There’s only so much homophobia the media can get away with these days without having to issue a hasty apology. But when it comes to reporting on trans issues, stories about ’sex swaps’ and ‘pregnant men’ are still depressingly mainstream. What effect does this kind of attention have on a minority that is already contending with higher than average rates of violence, unemployment and street harassment?
If you haven’t had a long wait at the dentist lately, you might have missed a story in tabloid magazine Closer from June 2009 titled ‘Sex Swap Shock: “I was a hunky Becks lookalike but I starved to become Posh”’.
The article describes 29 year-old Chrisie Edkins’ transition from male to female, and the title sets the tone for what follows. Edkins is referred to throughout by male pronouns and by her male birth name, which she no longer goes by.
“They said, ‘We think before you looked a bit like Beckham and now you’re a bit like Posh, and we’d like to get some photos and have you tell your heartwarming story,’” says Edkins, who agreed to be interviewed for the piece because she hoped her story would inspire to other trans women.
“But they’ve insulted me every three lines and made me look like an idiot and like Victoria Beckham is my idol.”
