Media watchdog the Gay & Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is calling on members to protest
NBC skit comedy show Saturday Night Live for airing a
“dangerous and blatantly anti-transgender segment.”
In the skit, men dressed as women hail
advanced estrogen replacement therapy Estro-Maxx for making their
modern lives easier.
“Let's face it, life is pretty busy,”
says a man as he arrives home from work. “So if you're like me, a
busy guy and a pre-opt transsexual in his third month of hormone
treatment, you need an estrogen supplement that works for your
schedule.”
“You deserve to be in the body you
want,” he adds. “But most hormone replacement therapies require
you to take five estrogen supplements a day. … Who has time for
that?” (The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.)
In a posting at the group's website,
GLAAD slammed the skit as transphobic and urged members to sign a
petition urging the network to apologize. More than 2,000 people had
joined the protest as of Tuesday afternoon.
“The piece was a mock commercial for
estrogen replacement therapy and featured men with facial hair
wearing dresses, meant to represent transgender women,” GLADD
wrote. “This segment cannot be defended as 'just a joke' because
there was no 'joke' to speak of. The attempted comedy of the skit
hinges solely on degrading the lives and experiences of transgender
women.”
GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios added:
“The violence, discrimination and harassment that transgender
Americans experience each and every day is no laughing matter.”
Michael Silverman, executive director
of transgender rights group Transgender Legal Defense & Education
Fund (TLDEF), agreed.
“Degrading, dehumanizing and
ridiculing transgender people isn't comedy,” he said in a
statement.
Saturday Night Live has refused
to comment on the controversy.