Isis is not "America's Next Top Model" this cycle, but I think there is a lot that can be said about her time on the show. The presence of trans women in this competition is groundbreaking and I’m not the kind of person who would say this lightly.  I've never cared about this show before, but I glad that their viewers who are only just becoming introduced to trans women have examples like this to look to.  I live in Ohio and most people at best only know the not so flattering images found in most films or at worst on Jerry Springer.

I wrote in my coming out letter to my friends and family that I wished that there was more positive images of trans people, not so much for my sake because I’ve meet some of these people, but for them so that they would know that trans was a life worth living.  Isis presented an image that was real, and although sometimes awkward, very genuine. I watched each week because I get few chances to see myself in much of anything without digging pretty far to find it.

I think America's Next Top Model gave trans people the opportunity and dignity to be represented well in the show.  Some might look at the questions they asked in the first episode and cringe, but I think it was necessary and looking back I'm actually really glad that they did it.  Did some of the other girls suck in the comments behind the sets? Yes! But the people who ran the show and were the faces for the show never treated her like less of a woman because she was pre-op instead of post. While they criticized some or her work, they never said that she needed to be ashamed of her body.  Instead they said she needed to embrace these differences and be confident in herself.  One might talk about her shoulders or her feet or whatever, some of the other girls did, but Tyra and the other judges instead questioned her stylistic choices and overall presentation. I think ANTM overall did a real service for the trans community, not only for giving a pre-op trans woman a chance, but for finding someone like Isis and not abusing her identity in the way that so many other shows have.

I hope that while I might see myself a little bit in their trans contestant, that other women might look at how other people interacted with Isis, both positively and negatively, and begin to think about how they would act in similar situations.  I think the girls who said nasty or disrespectful comments about her did not come off well in the show.  While I’d rather not have to see any more of this, I think it is important that people realize that it does happen and that its wrong.  While some were models of bad behavior others choose to really embrace Isis and her identity and I’m glad those examples are out there.

In the past couple episodes I felt Isis struggling and the judges felt that too. In short, the judges said that she was too worried about being seen as normal (in particular appearing as a physically normal woman) that she lost some of what made her unique and as well as her ability to focus and bring her talents to the surface.  I don’t feel like these were unfair comments.  I feel that maybe a lot of trans women who transition after their first puberty have problems like these. I don’t really like people knowing that I’m trans because it sometimes puts me in situations where I feel uncomfortable, scared, or both, and so I often try to hide it.   Just being able to not draw the kind of attention you do when your read as trans or the security of knowing that you can use the restroom that you feel comfortable with is often reason enough sometimes.  However, in this case, according to the judges, it worked against her. I think this is also good in some respects.  I don’t think trans people in the fashion world or anywhere else should feel like they have to constantly blend in with other men or women and I definitely agree that something is lost when they do.  I really hope I get a chance to see Isis somewhere again and more than anything else that she keeps trying and that she doesn't disappear because I really don't want her to leave.  

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September 26, 2008 3:19 AM

[0+]  Toni said:

I don't really have anything to add to this but it's such a great post I feel it needs a comment.

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