Chaz on DWTS

[Dominique]

Originally Posted by Sachita

I think Lady Gaga presented a nonthreatening gender bending platform. Curious and lighthearted. She clearly supports the queer community with intelligent and artistic statements.

Our local news gave lady Gaga some coverage and they
politely referred to her performance as her alter ego.

I agree it was lighthearted. I just wifh she would have omitted that cigarette scene. (my .02)

[Quintease]

Oo, an 'Action Alert' in LA..

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by Quintease

Oo, an 'Action Alert' in LA..

The TMZ video was great. Thanks for posting!

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by Quintease

Oo, an 'Action Alert' in LA..

Our own Lips is mentioned in this article!!!!!

Yay for our community!!!!

[EnderD_503]

Honestly, I'm not sure that all the exposure Chaz is getting is doing any good, and I'm more inclined to think it's doing harm. I don't like the image he portrayed of transguys on Becoming Chaz, or that he seems to be acting as the spokesperson/poster boy for transguys and trans people in general. I really do wonder why he chose to go on the show, and if it had anything to do with with his coming out/his documentary and so on to gain more publicity for himself and his book/doc. I've never watched the show, nor do I have an interest in it, but I've already seen the bigoted reactions at work when people read about him and his participation in the newspapers. It doesn't make things any better for me in the work place, and seems to give people more incentive to talk passive aggressive shit about "people who *think* they're men" as though, "oh yeah, we're just discussing the news." If it was simply people's bigotry and he was actually doing some good for trans rights, that would be fine. But he isn't, and his image/personality isn't helping. I would prefer activism, even if it creates difficult situations for transfolks not interested in remaining "stealth" or "passing" as "normal," to occur on a level that truly does raise awareness on sex/gender diversity, rather than seem to make a mockery of transguys on some tv show. As though we don't have enough tv show episodes making mockeries of us (seems like the "thing to do" for crime shows, anyway).

If he were someone who seemed interested in portraying an image of transmen that didn't live up to the macho, misogynist male stereotype already peddled, that would be a nice start. I don't think him remaining in the spotlight is going to make things any better for transguys in the world. I would prefer to see more shows like Transformation, that aired on Global, TransGenerationand Our America. At least they seek to educate, and provide a diversity of trans experiences.

As far as the comments people made online about his participation. Not exactly a shock, unfortunately.

[weatherboi]

Standing On The Side Of My Man, Chaz Bono!
By Russell Simmons September 7, 2011

The first time I saw Chaz Bono she went by the name Chastity and I was moving into her mother, Cher's, house in New York's Greenwich Village as her mother was moving out. Chas (as she was known as then) had long blonde hair, was in a band and looked like a pretty young woman.

When Chastity began her transition (which by the way is the title of his book) from female to male and became known as Chaz, my first thought was "Good for her..er, him. Whatever makes him happy" and I didn't think anything more of it. It also didn't turn my head when I heard Chaz was going to be on Dancing With the Stars, partnering with a female.

To each their own. But what did get my attention was reports of public outcries for boycotts of Dancing With The Stars, protests and hate mail being slammed at both ABC and Chaz himself.

This, I thought to myself, is sadly what America, in many ways, still is... A far cry from my own insular reality of progressive friends, co-workers and neighborhood big city folk who have seen it all, embrace change and stand as beacons for tolerance.

Only a few months ago, New York City, the biggest melting pot in the world, passed the same sex marriage bill which was a long time coming. And we have many more states to go before we can call America a gay friendly country.

When you throw in the transgender lifestyle and all that it implies, many people still view that as a choice (and a sinful one at that).

Personally, I cannot imagine anyone waking up one morning and saying to themselves "Hey! Today I think it would be cool to book an appointment to have my breasts removed and take hormone shots to grow a beard!" just because they are bored.

So, when I heard about the call for parents to NOT allow their children to watch Chaz compete as a man with a female partner on Dancing With The Stars, I felt compelled to throw my public support to Chaz Bono and ALL transgendered people.

I have made it my business to visit homeless shelters for LGBT teens and have heard their stories first hand of the struggles they endure to be accepted or to simply survive.

Transgender youth often suffer from depression, victimization, harassment, discrimination, sexual assaults, beatings, taunting and are even more prone to being victims of homicide.

