Control Freak

I decided recently that Law & Order is satisfying in some deep, weird way: like it’s evidence that there’s order in the world even when you don’t have any sense of it in your own.

I was never ever interested in these shows until after I developed PTSD, which is why my conclusion. Some nights I can’t take watching, but I watch anyway; it feels nearly compulsive, good & bad for me at the same time. Good because there is always something satisfying about plot-driven procedurals and bad because it’s a reminder of all the ways you can die.

Stardust Star Power

The previews for the movie version of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust are showing up on TV now, and I’m nervous & excited about seeing the movie. I love the book – it’s the perfect kind of fractured fairy tale, with a star falling out of the sky only to say “Oh shit,” when she hits the ground. But I’m not really thrilled with all the Big Names appearing in it, but – apparently that sort of thing is what helps a film like this get made at all.

Fingers crossed.

July: Us on In the Life

For the month of July, the LGBT magazine show In the Life will be showing an episode called “Gender Revolution” and our bit on “Heterosexual Privilege” (originally broadcast September 2004) will be shown with an update to our story. You can also order copies of the show now, & they’ve provided a guide explaining how to request that your local PBS station broadcast the show it if they don’t.

The really cool part is that Charles Busch is the host of this episode, who is a friend of a friend & a very, very talented artist whom we both admire.

About 20/20

So I’m still thinking about the 20/20 show that was on a few weeks ago about young kids coming out as trans.

& The thing I can’t quite get past is how many people who are gender variant grow up to be gender variant but okay with the sex they were born. A gay friend of mine called after the show was over & asked, “So what’s the difference between them & me?” because he went through most, if not all, of what one of the young MTF expressed. He did drag for most of his childhood, expressed the desire to be a girl as a child, and had a hard time dating guys who didn’t want to date a queen. I didn’t have an answer for him. I don’t know what makes some of us gender variant & some of us trans. Continue reading “About 20/20”