Opinion

Gender bending

A loss of male dignity, one she-male at a time

By Mike Melochick

Posted on April 26, 2004, at 12:00 a.m.

There has always been a distinct line drawn in the sand dividing the two genders. There are countless books based on the differences between men and women. One of the more popular recent books on the subject is John Gray’s “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus,” which outlines the distinctions between “us,” and “them.” What Gray fails to touch upon in his book is the home planet of transsexuals who have been grabbing headlines and making news lately. She-males, he-shes, shims and drag queens have been making their presence felt in recent months.

The most recent news from Tranny-World involves one of my favorite subjects, reality television. Across the pond in England, SKY-TV, a British network, recently aired a new reality dating show, with a twist. “There’s Something About Miriam,” debuted March 1 on the network, and has created a scandal. The show included eight single men vying for the hand of the “lovely” Miriam, a “beautiful” J-Lo-esque model. Before the show, the men were informed there would be some “surprises” involved, which is the equivalent of saying the Red Sox are unlucky.

You see, the “surprise,” was that the object of the men’s affections was actually a pre-operative transsexual. Yes, she was a he, packing heat down below. Naturally, the men involved were shocked and dismayed by this discovery. It was the real-life “Crying Game” on national television. Throughout the show, the men unknowingly wooed Miriam, taking her on dates and courting her accordingly. Some of the men were even somewhat intimate with the faux-female. Kind of makes taking that nasty girl home from the bar the other night look good, eh? Needless to say, when the bomb was dropped, the men sued SKY-TV in a $1 million dollar class-action lawsuit. Each man was awarded $125,00, and preceeded another suit, which was denied, to prevent the show from airing.

If you ask me, which by reading this piece you essentially are, 125 grand could not possibly compensate for the humiliation these men were put through. They were under the pretense that the “gorgeous creature,” as Miriam was described, was a woman, not some odd hybrid of the now defunct couple J-Lo and Ben Affleck. Miriam, in her defense, said she did the show not for shock value, but to “bring the lives of transsexuals into the open” and “to help people understand what people like her are about.” I, for one, am just fine with the closed lives of transgendered individuals, if they are all about ruining the lives of other people and want no part in this disturbing revolution.

On a side note, what is the transsexual obsession with J-Lo? Granted, she is the twice-declared “Sexiest Woman Alive” according to FHM magazine.

Even the Land Down Under is not safe from these wacky gender-benders. One of the finalists on “Australian Idol,” a spin-off of “American Idol” and “British (Pop) Idol,” was a singer named Courtney Act. “Courtney” is an openly gay drag queen who auditioned and made the show. “She” sang her way to the finals and lost but received enough support to gain a record deal. Her first single, “Rub Me Wrong,” has shot up the charts fueled by an “eerily seductive video” and multiple in-store appearances. Put another shrimp on the barbie, and pass the Fosters. It’s getting weird, boys.

I know many of you may be thinking I am a close-minded idiot. You may be right, but the bottom line is this, there are distinct differences defining the two sexes. It has been that way since Adam and Eve, and although metrosexuals may be blurring the line, these transsexuals are stomping on it with size 14 heels.

Mike Melochick is junior journalism major who enjoys football, red meat, fast cars and hot (real) women.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 26th, 2004, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.