Friday, April 30, 2010

Ashley Love's Huffington Post Critique of "Ticked Off" Film



Read MAGNET Organizer's Ashley Love's critique of transphobic film "Ticked Off With Knives" published on The Huffington Post:

Ashley Love
Trans Advocate and writer
Posted: April 23, 2010 03:54 PM
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ashley-love/an-image-id-rather-forget_b_549995.html

An Image I'd Rather Forget: A Critique of Ticked Off Tra**ies With Knives

The film Ticked Off Tra**ies With Knives (TOTWK), spreads fear, misogyny, and hateful ideology. I have seen the film and it's very upsetting that people unfamiliar with transsexual and transgender women will walk away from the film with a stigmatizing perception of trans women. This film is dangerous propaganda, whether intentional or not. TOTWK leaves the viewer with the false impression that transsexual and transgender women are unauthentic in their gender identity and really "gay men in drag." The film portrays all trans women as hyper sexualized, jokes, murderous and/or unstable. This is not only inaccurate; it's offensive and incites further misunderstanding and violence.

A student of oppression in the media, I'm an organizer with a trans anti-defamation group named MAGNET-Media Advocates Giving National Equality to Trans People. MAGNET supports the thousands of people who signed GLAAD's petition urging Tribeca to remove this film or who joined the Boycott TOTWK Group. They're warranted in their protest/boycott of this film whether or not they saw the entire movie. The clips available to the public were reason enough to take action. Here's why:

• Use of the dehumanizing pejorative and anti-trans slur "tra**ie" in the title.• Insensitively mentioning real trans victim's of hate crimes names in the trailer (A reedited trailer removes the victim's names).• Exploiting, devaluing and making light of the crisis of violence against trans women.• Director Israel Luna's misrepresentation that the film's about "transgender women" but often insinuates that the characters are not women - but rather men drag performers, "caricatures" & "impersonators."

While we have great respect and admiration for some of the actors in the film, we have great concerns with the director misappropriating oppressed minorities for entertainment, and with Tribeca's irresponsible decision to showcase this film. GLAAD's analysis of the film maintained the following:

Because of its positioning as a transgender film, viewers unfamiliar with the
lives of transgender women will likely leave this film with the impression that
transgender women are ridiculous caricatures of 'real women.' It demeans actual
transgender women who struggle for acceptance and respect in their day-to-day
lives and to be valued for their contributions to our society.

Many stand with GLAAD's statement. Trans women are just that: women. They're fighting to pass ENDA, gain APA/GID reform and health care rights, and establish acceptance in society. TOTWK threatens that acceptance immensely. The unhealthy stigma that this film encourages generates misunderstanding and resistance against trans Americans in a country that seriously lacks education, rights and acceptance of trans people.

Tribeca would never present a film with a title having the "n" word, an anti-Semitic slur, the misogynistic "c" word, or many other pejoratives. Tribeca considers the content of films they give a platform to. It's disappointing that the humanity and safety of trans women was devalued by Tribeca's programming department. It's a sad sign of the times that our concerns about depiction and well being are not considered on par with other minorities. Trans people need the same anti-defamation protections other oppressed minorities receive from Tribeca. We are exercising our freedom of speech by boycotting this film. "Cries of censorship" are just a diversion to take attention off the true issues, which are responsibility, accountability, humanity and oppression.

I find it biased and unethical that many male journalists/bloggers have failed to address the feminist side of this debate. The violence, objectification and dehumanization of women in this film are also being protested. It's disappointing that this film's controversy has spotlighted the issues of ignorance, transphobia and misogyny internalized within some in the gay men's community who have opposed our protest, as well as society at large.

