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.