Tonight Show Makes Tired Transgender Jokes
August 17, 2009 by Jonathan Rosales, GLAAD's Entertainment Media Manager
On last Thursday’s episode of The Tonight Show, host Conan O’Brien repeated his “Conan’s Tabloid Moment” segment and used the skit to make easy and unfunny jokes at the expense of the transgender community.
“Conan’s Tabloid Moment” typically involves O’Brien staging scandalous tabloid photos with the (false) intent of selling them to magazines to make a profit. In Thursdays segment, O’Brien began by posing at a strip club after a few drinks then wondered how to make the situation even more embarrassing for himself. At this point, a neon sign reading “Trannie’s” appears and the female strippers slap on fake mustaches.
Conan O’Brien has shown in the past that he is a comedian capable of making gay-themed jokes without resorting to cheap laughs and offensive slurs. This was most recently on display when he made fun of NBC’s Failing grade in the GLAAD Network Responsibility Index. Unfortunately, sensitivity to transgender issues is an area in which many comics frequently fall short. Not only is the term “tranny” offensive to the transgender community, the representation of transgender women as mustached men in dresses is a harmful misrepresentation.
GLAAD has reached out to NBC and is hoping to have an update to this issue soon.
[...] As we reported yesterday, The Tonight Show also aired a problematic segment last Thursday which made fun of the transgender community. GLAAD has reached out to NBC regarding this incident. We will also be staying abreast of upcoming promotional appearances by the cast of Taking Woodstock. [...]
[...] Semenya’s experience no doubt resonates with many transgendered folks. A trans woman in Pennsylvania has filed a suit against Manpower, because one of the temp agency’s local offices demanded a gender certification from her doctor, including a picture of her genitals. Someone seriously thought this was a reasonable request? WTF!? “Hey, you want a ten dollar an hour job? Show us your junk!” Insensitive, dehumanizing and seriously fucked up. Yet such are the mainstream culture’s views of the trans community, perpetuated by both religious righties promoting “reparative therapy” and high profile comedians going for cheap laughs. [...]