Sociology
June 10, 2014 David Underwood
Transsexuals
When asked about transsexuals, Mildred Brown, author of True Selves quoted that is a dilemma of feeling trapped in the wrong physical gender. Transsexuality is a phenomenon, which really has not been scientifically examined. Through talk shows such as Jerry Springer, the Maury show, society tends to see a one-sided view on this matter. While watching the Maury show “man or woman”. The audience’s reaction to the transsexuals on stage was not of disgust but more of awe. They were in awe that a man could look so much like a woman and how some women can show very masculine features. The guests on this show were inevitably labeled as “freaks” regardless of whether it was verbally spoken or not. The talk show was a brief one. The host introduced 12 beautiful women on the stage. There were two black women, five Hispanic and five white women on stage. They all flaunted their beautiful bodies. Some were voluptuous, others were more on the thinner side, yet none of them seemed to be any different than any other model. All the guest on the show were in their mid-Twenty’s to their mid- Thirty’s. The theme of the show was for the audience to see if they could tell the difference between a man and a woman. Watching the faces in the audience. I noted that each and every one of them was judging all the guests. Some were 100% men, some were 100% women. They all stood in a line and for each one, the cross dressing guests would either prove the audience wrong or right in their judgments. On more than half of the guests, the audience was proven wrong. It was incredible to see some of these guests strut their body’s as the opposite gender. Some of the men looked so much like women that the audience was in complete shock when they revealed their true gender. Now came the interrogation. I call this the interrogation because all these guests are individually put on under the spot lights. Maury Povich digs under the skin to try to expose how freakish they really are. The audience is silent and their faces are wrinkled in confusion to try to understand why the guests are the way they and who or what made them become like this. The guests sit on their chairs with their heads held up high, legs crossed, gloating under all the attention they are receiving. It didn’t matter whether the attention was negative or positive. Maury Povich, smile planted on his face and a probing voice, begins his interrogation. Sara, a twenty four year old stripper was one guest on the show. He had a frail body and a pretty face and in no way did he show any masculinity in the way he talked. His body language was very feminine as well and when asked why he crossed dressed, he replied, I feel more beautiful as a woman than as a man. Sara also noted that he was not a homosexual. What did this make him? A straight man that crossed dressed. Alicia, another guest on the show was a transsexual. She had gone under surgery two years before the show was taped and when asked what made her want a sex change, she talked about her life story as a child and of an adolescent when other children taunt him because he played with dolls instead of roughing it up out on the playground like other boys. Alicia’s situation was more emotional. Whether he was born with more estrogen in his system or not was a question, and as far as Alicia could remember, she had always liked to be feminine. Joshua Gamson states that many of the transsexuals featured on these talk shows are conned into expressing themselves, whereas in reality, they were put on the show to be ridiculed by the audience so ratings would go up. He points out that they want to be misunderstood for the attention. They like the feeling of being unique and not conforming to society’s standards or follow their values. It is what they want to do to feel alive. Gamson also points out that some transgender want to go all the way and become the opposite gender rather than living under the pressure of being a homosexual. In sounds of silence, by Edward and Mildred Hall. The intimate look at body language also comes into view. All of the guests on the show seem to hold a certain confidence in themselves. The way they arched their backs and their graceful hand movements, showed that they were not afraid of judgment. They all wanted to be on the show to be understood or misunderstood. I also observed how Maury was conversing with them. If you observe a person conversing, you’ll notice that he indicates they are listening by nodding his head. He also makes the hmmm noises. If he agrees with what is being said, he may give a vigorous nod to show pleasure or affirmation. If a participant wants to terminate the conversation, he may start shifting his body position, stretching his legs, crossing or uncrossing them the more the speaker becomes aware that he has lost his audience.