DisgustingThat’s what this ad really is.  Also contact the manufacturers and let them know how one of their franchisee’s commercials is being disrespectful to customers.
Toyota/Scion/Lexus:
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
19001 South Western Ave.
Torrance, CA 90501
(800) 331-4331
Volkswagen/Porsche/Audi:
Volkswagen Group of America
2200 Ferdinand Porsche Dr.
Herndon, VA 20171
(703) 364-7000

Absolutely contact ToyotaThey have very, very strong trans policies in place, and that from their own website and membership, and they a sponsor within the community overall.
Scion and Lexus are Toyota imprnts, so these dealers are very much in the wrong.
Volkswagon is not particularly responsive to such things, historically.

Right After I Read This I Heard Of Another Hate CrimeI don’t know if you’ve reported this already:
http://www.lauras-playground.c…
I can’t find a news story about it yet (what a surprise).  A transsexual woman who was outed by the media and she ends up brutally murdered shortly thereafter.  If that’s not a hate crime I don’t know what is.  I’m going to present this to my local state senator who doesn’t believe these things happen.  I’m  starting to cry typing this.

In the meantime ….has anyone “flagged” the videos at YouTube ?

Yes!I flagged both spots and places a comment, too!

But but but….I am probably going to be flamed here and seen as sexist and whatever else but…
I don’t see this ad as a dig on transsexuals at all. I see it simply as: someone thought he got one thing but it turned out to be another. So he did not get what he wanted.
I buy a leather jacket but when I come home, it turns out to be fake leather. I’d be upset. Might well be a wonderful jacket in its own right, but I really wanted a REAL leather jacket. (And no, I am not comparing people with jackets. I am pointing out the argument)
I marry a woman but when I come home, it turns out it is actually a man. I’d be upset as I am not physically attracted to men.
I really do not see it as a dig at transsexuals and it seems somewhat over-sensitive to me to see it as making transsexuals out to be liars and so on. Perhaps the bride thought the groom knew and so the ad actually says the driver is stupid, instead of saying the bride is a liar or untrustworthy.
See, it all depends on the additional meaning you put in to the story. A meaning that is not at all part of the script.
On face value, the script is this: person thinks he ‘got’ one thing but due to an UNKNOWN circumstance, it turns out he got something else, something which he did not want.
That is not saying transsexuals are evil, liars or even that the driver is a b*stard. It simply says: “Mismatch. And at our dealerships, we make sure we ask all the right questions so there are no surprises later on.”

If it makes you feel any betterthe guy in the car gets his comeuppance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…
Autumn,
I normally love reading your posts but as of late you seem to be spending a great deal of time intentionally seeking something you think is even remotely transphobic.
Is that the sort of energy you want to bring into your life? By seeking out ugliness you are surrounded by ugliness.
If you seek out, instead, stories about successful trans men and women.  Stories of beauty, success, acceptance and love then you surround yourself with beauty, success, acceptance and love.
Personally, I would rather read the story about the latter rather than the former.
Brightest Blessing,
Becca
Some Buddha quotes for you to consider:
The mind is everything. What you think you become.
Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.
You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.

Yes.
i ‘seek out’ my employer trying to find ways to drive me out.
i ‘surround myself’ with two guys who stop my car in the middle of the street and then drag me out of it to try and beat me up.
That’s the problem. People like Autumn and me go looking for it. Of course. Why didn’t i think to not do that before?

Of course.
Living in the Netherlands, you can’t fully understand the tone for certain situations here in America.
You are not transsexual.
We live here.  We are transsexual or transgender.
i think we’re capable of figuring out when we’re being insulted and / or offended.

