Amanda Simpson (press photo)
Everyone from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) to gay blogger Joe.My.God. is reacting to a transphobic/homophobic skit on a recent Late Show with David Letterman.
The skit was apparently intended to poke fun either at Amanda Simpson, newly appointed by the Obama administration to a senior post in the U.S. Department of Commerce, at Letterman sidekick Alan Kalter, or at both, but it has succeeded in offending a host of LGBT people and organizations, many of who are — or were — Letterman fans.
One major problem with the skit, which has Kalter rushing off the stage in shock after Letterman points out that Amanda Simpson is transgender (indicating as part of the joke that Kalter was somehow intimate with Simpson and is sickened to find out that she was assigned male at birth), is that it reinforces the false notion that trans people are “fooling” others or leading others to believe that we are something we are not.
The second, and even more significant, problem is that the skit reinforces the “trans panic” reaction that has been used as a defense in cases of assault and murder against trans people.
These two issues actually go hand in hand. The “trans panic” defense rests heavily on the notion that the perpetrator of an assault or murder against a trans person was “fooled” by that person.
And, just as transphobia cannot be separated from homophobia, the concept of “trans panic” cannot be separated from the concept of “gay panic,” which has also been used as a defense in the assaults and murders of gay men. Therefore, this anti-trans skit affects the gay and lesbian community as well. Part of the "joke" here is that Kalter is supposed to be upset that he might have had sex with a "dude."
Amanda Simpson is a highly credentialed, highly experienced, highly intelligent woman. It is likely that she expected a great deal of backlash to her appointment, including inappropriate reporting, hate speech, and jokes made at her expense. Simpson will no doubt carry on in fine and capable fashion as she makes history.
But as long as it remains acceptable in the mainstream to make “trans panic” and “gay panic” concepts into jokes, the entire LGBT community remains at risk.
Here is the skit from YouTube, if you choose to watch:
Comments
Thanks Matt for a articulate and informative article. I urge all concerned people to take a moment and tell David Letterman's producer how intensely repugnant and hurtful this skit was.
I would ask the David Letterman show would Kalter have rushed off the stage after learning Simpson was a African American after spending a night with a very tanned woman, "Oh my god I thought she was just very tanned", or if Simpson had been wearing a ?ij?b and was Muslim would his side kick ran off the stage sick because he thought she just liked to wear scarves? No not funny. Why? Because it is socially unexceptable. I beleive transgender people must be given that same respect and David Letterman should make a public apology.
I totaly think nothing is wrong with that skit i guess he should have kept it secret if he didnt want people to know about his sex change it is in no way like the comparisons u use Ms. Busey I am not a prejudice person toward people 4 who they are and it is great for them to be who they are. But if you were to sleep with person of another race or religion, 1st u would know unless u were blind and if it's wanted by both parties then no reason to have a problem, but if a person is disguised or altered to look like a woman and takes advantage of a situation without letting the other person know then that is messd up and that is what this portrays. If your a man and you have an operation to look like a woman then you should expect to have people taken back. It is an abomination to God regardless if your a Christian, Jew, or Muslim. Afterall would u poke fun of someone who wore a Halloween Costume year round. How do you trust someone who cannot even be themselves? It's called crossdressing
Oh Please let's make a mountain out of a molehill! What ever happened to "Freedom of Speech" It is a joke, only a joke! If you find it offensive: do complain but I see nothing wrong with making fun of anyone!
Mark: The "Freedom of Speech" actually only apply when criticizing the government, officials, and policies; not to shoot one's mouth off and insult a person or group of people. There is a difference between a joke that is in good taste and respectful, and being an insensitive ass.
C. Scott: Your ignorance of transgender issues is very apparent. People who undergo sex reassignment surgery are not out to "fool" any one, they only want to be accepted for who they are. For transsexuals, living as the gender they feel they are is not cross-dressing it; being themselves. There is a difference between physical sex and gender identity. People who are transsexual and pursue sex reassignment experience a pain and physical discomfort that you cannot understand. In stead of ridiculing transsexuals, perhaps you should try and understand the transgender community and actually meet some and get to know them as individuals.
Most Muslims don't have a problem with post-op transsexuals.
I'm a transwoman and I have to admit I did find it a little
funny.
I just hope Dave invites her on the show now and takes her seriously.
y'all take yourselves way too seriously! That was funny and in no way demeaning.
Sheeesh! Lighten up a bit, huh?
"Amanda Simpson is a highly credentialed, highly experienced, highly intelligent woman"
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Either is a woman or a transgender.
If you would spend some serious brain time on this, apparently, unsolvable dilemma, you might understand why people out there poke at her...
There is a fine line sometimes between humor and offense, and sometimes we do tend to take ourselves too seriously. But discrimination, assault, and murder are also pretty serious, and this is what continues to happen to us based on the "trans panic" concept and the idea that we are "fooling" people. So it's a tough line to walk.
The skit was meant as humor and I don't think it was meant to be intentionally cruel. It just may not have been the wisest decision.
With regard to Simpson being either a woman or "a transgender," there's really no such thing as "a transgender." There is such a thing as a transgender woman, however, and this is how Simpson has been identified. So, yes, she is transgender and she is a woman.
I did think this was a little funny, but agree that it is based on the idea that the transgender community are out to trick people, which is just not true. I think a lot of people who don't see how it would be offended do so because they don't bother to question all of the "why's" behind the joke.
that should have said "offensive"
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