So, to get back in the good graces of senior management, I’ve decided to take some initiative and find some positive transgender television advertisements. Too often in the past, transgender persons are depicted as the butt of a joke or incorrectly as a drag queen.
The first two commercials I found very positive because they take a real issue that we all have dealt with and treats it respectfully. While out and about as Paula, I’ve often been treated as a woman until I hand over my male credit card and hear “Thank you, sir” or “Thank you Mr. Gaikowski.” In this commercial, Mastercard does a great job showing how it feels and how you can now have your true name put on your card. Citibank does the same.
The next commercial runs a bit deeper and takes a while to watch. It features a social experiment about people working together and one of those persons is transgender. It’s sponsored by Heineken and involves building a bar complete with beer so, of course, I loved it!
The next commercial was so relatable. If you remember the first time you were out in public, you will appreciate this commercial. It features a beautiful nervous transgender woman out in public for the first time. It’s an ad for Secret Deodorant and it touched my heart.
Every time I am addressed as Paula or Ma’am, I feel a pinch of joy. Starbucks' commercial does a great job showing that joy.
The last commercial for Holiday Inn ran in the 90’s for the Super Bowl. Back then, it was pulled because some people objected to the topic. Today, some transgender persons don’t like it because of the unrealistic standard of beauty that it demands for transgender woman. I have to say I loved it. I thought it was funny, cute and saw myself in the starring role going to my class reunion.
Interesting to note that back in the 90’s people complained to Holiday Inn that they were “offended” by a transgender person. Times have changed thank goodness.
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| Wearing Rue La La |
on the Holiday Inn one - "unrealistic standard of beauty that it demands for transgender women" - as opposed to the unrealistic standards of beauty we see for ciswomen? Seems Twomen were treated pretty much like ciswomen.. badly, but equal.
ReplyDeleteThanks for finding all those. You deserve a medal for all the research you do! Some of those ads spoke to me too, especially the deodorant one. Pity about some of the comments on YouTube but I guess the ads will help a bit to change such minds eventually. Sue x
ReplyDeleteWonderful! Thank you Paula...
ReplyDeleteThe world is changing and it has been since the beginning. Now the world is smaller and we can make a difference. We need to keep it positive and teach others a open minded attitude. It might be a slow process but things are changing for the better
ReplyDeleteThank goodness indeed! As much as I enjoyed each of those commercials, the takeaway from this post that i most enjoyed is that attitudes seem to be finally slowly starting to change regarding crossdressing and gender identity issues. To see these people on the TV screen brings visibility and awareness. I know we still have a long way to go until everyone can feel accepted, but this is a start! Baby steps...
ReplyDeleteGreat First Day On The Job, Sweetie! Thanks for sharing those wonderful commercials. I always liked the "Reunion" Holiday Inn spot - never found it offensive. Maybe this old broad just has thick skin!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful post! Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteRegarding the Holiday Inn ad, I always assumed that the transwoman in the ad was actually a cisgender female, but I was never able to confirm that. Does anyone know?
ReplyDeleteAlso, the guy in the ad (actor Steve Hytner) later played the annoying Kenny Bania on Seinfeld. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Gold Jerry Gold!!!!!
DeleteLOL
DeleteI don't recall, have you gone to a class reunion as Stana?
ReplyDeleteI remember a couple Karen Dior commercials that were focused more on her drag queen persona. I especially liked the one about baseball with the punch line, "...fooled by the old hidden ball trick". In fact, here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk_rOxCYncs
Yes, I did go to a class reunion as Stana. You can read all about it here: http://www.femulate.org/2019/06/another-reunion.html
DeleteA gay friend of more than 25 years told me when I went public about 12 years ago,
ReplyDelete"When I first met you my gay-dar went off, but I knew you were straight. I thought that it needed to be re-calibrated, and now I understand why."
i remember the first time i used a credit card with MY name on it ~ it was so satisfying :)
ReplyDelete