Thank you for making my pointyou have clearly surrounded yourself with bad things and it has filled you full of hate and anger.
You don’t have a monopoly on hatred being aimed at you.  Trust me, I can show you the physical scars from assaults I’ve suffered simply for being different, simply for being a part of the LGBT Community.  The same community we are both a part of.
However, I do not focus on revenge or hate or hurt. Why would I want to bring attention to the same sort of people that put me in the hospital?  It only empowers them.  Rather I focus on the good things.  For example, last weekend I gave up my Saturday night to volunteer at the Gay Prom in Hayward, CA.  There where hate-filled protesters there but they had no power and no voice.  Why, we ignored them, we did not seek out the ugly and fight it.  Rather we sought out the positive and cheering and welcomed the kids to their Prom and the energy was so powerful and uplifting it moved me to tears and I never even saw the protesters nor did the kids.  Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered people welcoming and supporting Lesbian, Bay, Bisexual and Transgendered kids to their Celebration.
I am not saying that there aren’t ugly employers or ugly people that will drag you or I out of our cars because they are homophobic.  Of course they are there, but the less you focus on it the less powerful it becomes.  That’s a fact.
I hope you see my point now and where I am coming from and I hope it helps you see the world with less hate and fear and more love and calm.  I know, it’s easier said than done for me too, but just trying has made me happy.
Be Well Anonymous T-Girl.
Sincerely,
Becca

What?
Clearly surrounded myself with bad things? i am filled with hate and anger? Wow.
That’s some amazing abilities you have there. You’ve never met me, and yet you have confidently (some would say almost righteously and arrogantly) made a declarative staement about the full width and breadth of my life, and all that i am as a human being, in mind and heart.
Some guy took a picture of my aura, and mentioned ‘stress’ (as if there are people that couldn’t be applied to). Didn’t mention my life being filled with ‘hate and anger’ though.
The keeper of  the local Buddhist Temple said i seemed ‘a little sad’, before we talked for an hour. But no ‘hate and anger’.
Both of them met me face to face, and one of them even used Professional Equipment! But here you’ve gone and given me a Profound Declarative Statement on my life which will make everything all better. i can’t thank you enough.
i’m going to have to let my therapist know that she won’t be needed anymore, during one of our laughing-fit sessions together.
What you propose is tantamount to prayer. Which is the way to do absolutely nothing and feel like you’re helping.

I feel sorry for youHave a Nice Day.
{{{HUGS}}}

Actually…..I don’t live in The Netherlands at all.
I realise things are different in the US and that they are certainly not as ‘easy’ as people think they are in Europe.
However, that does not take anything away from MY opinion about this ad. If this was about a man thinking he had married a feminine beauty who turned out to actually be a butch lesbian, I would not be offended either. I would not find it particularly funny, but it wouldn’t anger me.
Like this ad. Not particularly funny. But it doesn’t bother me. I just don’t see the deeper meaning that is attached to it by some people here. Reading far too much in to it.I just think it is pretty sad when offense is the first thing you see here, instead of a stupid ad.
Oh, and it is of course not a real argument to say: you are not trans so you have no idea what you are talking about. If that was the case, then white people can not have an opinion on racism. Straight people can not have an opinion (pro or anti) on homosexuality and so on.

Don’t botherShe’s too caught up defending herself from non-existent attacks to find peace in her life.  
Her replies to your posts will only make you sad and upset.

Well..I think she is entitled to her opinion and I certainly don’t want to pass judgment on her state of mind when I have never met her. Some people just feel very strongly about certain things. All I did was voice my opinion.
This post does not revolve around Anonymous T-Girl alone so there is no reason to stop discussing things just because one person doesn’t agree.
I don’t take anything personally and so whatever is said, unless it is a direct personal attack, does not phase me.  

Because, Becca…“What is at stake is human dignity. If a man is not accorded respect he cannot respect himself and if he does not respect himself, he cannot demand it.”
“The first principle of non-violent action is that of non-cooperation with everything humiliating.”
“People who have lost their hunger for justice are not ultimately powerful. They are like sick people who have lost their appetite for what is truly nourishing. Such sick people should not frighten or discourage us. They should be prayed for along with the sick people who are in the hospital. The love for justice that is in us is not only the best part of our being but it is also the most true to our nature.”
“We are confident. We have ourselves. We know how to sacrifice. We know how to work. We know how to combat the forces that oppose us. But even more than that, we are true believers in the whole idea of justice. Justice is so much on our side, that that is going to see us through.”
~~Various Cesar Chavez quotes.

Oh, it’s a series.the guy in the car gets his comeuppance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…
I did not realise there was a series of these ads and that they were all different. Kind of makes it even stranger that the ‘trans-ad’ would be seen as specifically targeted at trans-people.
See, that other version could be seen as offensive for men. It kind of implies that men are so lead by their crotches that they become jibbering idiots at the sight of a pretty girl.
But I am sure nobody will think that about this ad and find it offensive. Not unless you really really want to look for something offensive.  

