| LukeB |
22-06-2015 11:59 PM |
Quote:
‘Big Brother 17′ Has A Transgender Houseguest: Here’s What That Means For The Show
When “Big Brother 17” opens its doors to America next Wednesday (June 24), its first transgender houseguest will come with it.
Last night (June 16), CBS broke the news that Audrey Middleton, a 25-year-old digital media consultant from Villa Rica, Florida, had entered the house yesterday, after TMZ ran a story claiming that Middleton strived to use the show as a platform, much like Caitlyn Jenner is doing with “I Am Cait.”
“Audrey Middleton is a ’Big Brother’ super fan who applied online, like many other hopeful Houseguests, and was open about her transition in the application process,” CBS said in a statement. “It is customary for ’Big Brother’ Houseguests to share personal news inside the house, and Audrey plans to discuss her story with the houseguests in her own words during the premiere episode on Wednesday, June 24.”
Now of course, Middleton is not the first transgender contestant on a reality show — “The Surreal Life,” “I Want to Work for Diddy,” “The Real World: Brooklyn” and “America’s Next Top Model” have already broken that mold. But this is a major first for CBS’ behemoth reality empire, and a show like “Big Brother” has massive potential when it comes to representing an ordinary trans person without fame, publicists, or professional makeup artists.
However, “Big Brother” has also ran into problems in the past with racism, sexism and homophobia in its houseguests — most notably in season 15, when a black contestant was racially bullied to the point of CBS airing a disclaimer before the episodes aired. If Audrey sticks around, much of her story on the show will probably depend on how her fellow houseguests react to her, and how CBS treats their reactions in editing.
Our best hope is that Audrey’s fellow houseguests will either A, be decent people, or at the very least B, realize that they’re on television and should keep any transphobic thoughts to themselves — we want her to have as happy and positive a summer as she can in the “Big Brother” house, after all. But if option C happens, and Audrey’s housemates aren’t accepting, then let’s hope that CBS finds a way to shine some light on the very real, very disturbing issues affecting trans people in America.
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I think it's amazing how they casted a transgender :love: |