Characters in the film, performers in a drag queen show, explain: "We have female qualities and characteristics... [and] straight male personalities." This description isn't the definition of a transgender woman, and provokes prejudice. That idea is one of the roots of anti-trans sentiment: the falsehood that trans women's gender identity is "fake". This propaganda is the same that the religious right has been preaching in their campaign to slander trans Americans, denying them equal rights (for instance, their "Do you want men in dresses teaching your children?" campaign), and now this film is doing their job for them! This isn't a "women's clothes fetish movement" for crying out loud! It's about "internal" gender. Luna would have had fewer problems if he would have named his film "Ticked Off Drag Queens With Knives" (yet there would still be issues). Inaccurately, he decided to market the film saying it was about transgender "women," yet portrayed them as over-the-top "impersonators" - actually mocking femininity. It stands to reason that transsexual and transgender feminists feel slighted, their identities misrepresented and attacked.

Merriam Webster defines a drag queen as "a male homosexual who dresses as a woman especially for comic or theatrical effect." On the contrary, a woman of transsexual experience is "a woman in which the sex-related structures of the brain that define gender identity are exactly opposite the physical sex organs of the body. Put even more simply, a transsexual woman has a mind that is literally, physically, trapped in a body of the opposite sex." A person from the "transgender umbrella" is "someone whose personal idea of gender does not correlate with his or her assigned gender role." The sociopolitical identity umbrella term "transgender" is good for gaining legislation to protect the broad community, yet the diversity of sub groups (who are equal, but different) within the broad community cannot be ignored. Certainly diversity is the spice of life!

Much of the dialog in the film is not only offensive, but effectively teaches the viewer an inaccurate perception of transgender individuals. At one point the performers allege that when God created Adam and Eve, he allegedly "created a third creature named Ava." Most trans women I know identify as "Eve's daughter," or with the "woman gender," not a "3rd gender," or as Luna writes, "a 3rd creature." Depicting trans women as "others," "neither, ors," "creatures" and "impersonators" is influential in adding to the segregation and misrepresentation of trans women. While some people identify as "gender queer and 3rd gender," none would wish to be characterized as a non-human creature. The film even introduces a new term - "tran-imal" (trans person = animal = not human) which may be the newest trend slur of the season!

One of the characters expresses that sexual assault "turns her on." This is sickly morbid and disturbingly insensitive, especially given the high rate of sexual attacks and violence against trans women. In another scene a nurse is sexually inappropriate with another character who is recuperating in the hospital after surviving a hate crime attack. In this way Luna's script trivializes the crisis of violence against trans women which is horrifying and disempowering to all women.

Some of the drag queen characters have a "trans face" act that is comparable to "black face" of decades past, when white men painted their faces and depicted black people as minstrels and subhuman. Likewise, "trans face" is just as dehumanizing to actual trans WOMEN. Their "trans face" act is "hyper sexualized, vile talking, flamboyant, gay man with women's clothes on. "By the end of the film, most of the characters are dead or brutalized. The film ends with a "drag diva" asking the others, "Do you know what the difference is between us and them [the dead men on the ground]?" The answer expressed: "I don't know. me either" And the film ends.

So there you have it folks, "transgender women" are no different than "murdered men."

And that last sentence pretty much sums up the message of the film.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Info For Today's Education Rally

PRESS ADVISORY

April 23, 2010CONTACT:Ashley Love, Media Advocates Giving National Equality to Trans People (MAGNET)Email: magnet_right_now@yahoo.com

Advocates hold Education Rally @ Tribeca Film “Ticked Off Tra**ies with Knives” Premiere

WHAT: An education rally to raise awareness about the anti-trans film “Ticked Off Tra**ies With Knives” (TOTWK). LGBT advocates and allies to speak out against the film which is set to appear at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival. A candlelight vigil to honor victims of anti-trans violence will be held after the rally.

WHO: Melissa Sklarz, Director of New York Trans Rights Organization, Ashley Love- Organizer of MAGNET & Trans Advocate, Jay Kallio from Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDF),

WHEN/WHERE: Friday April 23. Location: 181 2nd Ave NYC- Village East Cinemas8pm-10pm- rally, speakers, vigil11-30pm - re-gather and rally12am- Movie premiere starts, but we will be passing out educational flyers

WHY: TOTWK makes light of anti-trans violence and rape, promotes the pejorative, anti-trans slur ‘tra**y’, and misrepresents, stigmatizes & dehumanizes the lives of transsexual and transgender women everywhere. Despite staunch outcry from the trans community, the film is set to appear at this year’s coveted Tribeca Film Festival.Tribeca Film Festival officials have refused to remove TOTWK from its 2010 program. MAGNET is now organizing an education rally, in association with New York Trans Rights Organization and Transcend Boston, that will draw attention to the injustices and oppression trans people face every day.

