The Christian Civic League of Maine's Mike Hein calls Pam's House Blend: "a leading source of radical homosexual propaganda, anti-Christian bigotry, and radical transgender advocacy."
He is "praying that Pam Spaulding will "turn away from her wicked and sinful promotion of homosexual behavior."
(CCLM's web site, 10/15/07)
Ex-gay "Christian" activist James Hartline on Pam:
"I have been mocked over and over again by ungodly and unprincipled anti-christian lesbians."
(from "Six Years In Sodom: From The Journal Of James Hartline," 9/4/2006, written from the "homosexual stronghold" of Hillcrest in San Diego).
"Pam is a 'twisted lesbian sister' and an 'embittered lesbian' of the 'self-imposed gutteral experiences of the gay ghetto.'" -- 9/5/2008
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth Against Homosexuality heartily endorses the Blend, calling Pam:
A "vicious anti-Christian lesbian activist." (Concerned Women for America's radio show [9:15], 1/25/07)
"A nutty lesbian blogger." (MassResistance radio show [16:25], 2/3/07)
Pam's House Blend always seems to find these sick f*cks. The area of the country she is in? The home state of her wife? I know, they are everywhere. Pam just does such a great job of bringing them out into the light.
--Impeach Bush
who monitors yours Bevis ?? Just thought I would drop you a line,so the rest of your life is not wasted.
This diary is second media commentary regarding how trans people are talked about on television in two days, but in this commentary I'm going to take a more educational tone than I did in my last piece.
For those of you who don't follow MTV's America's Best Dance Crew, you should probably should be aware at the start of this piece there is an extremely talented dance crew on the show of four African-American gay men and one self-identified transgender woman. The name of this incredible dance crew is Vogue Evolution. The female dancer in this crew -- Leiomy -- gave a particularly fantastic, jaw-dropping performance in week two's Beyonce Challenge.
Basically, in attempting to exhort Leiomy about behaving like a first class performer, Lil Mama used some less than sensitive language to make the point.
Lil Mama: "Leiomy, your behavior. Come on. It's unacceptable. I just feel that you always have to remember your truth. You were born a man, and you are becoming a woman. If you're going to become a woman, act like a lady. Don't be a bird, like "oh my god, I'm not doing this." You know what I'm saying, it gets too crazy, and it gets confusing. You're doing this for America. Even though you're the face for transgenders, you're the face for America right now with this group, and it's not about anybody else, it's about y'all. So do it for the team."
There are a number of problems with Lil Mama's comments. When I've seen this discussed among gays and lesbians, they don't seem to get what the problems are with the comment. So, I believe I need to explain why this comment by Lil Mama has angered and frustrated a lot of trans folk I know.
For those of you here at Pam's House Blend who aren't transgender and/or transsexual, try to imagine Lil Mama's criticism framed in terms of your sexual orientation.
"Bob, your behavior. Come on. It's unacceptable. I just feel that you always have to remember your truth. You were a heterosexual man, and you are becoming a gay icon. If you're going to become a gay, act like a gay man. Don't be a queen, like "oh my god, I'm not doing this." You know what I'm saying, it gets too crazy, and it gets confusing. You're doing this for America. Even though you're the face for homosexuals, you're the face for America right now with this group, and it's not about anybody else, it's about y'all. So do it for the team."
Watch the video that surrounds the comment on Leiomy's behavior: Lil Mama wasn't really commenting on Leiomy's gender identity, but on her behavior as a performer. Lil Mama didn't need to frame her comment in terms of gender identity. If Lil Mama believed Leiomy's behavior was unsatisfactory, then she should have framed it in those terms, and not in terms of this dancer's gender identity. How she framed her comments in terms of gender identity was just as offensive as if she'd had framed similar comments regarding performance in terms of sexual orientation.
Secondly, as the front page trans woman contributor here at The Blend, let me clearly state that Leiomy and I are both women. Trans women are a kind of women, much as African-American women, lesbian women, disabled women, and women veterans are kinds of women. The dancer isn't "becoming a woman"; the dancer is a woman.
A transition involves the physical and social process to live one's truth about one's gender identity, but it isn't about the truth of the gender identity itself. Again, putting this in terms of sexual orientation...
Again, putting this in terms of sexual orientation, it would be the same as saying someone in their first years coming out as LGB was "becoming gay," "becoming lesbian," or "becoming bisexual." If you're gay, lesbian, or bisexual, would you have been offended in your first couple of years of being out as LGB if someone told you that you were "becoming ___"?
Thirdly, why is a trans woman being told by a straight woman how the right way to be a trans woman is to be a lady? Again, putting this in terms of sexual orientation, it would be like a straight man telling a gay man the right way to be a gay man. Or in Lil Mama's case, having a caucasian woman telling her the right way to be an African-American woman. Telling someone how to be a better person is gender identity, sexual orientation, and ethnicity neutral, and in my opinion it would have been a much more identity sensitive, more appropriate, and more effective way to mentor Leiomy if it had been done in an identity neutral way.
And lastly --and on a little more technical note -- the term transgender is an adjective; it's a descriptor. For example, one isn't a transgender, one would be a transgender man, a transgender woman, or a a transgender person. That seems like a small thing, I know, but wouldn't you think that MTV and the producers for the show would have given the judges some basic training on transgender terminology? If a judge on the show doesn't understand how the term transgender is an adjective and not a noun, how much homework do you think MTV and the producers did on trans people and terminology, and in turn how much trans cultural sensitivity training would you believe that the network and the producers made sure occured for the judges of a trans contestant on trans terminology?
I don't believe Lil Mama was intentionally transphobic in the slightest, but I do believe she was very culturally insensitive; I believe it was completely wrongheaded to frame her comment on being a performer in terms of a trans woman's gender identity. Lil Mama's mentoring came off to me as offensive in large part because it seemed so condescending to a trans contestant in particular, and trans people in general.
I certainly believe this was a show failure based on an inadequate plan by MTV and the show's producers to educate themselves and the judges on trans people and issues. America's Best Dance Crew just could have done better with a little more effort. My hope is that they all work together to fix the issues related to the show's handling of a trans contestant in particular, and trans people in general.
Frankly, the showcasing of a dance crew that highlights four gay and one trans African-American dancers does so much to highlight the diversity of the LGBT community in such a positive way. I hope this one disquieting moment becomes a teaching moment for MTV, the America's Best Dance Crew's producers, and all of the judges on the show -- instead of a moment where trans or LGBT community members just viciously rip on the show for one moment of cultural insensitivity.
In my mind, it's a good thing when we all aim to be a little more educated on cultural issues; to do better at being culturally sensitive.