ToyotaToyota has a web contact form: http://toyota.custhelp.com/cgi…

oops..Wrong again.
So it is a long ad of 75 seconds where he first encounters the trans-person and then the hitchhiker. They have hacked that into 2 separate shorter ads as well.
That does not change my opinion in any way. If anything it confirms to me there is nothing specifically targeting anyone in this ad. Apart from maybe that men are stupid and can not tell if their bride is a trans-person and that they just follow their hormones when it comes to a pretty face. In fact, quite insulting to men, that whole ad.

Fundie ChristiansSay that when bad things happen it must mean you have unconfessed sin in your life…
How about… sometimes, bad sh*t happens? Sometimes, people DO bad things to other people?

And there’s more–One could also say that the second ad or second apart of the ad is profoundly sexist, presenting a woman as conniving, dishonest, only interested in grabbing as much as she can for herself no matter who gets screwed over.

IndeedI had not thought about it like that. And I am a woman! How could I possibly not be offended?
So, it is in fact a good ad: nobody is excluded from the possibility of feeling offended. Very inclusive.

So you don’t see the suggestionthat abandoning a trans woman in the middle of the desert, with the clear implication that she deserves it, as “a dig at transsexuals”?  Could you please give us an example of something that would be, then?

the outrage is….The outrage at this advertisement is a bit over the top.  I don’t really see what is so upsetting about dumping someone who is not honest with you in a relationship. I’m a transsexual and would dump any partner who wasn’t up front with me.  This of course extends beyond being transgendered.

Are you serious?

Of course they are there, but the less you focus on it the less powerful it becomes.  

So if Angie Zapata did not “focus” on Andrade, he wouldn’t have been “powerful” enough to beat her to death?  If Matt Shepard didn’t “focus” on Henderson and McKinney they wouldn’t have been “powerful” enough to crucify him on that fence?  If we all stop “focusing” on the haters they won’t be politically or financially “powerful” any more?
“Focused” or not, we are in no way responsible for the multitude of fiends who hate us and want to see us dead.  What kind of dippy universe do you inhabit?  Wearing rose-colored glasses is bad enough.  You’re wearing rose-colored blinders.

You would abandon someone “who wasn’t up front with me” in the desert, possibly to die?  And you think that isn’t “over the top”?

And don’t forget–It also offends American car owners.  
It says men who drive Pontiacs 1) can’t figure out if they’re marrying a man or a woman and 2) are easily taken in by gorgeous hitchhiker blonds.
For shame!

…yeah, you might want to stop that.This is a particularly obnoxious incarnation of the “tone argument”, which…yeah.  It’s a blame-the-victim strategy, conscious or not.

But we are always shown as deceptive!The main image of us in the media has been as deceivers who trick unsuspecting guys.
So when we are read in public the reaction is too often ‘oh no, they intend to trick me’… and the result is violence.
Or where the violence is premeditated the deception argument is used knowingly by attorneys and perpetrators to get significantly reduced punishemnt.
So when a message is one of the primary sources of this violence or it’s mitigation in law why would some of us be outraged at an example of it?
Take a look at the media presentation of TG, at the defence arguments in TG murder/assault trials… simple enough connection.
And if we want to stop the slaughter we have to end the use of the stereotype or counter it sufficiently that it ceases being primary in peoples associations.

In the abstractthis reinforces the stereotype of car dealers being deceptive and dishonest.  But even so, the ad is in very poor taste.

Thank you, this. I didn’t feel like I could say anything, not being transgendered. (Which is why I skip a lot of threads sometimes. Being a white cisgendered lesbian, 9 times out of 10, if I disagree, I’m stupid.) But I don’t see the huge huge outrage. It’s something that would make me scoff if I saw it on TV. That’s it. There was a beer commercial, I think, awhile ago that had a guy hitting on someone with long hair who turned out to be a man (Not trans, just a dude with long hair). Had the same effect on me.
I also agree that not telling people major parts of who you are is more than enough reason for me to dump someone. Especially if we have gotten to, you know, marriage. I dated someone, once, who was terminally ill, and would likely only live into their mid-30s. They were ALWAYS careful to tell someone soon after they started dating, because it was about real honesty, and letting people decide for themselves. Obviously, I chose to stay.
But if someone neglected to tell me they were trans, dying, a mother, a drug dealer, a pony wrangler, what have you until after we got hitched: Yah, I’d dump them. Maybe not in the desert, but I’d dump them.
I’m wrong, I don’t have enough queer rage, blah…

I’m not sure I’m buying dutch’s logic, butI don’t see any animosity per se in his/her post.
By your immediately attacking the poster and not the thoughts in the post, it appears that you’re trying to shut off any discussion.

i think we’re capable of figuring out when we’re being insulted and / or offended.