“The unhealthy stigma and misrepresentation that this film inspires generates misunderstanding and resistance against trans Americans in a country that seriously lacks education, rights and acceptance of trans people”, states Ashley Love, Organizer of MAGNET.
--------------------------------------------

Media Advocates Giving National Equality to Trans People (MAGNET) is an anti-defamation organization dedicated to educating the media about transsexual and transgender issues, as well as pushing for more authentic and positive portrayals of trans people in the media.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

"An Image I'd Rather Forget"- Ashley Love's Critique & Synopsis of TOTWK



Note: If you'd like to read my more detailed/longer synopsis of the film, email me at magnet_right_now@yahoo.com

The film “Ticked Off Tra**ies With Knives” spreads a fear, misogyny and hate stemmed ideology. I have seen the film and it’s very upsetting that people unfamiliar with transsexual and transgender women will walk away from the film with a stigmatizing perception of trans women. This film is dangerous propaganda, whether intentional or not. TOTWK leaves the viewer with the false impression that transsexual and transgender women are unauthentic in their gender identity and really “gay men in drag.” The film portrays all trans women as hypersexualized, jokes, murderous and/or unstable. This is not only inaccurate, it's offensive and incites further misunderstanding and violence.

A student of oppression in the media, I’m an organizer with a trans anti-defamation group named MAGNET-Media Advocates Giving National Equality to Trans People. MAGNET supports the thousands of people who signed GLAAD’s petition urging Tribeca to remove this film or joined the Boycott TOTWK Group. They’re warranted in their protest/boycott of this film whether or not they saw the entire movie. The clips available to the public were reason enough to take action.

  • Use of the dehumanizing pejorative and anti-trans slur “tra**ie” in the title.
  • Insensitively mentioning real trans victim’s of hate crimes names in the trailer (A reedited trailer removes the victim’s names).
  • Exploiting, devaluing and making light of the crisis of violence against trans women.
  • Director Israel Luna’s misrepresentation that the film’s about “transgender women”, but often insinuates that the characters are not women- but rather men drag performers, “caricatures” & “impersonators.”

While we have great respect and admiration for some of the actors in the film, we have great concerns with the director misrepresenting oppressed minorities for entertainment, and with Tribeca’s irresponsible decision to showcase this film. In GLAAD’s analysis of the film, they say, “Because of its positioning as a transgender film, viewers unfamiliar with the lives of transgender women will likely leave this film with the impression that transgender women are ridiculous caricatures of ’real women.’ It demeans actual transgender women who struggle for acceptance and respect in their day-to-day lives and to be valued for their contributions to our society.”

Many stand with GLAAD’s statement. Trans women are just that: women. They’re fighting to pass ENDA, gain APA/GID reform and health care rights, and establish acceptance in society. TOTWK threatens that acceptance immensely. The unhealthy stigma that this film encourages generates misunderstanding and resistance against trans Americans in a country that seriously lacks education, rights and acceptance of trans people.

Tribeca would never present a film with a title having the “N” word, an anti-Semitic slur, the misogynistic “c” word, or many other pejoratives. Tribeca considers the content of films they give a platform to. It’s disappointing that the humanity and safety of trans women was devalued by Tribeca’s programming department. It’s a sad sign of the times that our concerns about depiction and wellbeing are not considered on par with other minorities. Trans people need the same anti-defamation protections other oppressed minorities receive from Tribeca. We are exercising our freedom of speech by boycotting this film. “Cries of censorship” are just a diversion to take attention off the true issues, which are responsibility, accountability, humanity and oppression.

