Good Afternooon Everyone!
My article “Chaz Bono Joins Dancing With the Stars: Will This Impact the Public’s Perception of the Transgender Community?” is now on The Huffington Post. If you haven’t yet read it please check it out.
In the past year, Chaz Bono has become the unofficial spokesperson for the transgender community. Right now, gay marriage in the US is an issue that most people are familiar with to some extent, while transgender individuals still puzzle and scare some people. With the opposition that gay Americans have received for demanding the same rights attained by their heterosexual neighbors, you can only imagine how a transgender individual would be received. The subject itself is still very taboo and saved for satirical movies like The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Often, transgender and transsexual individuals are considered more of a freak or joke than individuals with thoughts and feelings.
When I heard that Chastity Bono was going through a sex change, I was as surprised as much as anyone else. I’ve known several transgender people, none of whom have made the transition. It is understandable why there are not more people in the world like Chaz Bono. Most people would got be open and comfortable being their true selves when it so brazenly goes against the grain of what public opinion currently deems acceptable. But imagine what it would feel like to be born in the wrong body. That is often how a transgender person describes the way they feel about themselves.