Over at Lauras-Playground.com, a support site for transsexuals, transgender and crossdressers, 50% of their users 13 and up have had at least one suicide attempt by their 20th birthday! Some trans people find themselves so desperate to change their bodies that they will self-mutilate ..specifically engaging in genital mutilation.

Transsexuals have been known to cut off their breasts and penises just to feel whole.

That is what judgment does. That is what fear does. That is what hatred does.

The call for a DWTS boycott is a dangerous step backwards in our quest for human liberation and equality.

Instead of embracing the courageous act of both Chaz and ABC for showcasing the first transgender celebrity to join the cast of of DWTS and using it as a way to send a clear message of tolerance and love to the millions of viewers who watch, intolerant people/groups are instead using ABC's progressive choice to instill fear into parents' minds.

Sadly, these very parents may very well have their own Chastity/Chaz at home desperately looking for a sign that says "I'm OK." Or perhaps the parent that makes the choice to not watch the show is a school teacher who has a little Mark who believes he is in Mary's body sitting in their classroom with nobody else to turn to.

A viewer could easily be that child's doctor, nurse, psychiatrist, family counselor, camp leader, etc. A viewer could be the very person that could be the voice that talks that child down from the ledge when puberty hits and that child is the most vulnerable and most likely to end their own life.

If children are gently led to having open minds and open hearts they will, in my opinion, be stronger, more spiritual happy adults.

There is no harm, in my opinion, for children to understand that some kids have two moms, some have two dads, some are adopted, some don't have any parents at all and yes, some even have a dad that used to be their mom.

-Russell Simmons

[Novelafemme]

i'm with cowboi...i've never watched the show before either but i will be this season. i walked by chaz's restaurant in long beach while i was there this past week and was reminded how far we have come and what a poignant time period we are living in. it's pretty exciting and i am in full support of him!

[Julie]

Thank You Grant for posting this great article by Russell Simmons on Chaz and on all of our community. It does the heart good to read such inspiring and hopeful articles from people such as Russell.

Also - because of the article... I just found Laura's Playground - WOW.... I am just speechless.

http://lauras-playground.com/

Julie

[The_Lady_Snow]

Simmons is one cool cat! Whata great human being!

[ruffryder]

Originally Posted by J. Mason

I am gonna watch it this time but only cuz he is on it.

I don't see why there has to be so much controversy of it anyways but thats just me.

I usually watch DWTS. I agree J. I don't get all the controversy either. That's just America for you. I don't think Chaz wanted controversy over this. The guy just wants to dance. Lots of sports figures, politicians, musicians, celebrities are a part of DWTS. It is something he wants to do. Let the dude dance and leave it at that! Cher said she would not be in the audience and not because she doesn't support him but because she didn't want to take away from his fame and time! I say go Chaz! Enjoy buddy!

[Write14u]

Found this online, which pretty much summed up what we thought might be the case for Chaz in terms of actual competition. I know with my size, I'd be hard pressed to do what he's doing. (I'm not even gonna mention my lack of rhythm. LOL)

This is from Lacey Schwimmer, his pro dancing partner (credit to Yahoo):

How is Chaz doing in rehearsals so far?
"He's picking up choreography very easily, but his stamina was very low. So we’ve been putting him through drills that will make him stronger in the competition. It’s all about him being able to breathe and get through a full dance."

[ruffryder]

This starts tonight .. Yes ??

It's gonna be a switching of the channels with MNF also.

Looks like a night of tv.. yeahh buddy!

[Write14u]

It starts next Monday. (Which still means you'll be switching from MNF) LOL

[Corkey]

I'm so not a star struck kind of guy, lived around the "stars" for most of my life. I can tell you the ones I've met are down to earth and quite pragmatic about the industry. None of them ever once thought of themselves as a role model. They were and are just people. The minute we start placing people in the industry on a pedestal, we loose our own since of being. They are no better, no worse than the rest of us.
Chaz is not my role model, he's a human being just like the rest of us. If he wants to dance, fine let him dance, no problem. Don't put him on some sort of cloud because he's just like the rest of us, looking for acceptance.

[The_Lady_Snow]

Chaz put himself out there as an advocate, so him being in the limelight on TV may it just may let one kid out there they are ok and not sick, or may not feel so suicidal. He's just a guy who's gonna dance like all the other guys on there..

