recently Piers Morgan had a woman by the name of Janet mock on the program
she's a transgender activist and she is writing or she is promoting a book that
she is written called Rob redefining real mess
now %uh the transgender issue is really important to talk about so I was happy
to see the piers Morgan was having an activist on his program to talk about it
but some are questioning the way he handled the interview
take a quick look i misses me the amazing thing I
have I not let anything about your story I would have had
absolutely not a clue do you have ever being
a boy a male which makes me
absolutely believe you said you should always have been a woman and that must
have been what you felt when you were young
do you ever feel like say I can't deal with this
I'm gonna have to go back to you being a boy
Charles at what point did you change your name any good if it will encourage
this you going through school you've gone from charleston Janet from
boy close to go through a close and you
cope with all the teasing and bullying me come through this major I get strong
in your head tough say I'm gonna go through properly this
and become a woman to have a transgender operation which is
a huge thing to do it 18 tell me how he felt when you when you she
we're approaching the operation with what was the moment
of you have it when you looked in the mirror and were finally able to thing
while that is who I'm supposed to be
so as you can tell on the questions focused on her transition from male to
female
and people are really upset about that so Janet mock
did write about the interview after it happened she said the following:
they're not talking about my advocacy or anything like that it's just about this
sensationalized mean a discussion of trans women's lives
we're not real women so therefore if we're in relationships with men
where defeating them so just feed into the same kinds admits and fears
that they spread around which leads to further violence have trans women's
bodies
and identities %uh so
I think that she makes a really interesting point there and it
I missing something controversial I don't disagree
with Piers Morgan's questions I don't I don't find anything wrong with the
questions he asked however
I don't like the emphasis
on that part up the discussion as opposed to
summer the struggles that transgender individuals face in the country right
now
you know talk about the unemployment rate among them talk about talk about
the violence that they face
talk about someone the inequalities that they have to deal with day in and day
out and how hard that struggle really is
it's important to discuss that however I think that you start getting into
really really shaky territory when you tell a reporter or journalist or host
that he or she can or cannot ask certain questions
yeah that's true look we we definitely higher expectations that people in the
media
like you know passport for instance we expected to know about a lot of things
on a
on it not just a shallow bowl on a deep level but a
if he brought her on instead on ask about your activism and then instead
asked about the transition I totally understand that incredibly frustrating
and in some ways perhaps insulting
but considering that he seems incredibly supportive their
yet simple fact that he's asking the questions I think that there is a level
of sensitivity at which
like you're you're asking too much of the man and the reason I say that is
because
if you're par a very small minority group for instance
you live that struggle your entire life and you understand it
many layers deeper than anyone else who is not a part of it could possibly
understand
but then to expect another person comes at you
in their version of somewhat ignored support to understand the struggle in
the same way that you do
how could they possibly understand yeah and I think you have to be a diplomatic
you have to be willing to help them
to understand you also have to keep in mind that a lot of americans are very
very ignorant
about the transgender community right they don't understand it and I think
that a lot of the violence and a lot of the bigotry toward that community
stems from that ignorance so they don't be don't understand what goes through
the mind of someone who wants to go through a sex change operation
so I think it is important for reporters asked that question right because
people think that it's a lifestyle choice which of course it's not
it's more about gender identity at the fact that you identify with the
particular gender but you're trapped in the body
a bit different gender and explaining that in talking about that is extremely
important
now if Piers Morgan was asking questions that were super degrading like
oblique what's your sex life likely we are back to handle anything like that I
thought from the headline that we did
he has a perfectly reasonable question I didn't like the lower third that they
had the lower third said something like
was Bob born a boy or was a boy until eighteen and
that lower third just seemed a little a show and they don't really understand
what we
we sometimes have lowered their for the defense yeah I that their level
understanding and you by being on the show have a perfect opportunity to clear
with an end to what
they should have their thats that's a part of the advocacy and
and and and a guest on the show I mean I think that it's important to always keep
in mind that you have the ability to
to change the topic so if you're uncomfortable with that line of
questioning and you want to focus on her advocacy work or you want to focus on
your book
you have the ability to do that you know I i think that there's
of course there's a little bit about a power struggle when you have
a host interviewing a guest but for go in there and be like you know what we
had enough
discussion about my might sex change or whatever it is
my transition I should say what we talk about what's really happening with this
community because that's the real issue at hand
up now I did not like the way Piers Morgan responded to the criticism I
think they came out as extremely defensive and a little love
I a little offensive I'm he says
so I try to highlight Janet mocks inspiring story
and she and her supporters respond by trashing me really disgusting
all deal with you tomorrow night on air Janet mock never been treated in such a
disgraceful manner
be proud Wow ok another couple layers
in to dial down yet that I would rather not get there
that was not appropriate yeah I i understand his frustration on a much
lower level than that because I know sometimes when we even talked about
when we went up to our stories like this I've gotten extremely hateful messages
and
and I feel like a probably a similar position as Piers Morgan if I feel like
I want to learn about a group and I'm supportive of their political goals
to then be attacked because I don't have like a PhD level
%uh knowledge about it that seems in some ways worse than being attacked by
your clear
enemies hmm because you expect like I'm and with you I feel like I'm with you
its understand that but man he went too far but that's ok Piers Morgan is then
those I like I like his interview sometimes but he he does not pull
punches when it comes to the online stuff like Twitter
dos and don'ts under a threat like in all discussed a mall
deal with you too yeah and that met that again gets into the power dynamics
you're talking about like you're freaking hosts made you need be
attacking this woman
shouldn't happen as far as they know it show working the counter attack you