I do, too. But are you charged with deciding for the rest of us?

Is “pony wrangler” code for something kinky?

In ordinary circumstancesI would be the first to agree with something like this:

By seeking out ugliness you are surrounded by ugliness.

I think personal perception does have a lot to do with the way people see the world around them. Cynics focus on bad things, petty things, cruel things. Optimists focus on altruistic things, hopeful things. And that works, when you’re similarly situated to most everyone else, and it really does come down to a difference of viewpoint.
In this case, however, objective evidence says it isn’t just perception. Trans people don’t seek out being beaten, murdered, raped. It happens to them, with alarming frequency, but they don’t seek it out. In this case, your sentiment above goes from a piece of light, fluffy, feel-good type of advice, to deliberate and ultimately foolish avoidance of a very real danger. Just because I believe most people are good, and want to do the right thing, that doesn’t mean I’m going to give the guy who broke into my house with an axe the benefit of the doubt and trust his good intentions. To do so would endanger me and my family. And that isn’t focusing on the bad, that’s just common sense. You might try it.

Ha! I wish. I just was trying to think of random things I would appreciate knowing.  

And that’s the point about the behavior in this commercial……It’s a “straw man” depiction of trans people as deceivers instead of as whole, human beings.
Trans people don’t get married as pre-operative transsexuals, and then inform their partner that they’re trans by engaging in a “road pee” in plain site of that partner. You point out that you would leave a relationship with someone who did that to you — well, so would most people. So would I. The point isn’t that we would leave someone who engaged in that kind of behavior, the point is that the depiction of a trans woman engaging in that kind of deceptive behavior is a false depiction based on a false stereotype.
In other words, this ad plays into the stereotype of how trans people behave as deceivers instead of showing how trans people actually behave.
What stereotypes about African-Americans, lesbians, gays,  do you hate to see in advertisements, or claimed about community in the religious right or mainstream press? How do you feel when you see false stereotypes of people in minority communities — especially when it’s a community you personally identify as a member of?
Again, this ad has a “straw man” style depiction — a false stereotype — of trans women, and as such I believe it’s patently offensive. You don’t have to complain about it yourself to the dealerships, but please don’t begruge those of us who are offended our feelings of offense — and please don’t begrudge me sharing this with my peers here at Pam’s House Blend who are offended by what we consider a pretty offensive ad.

Trans women are caught between two destructive stereotypesJulia Serano analyzed this destructive transmisogyny in her excellent book Whipping Girl. If trans women don’t “pass,” they are objects of contempt and mockery.
If they do “pass,” they are evil deceivers out to seduce men deceptively.
Never is it so much as hinted in the media that we can simply be women trying to live our lives in peace the same as any other women. We are relegated to one of two stereotypes, both of which are dehumanizing and oppressive. This ad pings trans women’s triggers because it perpetuates the “deceiver” stereotype, which has far too often led to murders of trans women.

Not, “much ado about nothing,” perhapsjust much ado about something you will never change.
Ever notice that 99% of all auto ads involve six things: straight men, testosterone, gorgeous women, sex, sex, sex?  Same deal with beer ads. So what else is really new here?
I’ve tried to look within myself and figure out why some of what you write rubs me the wrong way, Autumn.  I think it is because you often act outraged about things we as women spent our entire lives knowing we have to deal with.  So many of the issues you want to trumpet as trans-related seem to me as female issues.  Welcome to our world.

not begrudgingAutumn, I’m not begrudging.  I just simply disagree that this is one to go to the mat over. That others feel differently is perfectly acceptable.

Actually…
…i know exactly what you’re talking about.
http://anonymous-t-girl.blogsp…
And it’s a weird tightrope to walk.