[Write14u]

Corkey, I agree with you about role models to a degree. Having been in the sports world all my life, I can promise you few athletes cast themselves as a role model. However, with our society, that is how they are seen. So whether a celeb or athlete wants to be a role model, they're going to be seen that way, and their conduct is going to be held up in either a positive or negative way.

For example, I always found it ridiculous that college athletes were blasted for displaying the same type of behavior as the general college population (going out, drinking, etc.) However, for athletes, they represent a university, and later possibly a professional organization) and have to keep a higher standard (or keep it way on the DL).

While celebs don't represent anyone in particular, they are going to be viewed as role models, good or bad. When you step into the limelight as an advocate because of your fame or status, then you do bear the responsibility to be a role model, wanted or not. Chaz and many others, such as Ellen, have already accepted that fact. Chaz has long been an advocate for the queer community. Right or wrong, like it or not, for now ... the transgender community is going to be judged by how Chaz presents himself, and I think he's fully aware of this.

Celebs and athletes and other famous figures are just humans. They shouldn't be elevated and put on pedestals for their talents, but sadly they are. While I think many are to be admired, they're not the people I consider role models, but that's not how everyone works.

[Corkey]

Originally Posted by Write14u

Corkey, I agree with you about role models to a degree. Having been in the sports world all my life, I can promise you few athletes cast themselves as a role model. However, with our society, that is how they are seen. So whether a celeb or athlete wants to be a role model, they're going to be seen that way, and their conduct is going to be held up in either a positive or negative way.

For example, I always found it ridiculous that college athletes were blasted for displaying the same type of behavior as the general college population (going out, drinking, etc.) However, for athletes, they represent a university, and later possibly a professional organization) and have to keep a higher standard (or keep it way on the DL).

While celebs don't represent anyone in particular, they are going to be viewed as role models, good or bad. When you step into the limelight as an advocate because of your fame or status, then you do bear the responsibility to be a role model, wanted or not. Chaz and many others, such as Ellen, have already accepted that fact. Chaz has long been an advocate for the queer community. Right or wrong, like it or not, for now ... the transgender community is going to be judged by how Chaz presents himself, and I think he's fully aware of this.

Celebs and athletes and other famous figures are just humans. They shouldn't be elevated and put on pedestals for their talents, but sadly they are. While I think many are to be admired, they're not the people I consider role models, but that's not how everyone works.

Not how I work either, I know Chaz is doing a wonderful thing, but that's a hella lot of pressure on anyone. Advocacy is great, applaud it 100%, I just have to wonder about the backlash. He's had quite a privileged life for the most part and yep he's made his fair share of mistakes. Not all our youth are going to have the wherewith all to even get SRS surgery. Something is just not sitting right with me and it may just be the way society at large is being such a@@'s about him dancing on a friggen show. It really isn't reality and it sure isn't something most people will ever do in their lives. Hollywood is full of fake people, fake lives, fake expectations. I just hope this isn't one of them. Not that Chaz is fake, not saying that at all.

[The_Lady_Snow]

Talking to My 10-Year-Old About Chaz Bono

For this Encino mom, discussing Dancing With the Stars' controversial transgender contestant was far easier than other issues provoked by media.


My 10-year-old daughter, Lily, is a big fan of Dancing With the Stars. She discovered the show last year while channel surfing, which I was thrilled about, simply because it wasn’t another snarky tween sitcom.
Of the 12 stars competing last season, she initially had heard only of Chelsea Kane from the Disney Channel’s Jonas L.A., and Kirsty Alley from the Jenny Craig commercials. By the show’s mid-point, however, Lily had strong opinions about everybody. She said Alley, who wound up in second place, was the most fun. She also liked Pittsburg Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward and agreed he deserved to win.



Kendra Wilkinson, eliminated in week seven, bugged her because she was always flaunting her voluptuous body. But then again, 10-year-old girls weren’t what the audience producers were after in casting Hugh Hefner’s former girlfriend and mansion mate.



The only person Lily truly disliked though was judge Bruno Tonioli. She actually does a pretty good impression of the Italian choreographer flailing his arms and salivating, “that was so SEXY!” Fortunately, neither of us caught the episode where ABC censors bleeped him for the way he described Ralph Macchio’s handling of partner Karina Smirnoff in her cheetah inspired-costume.



