselves.
Renee
September 20, 2008 at 9:19 pm
I read the Television Without Pity synopses and it sounded like Isis has been taking the high road consistently, despite a lot of provocation.
And Tyra really shouldn’t be reinforcing the lack of boundaries. That just sets the tone for everyone else.
Anyway, I want trans women to be normal to people, but I don’t want to normalize the idea that it’s okay to interrogate trans men or trans women like this – at least no more than has already happened. All I can do at this point is wish that ANTM stayed a little classier.
Lisa Harney
September 20, 2008 at 9:26 pm
I never really watched ANTM before, though my significant other would TiVo it so she could fast-forward to the photo shoots. But, we both took interest in Isis’ appearance on the show, and have been watching to see not only how she fared, but also how she’s treated.
Honestly, I wouldn’t want to be in her position. Transition is hard enough without being in some sort of reality show while also working on a modeling career as your target gender. Too much stress! I applaud Isis for her strength and courage, and I, too, hope she wins.
I agree with the blogs you’ve quoted, though. Right off the bat Tyra objectified Isis. The rest of the judges followed suit, though I think Nigel (at least in the two episodes I’ve seen, didn’t watch the third yet) was treating her with the most dignity and respect. Rather than her trans status being the focus, he seemed to treat it like, “well that’s interesting, but anyway…”. It remains to be seen how she’s handled the rest of the show.
I hope that people like Isis bring more awareness to transgender issues, though I think any coverage of those issues will be in passing, as ANTM isn’t really about rights or understanding. I also am glad that she’s there for herself and not for the whole trans community, because I think it’s important for her to be herself and pursue her own goals. That said, I, too, wish she’d tell some of them to shut up and mind their own business, but it’s just not that likely to happen in her situation and her continue to advance on the show.
Allie
September 20, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Yeah, I think what with Isis being alone and her situation being precarious as a trans woman (thus somehow “really” being a man) that she won’t be able to challenge transphobia and trans misogyny nearly as effectively as racism was challenged last week – and how effectively was that? Gang rape?
It’s not that I think either is really more or less acceptable than the other on the show (they love the interpersonal “conflict”), but that Isis is the only trans woman, she’s the first trans woman on the show, and there’s a host of double standards that are applied to her in this context that aren’t being applied to the cis women.
Lisa Harney
September 20, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Very true. There’s definitely a double-standard. I think on this last episode, they’re giving her a lot of grief during a bikini shoot, because she doesn’t appear “comfortable”. While I understand that bikini shoots are part of the job, you’d think they would be at least a little bit understanding about why that might be a bit difficult at this point in time for a pre-op transwoman. I’d imagine they would be understanding if a cis model was having menstrual issues (I don’t know if that’s come up before, so it may have).
I don’t look to Isis to challenge all of transphobia by herself, but I think putting the human face with it (and seeing how ugly it is when others discriminate against her or ridicule her) is probably good overall.
Allie
September 20, 2008 at 9:40 pm
I am so rooting for Isis to win, though of course I’ll probably find out how she does here long before bloody NZ television chooses to broadcast this cycle. *sulks*
QoT
September 20, 2008 at 9:40 pm
it seems that we, as trans people, can choose one of two paths. we hide our transness, remain stealth, and avoid the disrespect , but risk the inevitable “big reveal”, or out ourselves, and become the token “tranny” of the hour, have our identities questioned, our bodies hung out to dry, and our dignities dragged through the dirt.
while i’ve been following isis’ story, i refuse to watch the spectacle. it just hurts too much.
nexyjo
September 21, 2008 at 6:00 am
I was pretty surprised they weren’t more understanding of Isis’ comfort level on the bikini shoot. And while her personal boundaries are being totally crossed, she must have known what she was getting herself into being one of the few transpeople on television. Also, isn’t it good to have a public figure to answer these question for people who have never been around transpeople and probably never would be in their day to day lives? Telling people to fuck off wont help open these peoples eyes. Watching Isis getting pushed in the hot tub by that girl made my heart sink, but isn’t it significant that they are showing that discrimination? I dont think a lot of these girls are hateful (except that bitch who told her she needs to shave etc.) but are ignorant and need someone to educate them.
