"You got this sort of road side repairs to get through"
July 30, 2018 10:09 AM Subscribe
Fortyfive years ago the very first (UK) television programme that treated trans people sympathetically rather than as a "problem" and which had them talk about their own experiences was broadcast, thanks in part to David Attenborough.
David Attenborough, then in control of BBC Two, was inspired by community access programmes in the US, wanted to emulate them on the Beeb. Ultimately it led to Open Door, where minority groups got the chance to put their own viewpoint across without editorial interference "your own say in your own words". One of the groups that got a go was a group of four trans women and the episode that featured them has been made available as part of the lgbtq strand (scroll down to Open Door) of the BBC's 100 Voices that made the BBC: People, Nation, Empire history project.
As David Hendy, the curator of the overarching history project responsible for the 100 Voices content, put it, Open Door was important because:
David Attenborough, then in control of BBC Two, was inspired by community access programmes in the US, wanted to emulate them on the Beeb. Ultimately it led to Open Door, where minority groups got the chance to put their own viewpoint across without editorial interference "your own say in your own words". One of the groups that got a go was a group of four trans women and the episode that featured them has been made available as part of the lgbtq strand (scroll down to Open Door) of the BBC's 100 Voices that made the BBC: People, Nation, Empire history project.
As David Hendy, the curator of the overarching history project responsible for the 100 Voices content, put it, Open Door was important because:
Here we have the BBC effectively abandoning its traditional concern with ‘balance’ and handing over total editorial control to groups who rarely get a voice – certainly not on a national institution such as the BBC. Nothing like it had been seen on TV before.The programme is very much a product of its time, so the vocabulary is on the rough to offensive side when seen through modern eyes. Also, this is purely about trans women, trans men are not discussed at all.
the vocabulary is on the rough to offensive side when seen through modern eyes.
As seen through my 'modern eyes' we still have plenty of 'rough to offensive' physical behavior in our 'modern' times.
It's hard for the pen to be 'mightier than the sword' if it's held behind one's back.
posted by Twang at 4:46 PM on July 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
As seen through my 'modern eyes' we still have plenty of 'rough to offensive' physical behavior in our 'modern' times.
It's hard for the pen to be 'mightier than the sword' if it's held behind one's back.
posted by Twang at 4:46 PM on July 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
Please do listen to what they're saying. The thing that strikes me is not "how far we've come" and more that these are the same conversations people have today with different language. That's terribly important given the ways in which the experiences and voices of older trans people, especially older trans women, are dismissed as horribly retrograde.
posted by hoyland at 5:28 PM on July 30, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by hoyland at 5:28 PM on July 30, 2018 [7 favorites]
« Older MH370 Safety Investigation Report | Follow the New Silk Road Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
And what a fascinating look into history. It's always so good to see how far we've come in such a short time. Yes, we have a long way to go, but it is important to remember how much we have already achieved too. Thanks for the great post!
posted by Athanassiel at 4:34 PM on July 30, 2018