[Gemme]

Originally Posted by Write14u

I'm curious about reaction from the community on Chaz Bono's upcoming appearance on Dancing With The Stars.

I'd love to hear opinions on anything, but the thing I'm most curious about is what the queer community thinks about in terms of awareness.

**Will this be a positive thing for the trans community?
**Will it bring positive awareness or be dissected by the media/general population and catologued under "freak". (No disrespect intended there. Just speaking in terms of how JQ Public often views queer)
**Is the awareness raised good regardless of people's general perception?


As for my views, I think it's pretty cool, even though I'm not a huge fan of the show and only watch it randomly. I just wonder what kind of reaction it will get.

Thanks!

Will it raise awareness? Absolutely. Now, whether it's positive or negative depends on how well Chaz is able to cope with the crap thrown at him by the show as well as the viewers and asshats in general and also how the show spins things. If there are no 'ooopsie' moments with pronouns and whatnot and they address him respectfully, I think it could sow a seed of acceptance in the viewers. However, if the show goes the way of ratings scavaging, then it might not turn out so well.

There have been some larger contestants in previous seasons that have gone for quite a while on the show. It all comes down to Chaz. He's got a tremendous weight on his shoulders right now, as all eyes will be turned to him. Those against him will be looking for the slightest misstep (pun intended) and those in our community could be looking to him as a role model, which is not only casting extreme pressure on the guy but could be potentially damaging to him and our community, depending on the outcome. He's been in the spotlight all his life, so I hope that he's got the coping skills in line that he'll need to proceed.

Personally, I hope he kicks ass and that Lacey's nice to him. As she has progressed on DWTS she's gotten meaner, but that's another story.