Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Posted by
Godo Bolet
at
5:38 AM0
comments
Chaz Bono on "Dancing with the Stars"
Well, we all knew it was going to happen. It was just a matter of time…
Transgendered Chaz Bono was voted off “Dancing with the Stars” last night.
Her DWTS supporters are proud of his/her efforts as Bono has helped break down social inequalities in this country, but critics are glad to see her go.
Chaz came under criticism after being named to this season’s team of dancers with many saying she would “Pollute the minds of our American youth.”
No matter where you stand, Chaz summed it up best saying,
"I wanted to show America a different kind of man. If there was somebody like me on TV when I was growing up my whole life would have been different. I dedicate everything I did to all the people out there like me -- and especially to kids and teens who are struggling."
Way to go Chaz.
We applaud you for your courage and for sharing your journey with us.
It seems that 2011 is the year for reality shows to welcome female to male transgendered contestants.
Last week it was announced that sex reassigned Chaz Bono would be competing on Dancing with the Stars, and now Australia is following suit.
Meet Paige Elliot Phoenix.
Paige is a 35-year-old female to male transgendered human that auditioned for the Australian version of the “X Factor”.
The video kind of blew us away because we didn’t even see it coming until he told the judges about his “situation”.
Paige says,
“My decision to live as a man has been the best decision ever for me. Living as a female was really hard and painful. The transition I have been through has completely enabled me to become the person I am today. I had a voice before but I never felt fully authentic - it wasn’t me. I never could have auditioned for X Factor as a woman.”
The setup includes him having a video chat with his girlfriend, and the voice, muscles, looks and tattoos made us think he was a man from the beginning of the piece.
Watch Paige Elliot Phoenix on Australia X Factor
The judges seemed fine with his voice, tone, looks, and professionalism and voted him through to the next round.
Australia in general seems to be taking the entire thing in stride and seems to think it’s no big deal.
So what’s the problem with the United States?
Chaz Bono
When Chaz Bono announced last week she was participating in DWTS the haters came out of the woodwork saying that families would be harmed, advertisers should be boycotted, and all life as we know it would probably end if Chaz was allowed to compete as a man.
She ultimately had to go on national TV to defend herself to the world.
Transgendered dancer Chaz Bono finally sounded off this morning in her his first public appearance since it was announced he would appear on “Dancing With The Stars this season”.
Since the announcement, several organizations have come forward denouncing the move saying it will confuse our children and harm our social moral fabric.
While others have even gone as far as to organize online petitions in an attempt to have would be viewers boycott the show. Some are targeting the advertisers in an attempt to hit the network where it hurts the most – in the wallet.
And to make matters worse, infamous ding-bat lawyer Gloria Allred held a press conference this morning saying she was going to fight for each and every transgendered person who has ever felt discriminated against.
Oh brother…
Well, this morning on ABC’s Good Morning America Chaz finally spoke out about the matter.
Cher – Chaz’s biological mother took to twitter last week in support of her son/daughter saying,
“I support him no matter what he wants to do. The vast majority of viewers will be happy to see Chaz on DWTS”
Since his transition, Chaz has written a book and announced he is engaged to be married to a woman he has been with for almost two years.
For his part, Chaz thinks that this DWTS issue is a much bigger deal to everybody else than it is to him saying he is glad he accepted the job at “Dancing With The Stars” and America needs this kind of wake up call.
Maybe.
It took too long for our country to finally accept gays and even today there is not total acceptance – most bullying is done under a shroud of somebody being gay – or somebody THINKING someone is gay.
The decision by Chaz to appear on television as a man just might be what we need to show first-hand that people are people, have real lives and emotions, and real problems and afflictions – even if we don’t know them personally.
It kind of reeks of bias and sensationalism that people would make such a big deal out of this.
Riddle me this:
If nobody in the world knew who Chaz Bono was, and had never met him, seen him, or ever heard of him and he appeared on the show – nobody would care.
The only reason people care is because they know he is different now.
And it’s that being different that will get you every time.
Just ask anybody who has ever been bullied.
Our Advice:
If you think this is bad for the country and going to harm your children and cause you emotional distress, then don’t watch the show and move on – but don’t drag the rest of us into your personal insecurities.
Go get ‘em Chaz, we wish you the best of luck on the show and a great life as your new self.
Not all syndicated reality shows translate across language and continents.
Thailand’s Got Talent, a knock-off of the U.S. version of America’s Got Talent, had a contestant on last night that left the judges wondering if it was a girl or a boy singing.
Bell Nuntita, a transgendered gay male who dresses like a woman, started his song with the voice of a woman but midway through changed over to his male voice.
The judges appeared shocked and surprised, but the audience erupted with cheers and applause.
Nuntita’s voice was excellent as both genders, and all three judges gave him/her a thumbs up.
Bell’s appearance is not that unusual in Thailand. Thousands of young men take female hormones and dress as females in a culture called Katoey, or Ladyboy.
The video of Bell’s performance went viral on Tuesday.
Watch Ladyboy Bell Nuntita on Thailand’s Got Talent