I find it biased and unethical that many male journalists/bloggers have failed to address the feminist side of this debate. The violence, objectification and dehumanization of women in this film are also being protested. It’s disappointing that this film’s controversy has spotlighted the issues of ignorance, transphobia and misogyny internalized within some in the gay men’s community who have opposed our protest, as well as society at large.

Characters in the film, performers in a drag queen show, describe themselves as “We have female qualities and characteristics….straight male personalities.” That description isn’t the definition of a transgender woman, and provokes prejudice. This is one of the roots of anti-trans sentiment: the falsehood that trans women’s gender identity is “fake”. This propaganda is the same that the religious right has been preaching in their campaign to slander trans Americans, denying them equal rights (see their "Do you want men in dresses teaching your children?" campaign), and now this film is doing their job for them! This isn’t a “women’s clothes fetish movement” for crying out loud! It’s about “internal” gender. Luna would have had fewer problems if he would have named his film “Ticked Off “Drag Queens” With Knives” (yet there would still be issues). Inaccurately, he decided to market the film saying it was about transgender “women”, yet portrayed them as over-the-top “impersonators” – actually mocking femininity. It stands to reason that transsexual and transgender feminists feel slighted, their identities misrepresented and attacked.

Merriam Webster defines a drag queen as “a male homosexual who dresses as a woman especially for comic or theatrical effect”. Completely different, a woman of transsexual experience is “a woman in which the sex-related structures of the brain that define gender identity are exactly opposite the physical sex organs of the body. Put even more simply, a transsexual woman has a mind that is literally, physically, trapped in a body of the opposite sex.” A person from the “transgender umbrella” is “someone whose personal idea of gender does not correlate with his or her assigned gender role.” The social political identity umbrella term “transgender” is good for gaining legislation to protect the broad community, yet the diversity of sub groups (who are equal, but different) within the broad community cannot be ignored. Certainly diversity is the spice of life!

Much of the dialog in the film is not only offensive, but effectively teaches the viewer an inaccurate perception of transgender individuals. At one point the performers allege that when God created Adam and Eve, he allegedly “created a third creature named Ava”. Most trans women I know identify as “Eve’s daughter”, or “woman gender”, not a “3rd gender”, or as Luna writes, “a 3rd creature”. Depicting trans women as “others”, “neither, ors” “creatures” and “impersonators” is influential in adding to the segregation and misrepresentation of trans women. While some people identify as “gender queer and 3rd gender,” none would wish to be characterized as a non-human creature. The film even introduces a new term - “tran-imal” (trans person = animal = not human) – which may be the newest trend slur of the season!

One of the characters expresses that sexual assault "turns her on.” This is sickly morbid and disturbingly insensitive, especially given the high rate of sexual attacks and violence against trans women. In another scene a nurse is sexually inappropriate with another character who is recuperating in the hospital after surviving a hate crime attack. In this way Luna’s script trivializes the crisis of violence against trans women which is horrifying and disempowering to all women.

Some of the characters have a “trans face” act that is comparable to “black face” of decades past, when white men painted their faces and depicted black people as “minstrels and subhuman”. Likewise, “trans face” is just as dehumanizing and offensive to actual trans WOMEN. Their “trans face” act is “hypersexualized, vile talking, flamboyant, gay man with women’s clothes on. “

By the end of the film, most of the characters are dead or brutalized. The film ends with a drag diva asking the others “Do you know what the difference is between us and them (the dead men on the ground)?” The answer expressed: “I don’t know,” “Me either”- film ends. So there you have it folks, “transgender women” are no different than “murdered men”.

And that last sentence pretty much sums up the message of the film.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

April 23th "Opening Night" Education Rally & Vigil Info.



Education rally concerning the problematic film, "Ticked Off Tra**ies With Knives"

Location: 181 2nd Ave NYC- Village East Cinemas
8pm-10pm- rally, speakers, vigil
11-30pm - re-gather and rally
12am- movie premiere starts, but we will be passing out educational flyers and rally with signs

April 23 Educational Rally on Tribeca’s Opening Night of “TOTWK”- a film which is transphobic, dehumanizing, offensive, misrepresents and endangers trans women’s lives.

