GLAAD and HRC joined together today to publish a full page advertisement in Daily Variety in hopes of educating not just ABC, but also the entire media industry about the dangers of producing and exhibiting shows like ABCs new Work It.
Personally, first time I heard about it, my reaction was
I can think of nothing that will do more damage to the movement towards equal rights for transpeople.
Even in places like Massachusetts, where we have recently gained equal rights in housing, employment, and credit, we are denied equal rights in public accommodations…because of the bathroom issue. So what does ABC show on their ad for the show, two "men in dresses" using urinals.
ABC claims its all okay, all in fun, because these aren't real transpeople, they really are men in dresses. We get that: real transpeople get fired or not hired in the first place in alarming numbers. These two men can apparently pass sufficiently well to not only get employed, but stay employed. And nobody notices that they're men except the entire audience, right?
Give me a break.
As the ad states, by encouraging the audience to laugh at the characters’ attempts at womanhood, the show gives license to similar treatment of transgender women.
This show could contribute to the highlevels of job discrimination that transgender Americans face and will give license for people to mock and ridicule those whose gender expression might not fit with what society considers the norm.
--Mike Thompson, GLAAD Acting President
This show is debuting at a time when women continue to face high rates of workplace discrimination and get paid less than men, and when transgender and gender non-conforming people face extraordinary levels of violence and discrimination in their communities and the workplace.
--Masen Davis, Executive Director, Transgender Law Center
The Work It promos blatantly exploit common issues that transgender people face daily, in the workplace and beyond. While the characters on the show are not actually transgender, they are put in similar situations as those who are, dealing with workplace discrimination and offensive comments.
What is clearly intended to be a humorous promotional ad for the show depicts the two lead characters, dressed as women, standing at a urinal. Sadly, it’s very common for people to promote fear of sharing the bathroom with transgender people as a means to further their prejudice. We’re frequently portrayed as sexual predators using the bathroom to make sexual advances.
--Drian Juarez, Transgender Employment Empowerment Program, LA Gay & Lesbian Center
The so called “humor” of Work It’ derives from the fact that two “men in dresses “are somehow able to convince their coworkers and the people around them that they are women. We think using the myths about transgender women, negative stereotypes, images, and these depictions to be “humorous,” are actually dehumanizing and degrading to transgender women.
Here in Massachusetts:
- 58% of trans people were verbally harassed in hotels, restaurants, buses, airports and government agencies
- 18% of trans people were physically assaulted in accessing public accommodations such as public transit, stores, and parks
--Massachusetts Transgender Coalition
In the brick-and-mortar world, most of us late-transitioning trans women didn’t have the benefit of make-up and wardrobe departments to facilitate our transitions. Many of us started our transitions with deep voices, heavy beards, and bone structures that didn’t say “woman.” Many of us were — many of us are — visibly trans, not “passing” in our target sex of female.
As such, many of us experience harassment and discrimination. I’ve personally been misgendered with male pronouns, and referred to as “tranny,” “it,” and “thing.” My new friend Brooke Fantelli told me she was called “it” and “that whatever” by the BLM ranger who tazed her this past October. The Task Force’s and National Center for Transgender Equality’s report Injustice At Every Turn speaks to how trans people have an unemployment rate twice the national average; the Transgender Law Center’s 2009 The State Of Transgender California Report indicated 67% of us have been harassed or discriminated in the workplace while only 12% of us reported it.
In the brick-and-mortar world, the two crossdressers in Work It would be having uncomfortable discussions with the HR department of their new employer about transitioning in the workplace, including negotiating restroom use. They would likely at least face workplace harassment, and if they lived in the 35 states without employment protections based on gender identity, they might not have been hired — or if already hired might have been fired — specifically for being trans…and without much legal recourse.
--Autumn Sandeen, Pam's House Blend
But here's the issue: as usual, LGBT people (and yes, this show should offend the entire acronym) are only part of a long list of potentially allied minority groups that should be offended by this show. In fact, I would say that we have to get in line to be offended. Women, single parents, people out of work in this time of economic crisis, people of color, and more should all be cringing right now. As my dad used to say, these folks aren't prejudiced; they make fun of everyone.
--Cathy Renna, Huffington Post
Which all goes to prove, I am positive in the minds of too many people, that we just have no sense of humor.