Of course i can’t.
And i didn’t ‘attack’ the poster. If i ‘attack’ somebody, you’ll know it. For instance i would say, ‘melodramatic much’?
This morning i was caught up in reading about another woman murdered for being transsexual.
When i posted, i was full of empathy for those slain, that don’t have a voice anymore. It put me in a ‘we’ frame of mind, which is a word i shouldn’t have used.
You sure nailed me.

No.
You’re not being precise enough. You say, ‘white people can not have an opinion on racism’.
Of course they can.
That’s not the case. Your analogy is wrong.
White people have no right to decide what blacks are allowed to find personally insulting or offensive.
You’re not trans, but you can have an opinion on T.
But you’re not allowed to decide what’s personally insulting or offensive to us.

Good for you dutchcloggie ….That’s the trouble with some blogs, it can turn into a free-for-all and disrespectful of other’s opinions.
It’s why I moderate comments on all my blogs.
I will allow reasonable debate, but will not allow nor tolerate being disrespectful to others in the opinions they have.
I have not published more comments than published on my blogs for that reason.
Debate is a great and wonderful thing, particularly, as in my case, I sometimes write a post and play devil’s advocate to see what kind of meaningful debate will take place.

What about the bloke?So, along those lines, the second part of the commercial, where the woman leaves the man behind in the desert, that is a dig at men?
And I did not see the ‘clear implication that she deserves it’. I saw the man driving away from an unexpected surprise. That is all that was visible. Nothing about deserving it or punishment. Was there also such a ‘clear indication that he deserved it’ when the woman left the bloke behind later on in the film? Are you saying that they are sugggesting he deserves it because he is a man?
Don’t think so.

all of the time?Blanket statements concerning negative transgender portrayal in the media, news and entertainment industries is unfair when we are increasingly being portrayed with dignity. There was soap opera segment a year or two ago that portrayed us reasonably well.  Transamerica was another instance.  Even in A Soldier’s Girl, we were treated with a fair amount of respect…and that was an accomplishment given the crime the movie portrayed.  Several media figures, including Anna Quindlin, Diane Rehm, Larry King and Oprah have treated us with dignity.
I do agree that we are often portrayed in a negative light.  However, we would be taken more seriously if we called out specific and egregious instances of bad behavior.  Whether this particular instance falls under that, we can agree to disagree.  

I think……there is an awful lot of assuming going on her and far too much thinking beyond the actual thing shown on TV. Left there to die? Realy? I just saw a car the drove off. And seing as a bit further on the road, the bloke encounters a female hitchhiker, the road is clearly not that deserted. The woman he picked up didnt’t look too distressed so I doubt she felt as if she had been left out there to die by the person who gave her a lift previously.
I just fail to see how you can relate all this deep meaning (that is NEVER shown or hinted at) in an ad about a bloke being surprised by something unexpected who then gets left by the roadside himself.
Left to die. By the pretty woman. Why are people not upset about that? I see one minority person and one white male being left in the desert. And yet the ad is apparently aimed ONLY at trans people? Surely it is not worse to leave a trans person in the desert than it is to leave any other person in the desert.

Fair enoughI don’t decide what is or isn’t offensive for anyone else but myself. I am however perfectly entitled to say that I don’t see what is so offensive about the ad. That is MY opinion. I just don’t see it. No matter how much I try. No matter how much I change the story to involve a lesbian so that I can be more offended about my ‘own’ people being offended. But I am just not offended.

I will not participate in my own oppression. When I was living as a white, male, US Navy Sailor, I spent seven years with the collateral duty as an equal opportunity and sexual harassment instructor. I volunteered for the job of teaching tolerance and acceptance of those who were “different” from the majority population to my peers.
I spoke out against racism and sexism in the military, and worked to end bad behavior in the commands I was assigned to. At my last command, there were three people who were kicked out of the Navy because I initiated action against sexual harassment of, and misconduct towards, my then 23-year-old female division officer.
It’s not, and has never been for me, just about anti-transgender behavior directed against transgender people that rises my passions on equality issues.
I hear acceptance of those “things we as women spent our entire lives know we have to deal with” in your statements. Well, I don’t believe any of us should have to accept oppression for any reason, and if you see me as tilting at windmills over anti-transgender behavior — well, so be it. I don’t feel I “have to” put up with bad behavior, and specifically regarding my posts on “bad” anti-transgender behavior, I work to change the world for the generations of transyouth and transadults that will come after me. I don’t want those who come after me to “have to” put up with the shit I have to put up with.
And if I feel pity for you as a woman who accepts her own oppression — and seeming particpates in her own oppression by accepting it — please don’t mind that I find that which I perceive as your unhelpful attitudes a bit grating on me too.