“You were too rough with your p---y,” I later heard he’d said, leaving the audience visibly aghast. I was glad to have escaped being forced to explain that one.


When the cast of Season 13, which kicks off Monday, Sept. 19, was announced last week, the only name my daughter recognized this time was soccer sensation Hope Solo. But when controversy erupted over Chaz Bono, the show’s first transgender contestant, Lily began to ask questions.


A conservative group called onemillionmoms.com is urging a boycott of the show, calling Bono’s casting “completely unacceptable.” Some critics even claim that watching him on the dance floor would be harmful for children.


One psychiatrist, Dr. Keith Ablow, an analyst for Fox News, went so far as to assert that celebrating Bono on DWTS "is the last thing vulnerable children and adolescents need as they wrestle with the normal process of establishing their identities...”


Others say Bono looks like a man, so there’s no reason to tell children anything.
Ironically, my daughter already knows that Bono is transgender because she caught some of the protest story on Access Hollywood. I could have avoided the subject and simply said I didn’t know when she asked me to explain what the fracas was about. That’s how I responded last summer whenever we passed billboards for the movie Friends With Benefits. Several times Lily asked what that title meant, but I just didn’t see any age appropriate way to discuss casual sex with a 10-year-old. The same goes for the “Fully Exposed” slogan on the billboard for a strip club in Canoga Park that we past last week on the way to soccer practice at the Van Nuys-Sherman Oaks Park.


Explaining that Bono was born female but changed her appearance to become a man, however, was pretty straightforward. She did have a few follow-up questions about how the transformation was accomplished. Through plastic surgery and hormone injections, I told her. We live in Encino, it’s not like she hasn’t seen people who’ve gone under the knife or used injectables to alter the way they look.


When her questions were answered, she said, “You know what the really weird part is?”
“What?” I asked.
“That someone would rather be a boy.”

[Rockinonahigh]

Ive been reading the pros an cons about Chaz danceing on the show,I think the general uninformed public is really out of controle in belaevaing a lot of things that have been said about Chaz.I dont care if they understandabout why or how he became a man,what really irks me is the double standard that I see in the people who are throwing such a fit..I mean I know lot of then have diffrent surgerys to change there bodies to look better so they can be more pleased in how they look or use botox injections,wear makeup to the 9's.I realise its not full on srs but they are doing the same thing only in smaller ways,why? Well for the same reason Chaz has done, to be the people they want to be...only they dont see it that way..but it is.Then there is the right wing nut cases who are shouting from every soap box they can get on...ok folks when you can really say thet you actualy DO live your life in the exact way that you say you do then explane to me how in the world cau you have a soap box to shout from if I know you are going to bars,casinos,car races,gettin drunker than tooter brown,people going after each outher for all they can get weather its sex or money or just cause they can or abuseing others cause they are only vaguely covering up the meanness with being anywhere near human.....I could go on and on but wont.If they can really 100% say they are as liveing life the way they expect someone else to only then they wouldnt have anything to say cause they would be the kind of folks that would mind there own buisness unless it directly involves them to give any opinion on how another person wishes to live there life.Takeing a deep breath and geting off my own soap box.If I offended anyone hear I will appoligize now it wasnt my intention...just needed to blow some steam off about the general public who judges far to much.

[Just_G]

Originally Posted by Corkey

Something is just not sitting right with me and it may just be the way society at large is being such a@@'s about him dancing on a friggen show.

People made a HUGE stink about Bristol being on the show, since she is technically not a celebrity...she is the daughter of the VP nominee that got pregnant as a teenager and now promotes abstinance...people griped about her all season and threatened to boycott the show if she won. Why do you think the tea baggers kept voting for her in droves? There is always that ONE person on the show that people say they will boycott the show for...this time it happens to be someone that is transgender. *GASP* I would bet money that most people in this country do not even know what that word means, let alone accept someone that IS transgender. People are going to judge Chaz, and believe me, he knows exactly what he is getting in to and I applaud him for taking on the challenge.

It really isn't reality and it sure isn't something most people will ever do in their lives. Hollywood is full of fake people, fake lives, fake expectations. I just hope this isn't one of them. Not that Chaz is fake, not saying that at all.

I am not sure what you mean about it isn't reality, would you mind expanding on that please? I also don't know what it is that you are saying is fake. (Thanks!)