The Media vs. The Trans Community.

I have done a number of interviews including being on the Sunday morning talk shows and I found out a few things about being interviewed.

Transgender representation in media must change
The Clarion Online
By Kaleia Lawrence, Editor in Chief
February 1, 2022

Understanding transgender stories and how the media presents them needs to change drastically.

I recently was able to see a portion of ALOK’s [Alok Vaid-Menon is a non-binary writer, performance artist, and media personality] performance. ALOK is an internationally acclaimed gender non-conforming writer, performer, and public speaker. They have published three books, “Femme in Public”, “Beyond the Gender Binary” and “Your Wound/My Garden”. 

They also recently headlined the 2021 New York Comedy Festival. Much of their work revolves around trauma and belonging.

[…]

There are many different starting points for anti-transgender sentiments, many of which are intertwined with racism and sexism. 

Harmful ways of thinking can come from family members, peers, politicians or the media. Fear and misunderstanding can bring hatred to what some people don’t understand.

The first thing that I learned, unless the reporter is trans they know nothing about trans people and the community.

While respectful and appropriate representations of transgender characters is helpful, it is not enough. In the past year, LGBTQ+ representation in the media went down from 10.2% to 9.1%, according to GLAAD. 

Data on the LGBTQ+ community is already limited, even more so when it comes to transgender people; however, GLAAD found that in 2020, there were no transgender or non-binary characters in major releases. 

We were trying to pass the non-discrimination law for us and a local TV reporter as to interview us and I got nominated to do the interview… the first thing that the reporter said was, “Thank you sir for doing the interview.”

I said “Stop right there! Before we go any further!” and we tried to tell him to check the GLAAD Media Reference Guide and the AP Stylebook but he would have none of us telling him what to ask, he got very defensive. Finally it got through his thick skull that we were not trying to tell him what questions to ask but how to properly address a trans person. That evening on the local new program when he gave his report, we saw that he did open the AP Stylebook and the GLAAD guidebook.

Opening your mind and appreciating transgender stories can make a difference. There are so many different options when it comes to consuming stories that represent transgender people, but something that must be done in order to dismantle anti-transgender sentiment and culture is that  everyone must start listening.  

The second thing that I learned was that the media loves conflict, so of the reporters will say very hateful things to get a rise out of you… especially about trans athletes.

I have seen many trans people get into a huff over the reporter’s questions but remember two things. First you might be playing right into the reporters hands when you walk out of the interview… right in to the angry trans person characterization and second that reporter might not know any better, after all you might be the first trans person that they interviewed and the reporter might just had been told by the assignment desk to do the interview and he has zero knowledge on the subject.

Educate and teach, remember those two things for the interview.

The last thing that I learned was there are good reporters and bad reporters, some talk to you before the interview and ask their questions, they then do the interview with the questions that we discussed earlier. The bad reporters like to ambush you with question from the far right to catch you off guard and get you mad.

An addendum, just because the network is anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ doesn’t mean the local affiliate is the same way.

The first interview that I gave was outside of Congressman Larson office in Washington DC when I went to lobby for ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) and a reporter from Florida TV station interviewed me. We talked for what seemed like hours but probably was like 5 minutes and out of that whole interview they used “I don’t think that it will pass this year, I think we are in it for the long haul.” in the news segment he called me a seasoned activist when in reality this was the first time that I ever talked to one of my legislators.

That evening I got an email from a friend who was down in Florida for work. The email said in jest, For crying out loud Diana I can’t get away from you! I turn on the evening news and there you are!

A few years back I wrote, “Tips For Being Interviewed By The Media” the first bullet is “Don’t do it!” and my last two tips are,

And above all, realize that you are going to be stopped on the street and told “I saw you on the news last night!” That happened to me after I gave an interview; the clerk at the deli said that to me.

Also be aware that they may use your photos or video for other stories. They may use a picture of you walking in the background as they are talking about a trans person who committed a crime.