Alex Newell, who stars on Fox TV’s hit show Glee?as the first transgender teen character on TV, Wade “Unique” Adams, addressed the transphopic remarks made by Bill O’Reilly regarding his character.
O’Reilly had stated during a Fox New Channel “Culture Wars” segment about Glee and the storylines of gay and?transgender teens?on the show:
If you make it glamorous in a program like Glee, which is undeniably a good program… a lot of these dopey kids are confused about who they are.
During his interview with?Fusion’s Alicia Menendez??Newell stated:
It’s wrong to call people dopey. When it’s something this poignant and such a big part of the society, you can’t call kids dopey because this is something that they’re actually going through, this is what they feel on the inside, there’s nothing dopey about it.
What Mr. O’Reilly seems to misunderstand or willfully ignore is that the character of Unique is a reflection of society more than an influence leading to more transgender teenagers. Transgender people have always been with us. The difference is, due to changes in awareness, legal protections, access to medical care, and social attitudes, teens are choosing to transition during high school versus suffering in silence?(as many children still are) into adulthood.
Attitudes like Mr. O’Reilly’s that transgender teens are “dopey” and just “confused” fuels transphobia, bullying, and bigotry. It gives rise to incidents like the transgender teen who was beaten by several students and the fight was caught on tape in California. ?Transgender teens exist in American high schools they deserve to see themselves represented in the media they watch.
Watch the video here:
Edited/Published by: SB
