laura_seabrook | I complained!

Bugger it. I watched the show, got pissed off, and complained. Which show? It's called "There's something about Miriam" and it's currently airing on Network Ten. Anyway, the letter I sent is probably more self explanatory than anything else, so here's a copy of what I wrote:

I am writing to complain about one of television shows that appear on your network: “There’s something about Miriam”. I find this “Reality TV” show to be offensive in extreme. I find it offensive not because it involves a transsexual, but because the scenario is a) basically dishonest, and b) misleading to viewers. I have this opinion on the basis that I have some friends and associates who are transsexual, so I have some knowledge of what that means and how the reality compares with the TV show in question.

The fact that the producers of the show have “set up” both Miriam and her “suitors” for a climatic revelation in the final part, may guarantee viewing numbers, but it is basically a dishonest situation.

It is unclear to me as yet whether Miriam herself realised exactly what was going to happen in the final episode. My understanding (which may be wrong) is that she walked off the production the same time that the suitors did. In either case, this show presents the idea of dating / courting a transsexual by heterosexual men to be a “joke” – something that they wouldn’t have otherwise done, and wouldn’t consider in normal life. The fact that none of them can tell at this point that she is transsexual is irrelevant – they’re involved under false pretences, since they’ve been lured there in essence to be made fools of.

Also, I find the advertising for this show to be misleading and offensive. I have known personally several male-to-female transsexuals and none of them have ever considered themselves “to be really men” or “not a real woman”, whether they were pre- or post operative. The fact that Miriam makes such a statement in the episode I watched earlier this week, just shows that the producers not only had careful selection for the suitors, but also for the suited as well, ensuring that she would say what they wanted her to. Or it could also be the result of clever editing, where Miriam was actually referring to how she felt about her pre-operative status.

The trouble is that average viewers might take this as a statement of fact for all such transsexuals, not just Miriam. That may lead to misunderstanding and possible discrimination when such viewers treat transsexuals (or people they assume to be transsexuals) as “fake women” or “men”. Such misunderstanding is further reinforced by your advertising of the show, which has a sub title of “She’s a He” and a voice-over of “…she’s really a man”.

Miriam may be male, but apart from genitalia in what way is she a man? Is she a cross dresser who merely “dresses up” on occasion? Is she a female impersonator whose job is to imitate as closely as possible a woman? The answer appears to be neither of these, yet the advertising reinforces the crudest definition of these things, based purely on the person’s genitalia.

Many transsexuals apparently have great difficulty (both pre- and post-operatively) in disclosing their status, and in dating in general. Part of this seems to be the fear of exposure, ridicule and stigma that still accompanies that status. One of my friends was bashed as a result of such a disclosure, and she told me that she knows of people who were killed as a result of a “homophobic / transphobic” reaction from people they attempted to date.

I fear that the screening of “There’s something about Miriam” is only going to reinforce such attitudes, and make life more difficult for a minority who already have a difficult time of things. I think it also reflects on the level of programming that your network broadcasts, and the lack of commitment to quality on your part.

I appeal to your sense of decency to either cancel the remainder of broadcasts of this series, or at least change the manner in which you advertise it.