Actually, this truly terrible Ad is still on youtube, but not posted by the company that created it.
Its creators obviously just don't understand, let alone internalize, how many negative stereotypes this Ad perpetuates, how much ignorance it perpetuates, or how damaging it is to maintain ts-women as the current easy joke and object of mockery in present day culture, seemingly throughout the world. Instead of showing a presumed "drag queen" appearing woman wearing too much makeup, or even if they did, the difference between that Ad and reality is that a post vaginoplasty female could have pulled her dilator out of her purse, parted her legs and smirked right back at the other woman. But the creators of this Ad surely wouldn't even know what a dilator is, or why it would be a great one-ups-girl-joke on the woman with the tampon. They and their advertising firm obviously didn't care, but instead thought that they could just mock and demean ts-women with impunity. At least the company that created the Ad has now taken it down and agreed not to run it.
Based on everything I've observed over the years, I don't have the impression that much is getting better for ts-woman socially, or even that media exposure has actually made a positive difference for ts-women, since most of it is laced with negative information and portrayals, including depictions of fictional ts-women as villains and/or sad loser creatures. It isn't even possible to watch one of Chuck Lorre's Big Bang Theory comedy episodes without being slammed with a regular dose of his "pre-op transsexual" as the worst date one of the nerds ever had "jokes". Surely, in this context, every ts-women can empathize with how African-Americans have felt throughout much of American history, especially before WWII when African Americans were portrayed as "darkies" and "step and fetch it 'negros'" by movie makers, on the rare occasion they were even given a moment's appearance in media; knowing first hand what real discrimination is about, and the tangible and actual potential threat to life and limb that goes with it.
As much as one might try to lead a normal life, to develop some sense of distance from this sort of prejudice and disdain, it seems important to realize that it is actually ever present in the atmosphere, even if we have the luxury of being able to observe it at "arm's length" so to speak, and cringe in private about its implications. I suppose one reason I rarely post these days, is because it doesn't even feel cathartic to write a post like this, and as a long term post-vaginoplasty female from an early age, the issues it raise aren't a part of my personal daily life, thank goodness.
(the Ad is still out there ...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmKTnKFzKlU
Previous Topic
Index
