ms. marie lozano of tv patrol dropped by my clinic to interview me about the alleged discrimination against a transexual housemate of a reality tv show.
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reportedly, the transexual housemate was being referred to by co-housemates with names such as "she-man," "half-half," "samson and delilah," and "two-in-one."
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i explained that such behavior is not necessarily "transphobia (defined as "the discriminatory treatment of transgender individuals)" and the words they used are not necessarily derogatory. one likely possibility is that the housemates simply have limited vocabulary and do not have the politically-correct descriptors for their transgender co-housemate. in the first place, they might not even know that the word "transexual" exists.
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if indeed the housemates were discriminatory, it would be more helpful to educate them about transexualism than to condemn them for how they behaved.
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also, i explained to ms. marie that all of us have personal biases and harbor some discriminatory thoughts. what's important is (1) that such biases are not acted upon, (2) that such biases are not imposed on others, and hopefully (3) that there is an attempt to eradicate such thoughts and attitudes.
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lastly, i gave a reminder for viewers of the show to watch their own reactions, lest they display the same negative attitudes and behaviors for which they faulted the housemates.
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