RIP JAHNA STEELE
Click to viewAmerica's deepest anxieties embodied: an award-winning Las Vegas showgirl with a pleasant voice is a actually a transsexual. A surreal clip, in light of her recent passing on Jan 24/08.
Almost 15 years since then, and you can still get fired from your job for being trans in america, whether or not you pass. Also noteworthy, the interviewer uses respectful language...does not ask about the genitals, the family, etc, and speaks to JS with the shared assumption that she is a person -- initially for the surprise/revelation element, but then continues to do so. The audience is not in an uproar, everyone is quiet. The poles in opinion argued are: "god" vs. "she's not crazy". (Now in 2008, that hasn't changed for the most part...) Transbody as barometer for shifts in public opinion/ standards of tolerance.