Okay.Well, we’re on the same page then…sorta.
I’m offendend, you’re not — both of us should act based on how we, as individuals, feel about the ad.
Which, by the way, is why I wrote in my piece:

If you, like me, want to comment to the LA Car Guy dealerships about their commercial, the contact information for these nine dealerships are below the fold.

And not:

If you, like me, want to comment to the LA Car Guy dealerships about their commercial, raise up your pitchforks and gather some torches with me on the way to complaining to these nine dealerships…

Frankly, I thought I was giving a measured response and not telling people what to do, but instead informed people what I was going to do, and giving them the tools to do the same thing I was doing — if they wanted to do what I was doing too.

I appreciate the grand gesture as much as the next person,but this is a silly TV ad. If this is the oppression you need to fight against, well, go get ‘em.
When the time comes that you open the paper EVERY DAY, turn on the news, look out your window and identify with the thousands upon thousands of women on the planet ground into dust every day by their oppressors, and you identify with THEM – then you might have a clue where I’m coming from.
I think what throws me is that you seem to want so much to trumpet yourself as different from women, not one of us.  I’m thinking of how you always (well, lots) make a point to identify yourself as “Autumn Sandeen who is pre-op,” thus emphasizing your maleness, post photos of yourself as a man, talk of your male history.  Clearly, I don’t get it.
I realize we’re talking across a gulf that may not be bridgeable. I also realize this line of discussion is probably going to end badly.  I guess it already has.

lacarguy responseHello everyone,
My name is Mike Sullivan, owner of LAcarGUY. Wow, what a horrible, suprising day.  we never meant to offend, talk down to  or sound hurtfull to anyone.  I am terribly sorry that we did all of the above.  Being naive is no excuse, nor is it absolving  because we did not mean to do it.    
Our intent in both spots was to have fun with the kinda clueless guy, and guys in general, not either of the women he encountered.  Obviously the “joke” did not come off that way to the transgender community and for that i sincerely apologize. After reading comments here and on youtube, we now see the ad from a different point of view and have decided to take it off the air.          
Having said that, i was taken aback by many of the over-the-top insults and threats written by sone of the readers both here and on YouTube.   The internet is great for expressing opinions and helping to right wrongs that have been done.  But, when you wish people death or their business to be burnt down, doesn’t that promote the very atrocities that were so offending?  I’m very involved in my community.  i would never,  do anything intentional to  hurt, prejudice or defame anyone.  It is the opposite of my personality.    
Pease accept my sincere apology,
Mike
lacarguy

Just to interjectAs a non-trans person, I very much appreciate Autumn bringing these cases to our attention. The world is still very anti-trans BY DEFAULT. This is a real problem that we all need to address. I also believe this blog has shown what a powerful force of organizing and change it can be. And in general this blog tends to focus on problems that need fixing, and I am thankful for it.
If Autumn posted more positive stories of trans people, that would be great too. But that doesn’t mean she also can’t post about issues that are of a concern to her.
The more of both the better, imo. The world still knows so little about trans people and issues, we need all the info we can get. And I applaud Autumn for stepping up to that challenge, despite how tiring and frustrating it no doubt becomes day in and day out.

Reasonably, fair.. an absence of good and wellI have not yet seen a wholly positive portrayel of TG people.
Can you point 1 single wholly positive good portrayel of a TG person to me?
And how are we defining reasonable and fair, compared to what?
We get crumbs. Stale crumbs at that!

here you go…http://www.oprah.com/article/o…
http://www.newsweek.com/id/152…

The “Difference”The difference you speak of is spot on.  It’s essentially the difference from those who make the jump in their transition to being simply female (which they are supposed to be) and those who are unable to do so.  Those who are unable to make this jump are often forever described, sometimes even by themselves, with some prefix associated with their transition, i.e., Jane Doe, the transgendered woman, rather than just Jane Doe…many, are “proud” of a such a title, perplexingly.
With regards to the ad?  Kinda cute…nothing in it that offended me.  Actually, I took it how Mike, The LA Car Guy says it was intended…a commercial having fun with a clueless man.
 

