Tyra Banks Almost Helps

This inspired this post. It’s a four-clip post from Tyra Bank’s talk show, and the issue is same-sex marriage. I apologize because I wouldn’t know where to look for a transcript for those here who can’t hear. I don’t know what network/production company owns her show to track one down. :-( If someone could help with that, I’d be much appreciative!
I have some objections to how she did this. First, dividing the group into “Gay”, “Straight” and “?” is really obnoxious and myopic. “?” is not a sexual orientation. Pansexuals, bisexuals and those who wish not to identity on either side of the sexual bianry should not be placed in a “?” section. Furthermore, there shouldn’t be a divide at all, since we’re all still people.


Secondly, the people she chooses to speak from the “Gay” side are all white men. In fact, in the shots, all of the people in the section are edited to look like white men.
Thirdly, there are is no representation in the audience from Straight Allies. Judging by audience noise, there would be a lot there.. though, noise can admittedly be canned.
Fourth, she perpetuates the myth that “Gay is the New Black” through her first 3 segments with her questions, statements and guests. It’s not. Not at all. The struggles I fight against are not the same as the ones racial minorities face. It’s a reflection of the privilege the people fighting the cause use to garner sympathy. I’m not buying it and, quite frankly, it’s offensive. Gay Marriage isn’t Jim Crow. Being a visible minority, like being a racial minority, is not the same as being a private minority, one which only comes out in certain social situations like dating or sexual advance. My struggle is not an analogous struggle to those who are racial minorities.
She does, however, do some thing right.
She’s sure to include black people (and women at that) on both sides of the debate. She also is sure to include women at all, since this debate tends to be dominated by white men of varying social class. It’s a keen awareness to the depth of the issue and how it doesn’t just effect one group of people stronger than another.
I get a “one step forward, three steps back” from this.
Also, to further the ideas that were most recently stated by questioning?, read the comment section (which is the reason I didn’t hunt around YouTube for the clips). There’s some pretty awkward racism going on in the thread which may serve to inflame some of the readers here. I know I was annoyed by the privileged responses to an honest criticism of the balance in the blog, which is very white, male-centric.
[[I apologize in advance if, in discussing the intersection of race and gay rights, I’ve come out swinging in privilege. I’m trying to speak from my perspective about something which intersects into something which is not from my experience. If, at any point, I’m sounding privilege, please advise me on where and how I can fix it.]]

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

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