I also think the racism issue was handled in a horrible way. Making someone defensive about their racism isn’t going to make anything better, same with transphobia. Sometimes I wish Isis was a little more aggressive with dispelling stereotypes, but I am proud of her for doing her thing and breaking new ground on television.
Beth
September 21, 2008 at 1:39 pm
And yet setting up an atmosphere in which Isis is expected to answer any and all questions and be prepared to give Trans 101 at the drop of a hat is somehow good for trans people? Because it only encourages that same behavior from people who see it on ANTM, and meet a trans person? Showing it on ANTM naturalizes it as the proper way to deal with trans people – as if trans people have no boundaries.
And no, education is not any trans person’s responsibility. And no, the only options are not “answer every question unreservedly or say fuck off.” Although, the only reasonable response to random people asking me what my genitals look like is “fuck off,” IMO.
Can you describe a way to handle racism without making someone defense about being racist? Your complaint here seems to put the responsibility for Hannah’s defensiveness onto the women of color who called her out, not on the fact that Hannah overreacted to the situation by describing it as “gang rape” or “gang violence.” That Hannah had hurt these women and they said “Hannah, your behavior is hurtful to us” and Hannah made that pain about her and how they’d ganged up on her.
So what’s the right way to do it?
Lisa Harney
September 21, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Anyway, I’m not saying anything about what Isis should or should not do – it’s her choice either way. I’m criticizing the fact that Tyra opened the door for that kind of treatment by initiating it herself.
Lisa Harney
September 21, 2008 at 4:00 pm
No, some of those girls *are* hateful, IMO.
“America’s next Top Model is not going to be a drag queen.” and one of the other girls commenting that she’d “kick that man out the door” if she had to. It’s all the same BS about trans*women “really” being men, refusing their accounts of who they are, and doing all that to claim a place of privilege as “real” women.
he only reasonable response to random people asking me what my genitals look like is “fuck off,”
WORD.
silver
September 21, 2008 at 5:15 pm
On the racism issue–Hannah strikes me as a white girl who was brought up to think “racism is bad” (good), but in such a small insular non-diverse community that she has had very little contact with people of color, and therefore has not had her internalized prejudices, biases, and assumptions questioned. I don’t think she’s necessarily a bad person, I think she’s just one of those people who was brought up thinking “racism is bad and I’m not bad therefore I’m not racist” and will therefore react more defensively than someone who has learned that there is such a thing as White Privilege, that claiming colorblindness is very ignorant, and that people of color do not all fit one stereotype, and that stereotyping is racist. She definitely needs some education, though.
Genevieve
September 23, 2008 at 3:35 pm
I’m so tired of “I know sie was being oppressive toward marginalized people, but I don’t think she was being a bad person” explanations. They fatigue me.
Whether or not they’re bad people is relevant. Whatever their intentions really are isn’t relevant. If they act in a way that hurts other people, it is not wrong to say “Hey, you hurt me” with the expectation of at least an apology, not some tortured and self-pitying analogy to gang rape.
Lisa Harney
September 24, 2008 at 10:19 pm
And I’m sorry it took over a day and a half to post that. I suck.
Lisa Harney
September 24, 2008 at 10:19 pm
I had not much more than a view youtube videos to inform myself, but when lately Isis was again as a guest at the show I watched Tyra confronting one of the other girls with her prejudice and the incongruity in her argumantation and asking Isis only well thought out questions to inform her audience better on that subject.
If we denie to answer questions because we don’t like being asked that questions, others will answer them for us. In their fashion.
Sarah
November 23, 2008 at 6:37 am
This is bullshit. Others have and will answer those questions for us whether or not we choose to answer them ourselves. Cis people have been answering these questions for us for the past
It’s not our responsibility, as trans people, to educate cis people on demand. It’s impossible to have any kind of social parity when cis people can demand our time and energy by asking invasive and demeaning questions at any time, and expecting us to answer – and it is doubly bad when other trans people start adding their voices to the “you have to answer” side of social inertia.
Lisa Harney
November 23, 2008 at 11:40 am