Comments on: "Becoming Chaz" Review: About a Boy or About a Body?

By: Owen

Owen — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:54:16 +0000

You took the words right out of my mouth and my brain!! Everything you said is exactly everything I have been saying since I happened to catch this film on TV. So thank you for that.

By: Mike D.

Mike D. — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 19:43:00 +0000

I saw the movie and I loved it. It is appropriately titled “Becomeing Chaz”, as it is simply a documentary about his experience. I don’t think he owes you or our community any apologies if he didn’t address YOUR issues, or reflect YOUR feelings about being transgender. Chaz didn’t ask to be Sonny & Cher’s kid, or to be trans. He is doing our community a HUGE service to be so open, honest, and public about his transition. He cannot be everything to everybody though. For transgenderism to gain more understanding and acceptance, it is up to each of us to be equally open, out, and honest and genuine about sharing our experiences to the degree that each of us can. Nobody would watch a documentary about my transition, so I don’t make one. However… my friends, family, coworkers, etc usually WILL listen to me sharing my stories about my transition so I share them when I can. That’s all Chaz did, and it’s exactly what each of us should be doing. Nobody’s gonna be your hero, man. Nobody except you.

By: Review: Becoming Chaz | Born Like This

Review: Becoming Chaz | Born Like This — Tue, 31 May 2011 12:06:47 +0000

[...] to the dismay of some trans reviewers, a large part of the documentary focuses on the medicalized aspects of [...]

By: GirlProblem

GirlProblem — Mon, 23 May 2011 03:11:54 +0000

This chick makes my skin crawl. I don’t understand how you could possibly identify as queer in any way while simultaneously perpetuating discrimination and hatred of others.

Shit like this makes me so insanely pissed off that I know I should cut this comment before it turns into an uncontrollable profusion of profanity.

By: Braedyn

Braedyn — Sun, 22 May 2011 18:53:16 +0000

google dirtywhiteboi and you’ll learn soon enough. she’s an angry dyke pissed at the direction feminism is going with it’s inclusivity of queer theory.

By: AJones

AJones — Fri, 20 May 2011 21:40:30 +0000

I recently watched the doc “Becoming Chaz”. I am a proud parent of a newly transitioning trans man scheduled to have chest surgery this coming Summer. I found your review very helpful on many levels. The documentary did help with preparing me for what to expect post surgery in caring for my son. Perhaps if the doc had explained the full spectrum of gender that exists, it would have better illustrated that Chaz’s experience as a transgendered human being is his own, and does NOT represent all transgendered people. My understanding is that while some of us remain fixed within the spectrum, others do not remain fixed on the spectrum. I know we still have much to learn and many ways to grow in coming to fully understand what being transgendered means. My feeling is that although the doc may have offended many transgendered people who did not feel properly represented, what Chaz has done has taken a lot of courage, something no openly transgendered person is short of, and while it did not represent well the diversity within the transgendered community, it has given some awareness to a segment of the population that would, very sadly, otherwise, perhaps have be fearfull, and or have little interest in learning anything about what it means to be transgendered. I do admire that Chaz was gracious in allowing his family and friends to have their own response/experience to his transition, without being offended or taken back. I know it has to be hard when your mom is not on board, but Chaz exhibited a high level of respect and candor in regards to his mom needing to take things slowly. It may have been “dumb ed down”, however, the doc has opened the door. People fear what they do not know. It is very hard to educate people that are narrow minded, but we have to start somewhere, and “Becoming Chaz” is a start in the right direction. It is very unfortunate that we live in such a binary oriented society. This is a complex subject that the a large section of the population needs much education about. The processing of understanding what it means that someone is transgendered, from the perspective of many people in our society who have not benefit of being brought up to be open minded and tolerant, is a huge transition in itself for our society. It will take time and tenacity and many voices emerging to better represent the intelligent, articulate and varied transgendered community as a whole.

By: Kayla

Kayla — Wed, 18 May 2011 05:46:25 +0000

I saw Chaz do an interview with Dr. Drew tonight. I was actually impressed and kinda felt bad for criticizing him. He was a little better spoken this time and didn’t do so much stereotyping. I think he’s helping, overall.

Also, I keep hearing about Dirt. They seem like a jerk, whoever they are. Why do we even care what this person thinks?

By: Braedyn

Braedyn — Mon, 16 May 2011 19:56:10 +0000

the Dirt blog is going to have a heyday with this one. I feel like Chaz Bono plays into exactly the transgender construction Dirt has so vehemently used to mitigate our experiences as human beings.

By: Kayla

Kayla — Mon, 16 May 2011 05:29:37 +0000

Know what would be nice? If a mature, educated, and willing transgender advocate got to do a documentary, instead of some random Z-list celebrity who seems completely out of touch, doesn’t care how they come across, is unaware of their influence, and doesn’t even want to be an advocate.

Oh, and it would also be nice for some of these filmmakers and talk show hosts to actually talk about the gatekeeping and legal obstacles and abject misery that some trans people are put through, like my girlfriend in Norway who will only be allowed to transition if she’s deemed “passable” before even starting hormones, or people who can never get their birth certificates changed, or people who get threatened and beaten, or people who get hassled by the cops. Lea T., not exactly an experienced advocate, apparently shocked Oprah when she said that she needed approval to get GRS. Oprah’s had how many trans people on her show, and she didn’t know that we can’t just say “Ooh, I want hormones, I want surgery” and get it done the next day? Really Oprah?

Also, to Chaz: I’m a trans woman and my sex drive is much better now, thank you very much. Maybe if you’d actually paid attention to the trans community instead of going off on your own and speaking for people you barely seem to know at times, you’d have found out that most trans people of either major gender have the same experience, and that it’s not about testosterone vs. estrogen so much as feeling right vs. feeling bad.

By: dizzy

dizzy — Sun, 15 May 2011 16:07:58 +0000

So much so that you’re posting your own on the internet?

By: dizzy

dizzy — Sun, 15 May 2011 11:54:07 +0000

Since people have been narrow-minded

By: yep

yep — Sun, 15 May 2011 05:45:27 +0000

I’m sorry. That wasn’t a very nice thing to say. I am just sick of opinions.