Doubts?

The new CBS legal drama Doubt premiered last night with transgender actress Laverne Cox in a prominent role.

A long-time advocate for the transgender community, Laverne Cox made history as the first transgender actress to play a transgender series regular on a broadcast television show when the legal drama Doubt premiered on CBS Thursday night.

While I was thrilled to see Laverne in the role, I wasn't so sure I was pleased when she explained to a client that yes, she used to be a man, but was now a woman. Somehow I had hoped the writers would let her play the character without ever mentioning she was transgender at all.

However, Tony Phelan and Joan Rater, Grey's Anatomy alums and the husband-and-wife creators of Doubt, wrote the part of Cameron with Cox in mind.  But they knew she was on Orange, so they assumed that she was unavailable, and were ready to conduct a nationwide talent search to find the person who was going to play Cam.. But Laverne Cox jumped at the idea to play the role.

Plus a deeper trans connection with the show comes from the producers very own transgender son, an actor who had gotten a lot of press at the time for playing the recurring role of Cole, a transgender teen living in a group home on the ABC Family series The Fosters.

Some day perhaps, we all will be recognized as people...not trans people. But until the day, Doubt is a great start.

Cyrsti's Condo "Quote of the Day"

"Being a guy was easier...it was just killing me doing it."

Jessie Hart

Hostility Too

Recently, I had the rare distinction of being bluntly mis-pronouned twice in one day.

The first was at one of my Veterans Administration appointments when the nurse called me "Mr." I simply told her to "can the Mr. and we would be OK" and she profusely apologized.

The second was not so easy.

For the first time recently I attended a transgender/crossdresser support group here in Cincinnati. Most of the group was attended by younger delightful transgender couples with a trans man mixed in and a couple cross dressers-one with his wife.

She was trying hard to be understanding and supportive but as a self professed ultra conservative person she was struggling. First of all, she was what I call a "sandpaper person", or a person who just rubs on people the wrong way. (Me at least.)

At one point, she made a point of going around the table telling everyone she knew their birth gender. I was good and didn't say I wasn't sure about her's. Which I wasn't at the beginning.

Then later, cross dresser "hubby" called me "him" and I about went ballistic. You would have thought HE would have been the last person in the room to call me him. Perhaps he won't from now on.

I suppose I should have more patience, but I just don't and normally give someone the benefit of the doubt unless HE is wearing a little black dress 4 inch heels and full makeup to a weekday meeting at a church.

Hell, I am calm...can't you tell? :)