What: An educational rally educating about the transphobic film “Ticked Off Trannies With Knives (TOTWK)”. Celebrities, trans advocates & LGBT activists will be speaking. A candle light vigil for trans victims of hate crimes will also be held.

Why: The movie makes light of violence and rape against trans women, exploits the high-profile murder of teenager Angie Zapata, includes the pejorative term “trannies” in its title, inaccurately depicts trans women’s identities as drag queen “performers” and “caricatures” and misrepresents the lives of an extremely disenfranchised group who suffer violence at alarming rates.


See more INFO on why we are boycotting film: http://www.facebook.com/loveashleylove?ref=profile#!/group.php?gid=106926329329724&ref=mf

http://www.facebook.com/loveashleylove?ref=profile#!/group.php?gid=103500239687288&ref=ts

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

MAGNET helps organize protest to combat transphobia


Media Advocates Giving National Equality to Trans People (MAGNET)

CONTACT: Organizer of MAGNET: Ashley Love- Email: magnet_right_now@yahoo.com

Press Release: For immediate release April 4, 2010

“Protest/rally Against Tribeca’s Decision to Premiere Transphobic Film “Ticked Off Trannies With Knives”

What: A protest/rally demanding that Tribeca Film Festival remove the transphobic film “Ticked Off Trannies With Knives (TOTWK)”. Melissa Sklarz (Director of New York Trans Rights Organization), Ashley Love (Media Advocates Giving National Equality to Trans People), Denise Le Claire (Exec. Director of International Foundation of Gender Education), celebrities, & LGBT activists will be speaking. A candle light vigil for trans victims of hate crimes will also be held.

When/Where: Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 6:30-8:00pm @ Tribeca Cinemas @ 54 Varick Street, NYC

Why: The movie makes light of violence and rape against trans women, exploits the high-profile murder of teenager Angie Zapata, includes the pejorative term “trannies” in its title, inaccurately depicts trans women’s identities as drag queen “performers” and “caricatures” and misrepresents the lives of an extremely disenfranchised group who suffer violence at alarming rates.

Kim Pearson, Executive Director of Trans Youth Family Allies (TYFA), says "Negative and stereotyped media portrayals of transgender people hurt the community because Americans still need more education on transgender issues. The images in this film (TOTWK) make a mockery of their lives. I want more for my child and all transgender people.”

“The transsexual and transgender communities are all too often the victims of violence, marginalization and discrimination as a result of inaccurate media depictions like this film, which is offensive, dehumanizing and misogynistic and causes further misunderstanding and harm to an already dangerously oppressed minority group”, states Ashley Love, Organizer of Media Advocates Giving National Equality to Trans People (MAGNET).

MAGNET had a meeting with staff at Tribeca Center on Friday, March 26, educating them about why this film is extremely problematic and dehumanizing. They refused to remove the film or make a statement that they don’t endorse the oppression of transsexual and transgender women, so MAGNET is now organizing a protest/rally, in association with Families United Against Hate, International Foundation For Gender Education, New York Trans Rights Organization, and Remembering Our Dead, to demand that they remove the film, and to draw attention to injustices trans people face in everyday life and in the media. Many trans advocates, trans organizations, women’s groups and allies voiced their concerns to GLAAD, expressing they needed aggressive action. GLAAD issued an uncompromising and strong petition & call to action demanding that Tribeca remove the film: http://www.glaad.org/calltoaction/032510

To support or endorse protest on Tuesday, receive information about issues raised or press questions, or become involved in anti-defamation/media work for the transsexual and transgender communities:
CONTACT: Organizer of MAGNET: Ashley Love- Email: magnet_right_now@yahoo.com

Join the “Boycott TOTWK” Facebook page & find more info/articles on the story: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=103500239687288&ref=mf#!/group.php?gid=106926329329724
For info/articles on issues raised: Ashley Love’s blog: www.transformingmedia.blogspot.com

Media Advocates Giving National Equality to Trans People (MAGNET) is an anti-defamation organization dedicated to educating the media about transsexual and transgender issues, as well as pushing for more authentic and positive portrayals of trans people in the media.