David Letterman's transgender joke ruffles feathers
- January 7, 2010 2:36 PM |
- By Arts Online
On Tuesday night's episode of his Late Show, David Letterman included a joke about Amanda Simpson, President Obama's new addition to the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security. Simpson is reportedly the first openly transgender presidential appointee; as such, she has found herself in the position of serving as a trailblazing role model for others in the transgender community.
For Letterman, however, Simpson's gender identity provided fodder for a characteristically crass gag. As the deadpan host began to discuss Simpson's appointment as Senior Technical Advisor, he was interrupted by announcer Alan Kalter, who howled, "What? Amanda? Amanda used to be a dude?" Kalter then ran offstage in disgust. The implication: in the context of the joke, Kalter presumably had engaged in some romantic interactions with an individual without any knowledge that she was in fact a transgender woman.
Now groups like GLAAD and the U.S. Human Rights Campaign are demanding that Letterman apologize for what they consider a hateful, stereotype-affirming gag. In a letter sent to CBS yesterday, the HRC's Associate Director of Diversity for Transgender Issues claims that "the decision to ignore the fact that Ms. Simpson is incredibly well-qualified for this vital national security position and focus instead on her gender identity reflects transphobia."
The letter continues as follows:
You may not be aware that the punch line in your skit has been used as a defense in nearly every hate crime perpetrated against transgender people that has come to trial. ... Your skit affirmed and encouraged a prejudice against transgender Americans that keeps many from finding jobs, housing, and enjoying freedoms you and your writers take for granted every day. We ask that you apologize publicly to Ms. Simpson and the transgender community for this unfortunate episode.
In a blog post on the subject, lawyer Emma Ruby-Sachs makes the point that the average Late Show viewer has very little awareness of trans issues. Simpson's new position as a respected authority in the U.S. government, she explains, "may be the first time any of these viewers have seen a trans person as anything other than the butt of a joke or a victim of violence in the newspaper." And by allowing her gender to overshadow her qualifications, Letterman undermines that positive message.
Letterman's known for his tasteless humour (see also: his war of words with Sarah Palin), so his off-colour comments about Simpson don't come as much of a surprise. But what do you think, readers? Did he go too far with this joke?
--Sarah Liss
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Comments (13)
While I am a fan of David Letterman and he can at times be hilarious I am not a fan of this kind of humour...nor these little skits he often does with Kalter...who is just plain annoying.
I also think Emma-Ruby Sachs is correct when she says that most Letterman audience members are generally unaware of such issues as trans-gender and most other topical issues for that matter.
So, yes this was in poor taste...however putting itinto perspective Leno, O'Brien, Ferguson and Fallon are far more tasteless at times. Ferguson can't make a comment without it having some kind of sexual innuendo...
As Alan King once said, "It's all timing; the words mean nothing." It's just comedy, folks.
Jokes should not require an apology. They need not be politically correct or sensitive or any group. If that is the case then the only subject matter that will not be offensive to everyone will be jokes about middle aged white males. If you do not find a show, person, movies, comedian/ne to be funny then change the channel, turn off your radios/TVs or leave the venue - thats your right as the audience. We all need to develop thicker skin and stop being such whiny, sensitive children.
I hope he doesn't apologies AND makes another joke out of it cause this is just stupid.
To suggest that David Letterman encourages prejudices through his jokes is making a mountain out of a mole hill. It's a freakin' joke! This woman, who is now in the public eye, will have to endure much worst than what David Letterman can throw at her. He is the LEAST of her problems.
This is his job folks, to take today's hot topics and poke fun at them.
If they didn't expect it, they're kidding themselves. If they don't like it, grow a sense of humour about yourself and get off your soap box!
C'mon, where they up in arms when Jim Carrey (as Ace Ventura) used a plunger on his face after he learned that the character played by Sean Young was once a guy?(see the Crying Game reference)
Did they egg Aerosmith's tour bus when they sang dude looks like a lady? or the song L.O.L.A for that matter?
C'mon people, it's a joke (in bad taste perhaps but still...)
You can't say anything without someone taking offense.
The joke wasn't that there was something inherently negative to being transgendered, but rather that Alan unknowing slept with what used to be a man.
Just like you'd want to know if a partner might have an STD before intercourse, you'd also be fair in asking (good luck finding a good way to approach this, though) if a partner was transgendered. There's nothing wrong with making educated, informed decisions.
Ok, sure it might have been a crude joke but, regardless of whether it's right or wrong, it's close to how people really think and feel. I'm all for trans-gender rights and equality but I'd still be a little grossed out if I found out someone that I had been "intimate" with had undergone a sex-change operation and not told me about it. Continuing with this hypothetical, I probably wouldn't begin a relationship with a trangender woman if they told me in advance. I'm sure this is true for the great majority of people, too. So as for stereotypes, it's more or less stereotyping the average male who had found out that they were in a relationship with a transgender women.
Anyways, that's what the joke was really about, not her skills or the worthiness or reason for her appointment. He barely even mentioned them. Low-brow humour, yes. Funny, not particularly. Stereotypical? Depends on your point of view. Insulting to her due to remarks about the reason behind her appointment, though? No, it didn't even come up.
I'm tired of everyone complaining about light comedy such as this. She/he/it is also a public figure therefore she's fodder for any comedian. The Christian far right would probably have harsher words than a simple joke.
Humour takes no prisoners. It's a joke people, chill.
He gracefully declined the more obvious joke:
"A man? Duh!"
IT WAS A JOKE...BAD TASTE...BUT A JOKE NON THE LESS. I THINK THERE ARE OTHER THINGS IN THIS WORLD TO WORRY ABOUT...DON'T YOU?
too many ppl have such thin skin they immediately become outraged from.. comedy? luls. letterman is just plying for ratings as usual and it's working.
Being trans myself, I can certainly identify with Amanda- she's unfortunately in for more of this cold-hearted nonsense as she pursues her career in the public eye. Still, it's one thing to joke about a group of people or a politician's policies, but quite another to poke fun at (or rather, insult) the very essence of someone's existence. It's jokes like these that only further propagate the idea that trans people (specifically, transsexuals) are nothing but "Dudes dressing up as ladies". Perhaps the world has greater issues, but such jokes as these only further instill a mindset where trans people are treated as second-class citizens, the butt ends of jokes.
The medical condition, called Gender Identity Disorder, or transsexualism, is one where you silently suffer, possibly for years as in Amanda's case, in the wrong body. Like if you woke up tomorrow, to find that you've suddenly transformed into the opposite sex, and everyone treats you as such. It's not only socially debilitating (as Letterman aptly pointed out), but you also lose out on many of the things "normal people" take for granted, from childhood ballet lessons to having sleepovers with girlfriends. How sad it is that people should sink so low as to actually publicly ridicule someone who's already endured so much. Shame on you.
I'm trans and I'm proud of it.