Archetypes Vs StereotypesYou miss the important point of how fiction represents and defines whole groups of people much more than an interview.
A decent report is not the same as a decent portrayel in story. Because fiction and art defines much more of the unconcious understanding of and relation to subjects.
An Oprah special is usually just a momentary topic. Compared to frequent repeated transphobic jokes it has little relative weight especially in peoples unconscious minds.
A single movie scene (say psycho, silence of the lambs etc) will often last in peoples minds and memories far longer than a single interview.
Of course there have been some good documentaries etc. But what about portrayels of TG people in mass media story-telling providing good rather than harmful representations?
In a less emotive state (that remark was made after the recent hate-crime report) I can recall perhaps one non-english representation… but isn’t the point that it’s not easy to do showing that the images and ideas the majority of people are exposed to that portray us are transphobic negative stereotypes of us as deceivers which feeds and fosters the high TG murder rate?

Then where do the Murder Rates come from?If things like this aren’t a big deal then what is the source of murders of Transgender-identified people?
If you think this is fine, as well as another opportunity for you to take an envenomed stab at non-binary people, what do you think the real cause of these crimes are that we may deal with it directly?

Unfortunatelythe internet allows some people to go over the top, without much of a censor.
That said, I’m a hard core car guy, and a year ago I would have chuckled over this ad, and not given it a second thought. Then I started reading here, and got a line on the horrific things that happen to trans people all the time.
It’s context. An old western movie with a scene where they’re getting ready to lynch a horse thief sends a completely different message than another movie where they’re getting ready to lynch a black man. Same action, very different message. In the context of what I now know about trans people, this commercial sends a very bad message. You may or may not understand that on an emotional level, but I applaud your willingness to stop this commercial (that I’m sure cost you a bundle to have made) and shoot another one (that I’m sure will cost you another bundle), whether you get it or not. When I’m in the market for a new car, I’ll check out your site.

mediaThe media encompases more than fiction. Plus, a single episode of Oprah gets more viewership than many movies or tv shows (between 7-9 million households according to NPR).  
As you point out, many portrayals are negative.  I just feel that blanket statements about injustice are often not productive because the argument is then about your assertion rather than the problem in front of you.  

It’s Been Revealed To Be A HoaxI apologize for posting this story of what turned out to be a hoax.

I happen to powerfully agree with both of youAutumn for “I will not participate in my own oppression”– that’s absolutely right on, sister, and I’m so there with you! But– have a care about accusing Pollyanna of acquiescing in her own oppression. There is no basis for saying that. Pollyanna is as committed to liberation and ending oppression as any of us. If I were her, I would feel very offended having that said to me.
And Pollyanna for “you open the paper EVERY DAY, turn on the news, look out your window and identify with the thousands upon thousands of women on the planet ground into dust every day by their oppressors, and you identify with THEM”– that’s absolutely right on too, and I’m so there with you. For me, feminism always comes first and I absolutely identify with women that way in solidarity with them.
For me, the points I connect with in what both of you are saying right outweigh the points where you seem to disagree.  

Thank you, MikeThis speaks very well of you.

A pit bull ate my Birkenstocks and all I got was this rainbow flagPersonally, I’m all about the retribution…

Thank you so muchMike
Thank you so much for a truly sincere apology. Unfortunately the internet is full of people willing to flame their little angry hearts out, but kudos to you for giving the readers here a sincere apology for what really does sound like an unfortunate misunderstanding. All we here can do is hope that there are more open minded and more importantly, mature, people like you in the world.
If ever I move to LA, your dealerships will be the ones I patronize.

True however…How many movies and fictional tv programs from childhood teens and even adulthood are remembered compared to interviews after a few years?
It’s more often the fiction that sticks, with a tiny handful of exceptions.
Yes I spoke in a generalisation in a state of angry emotions (and while the murder that angered me turned out to be a hoax I’m still angry over Letitia King, Angie Zapata and many more).
But still the point remains that many portrayels in non-fiction have been hostile or demeaning and in fiction propagating negative stereotypes.
I think that this representation is a large part of the cause of the violence TG people face. That and direct hate-speech as well as a climate of mockery which results in repression which leads to depression, suicide and I fear that it also may lead to violence as I suspect that like homophobes many violent transphobes may be repressed TG people themselves.