The Today Show covered a story yesterday about a kidnapping in Tennessee. Erika Sadowski was arrested on Saturday after she was found with the two children, 15 hours after they were reported missing. Sadowski has lived with the family for the last five years, caring for the children.About 800,000 children are reported missing in the United States every year. So why would The Today Show find this so newsworthy? The story is not newsworthy, but it is sensational. Ms. Sadowski, it turns out, is biologically male, but has lived as a woman for the past 20 years, which was news to the children's mother.
Like their staple scare stories about the next epidemic or unsafe cars, NBC seemed to be sending out a public service warning that she-males may be walking among us where we least suspect it. Watch out!
Unfortunately, making fun of transgender people is still fair game on network news, Felicity Huffman's Transamerica notwithstanding. The report likened Sadowski to Mrs. Doubtfire, showing clips from the 1993 comedy which has Robin Williams dressing in drag to land a nanny job caring for his own children. The local sheriff quipped, "Let's just say Robin Williams had a much better makeup artist."
The look on Katie Couric's face after the story finished seemed to say, "Screw this garbage. CBS Evening News, here I come." I may be giving her too much credit, but I just want to believe that she was disgusted at the insensitivity of the story.
The Knoxville NBC station seems to have zero understanding of transgender issues. "Edward Sadowski was arrested in Dyersburg over the weekend and was listed as Erika Sadowski at the time," the station reports, even though Sadowski legally changed her name to Erika 20 years ago. There's no evidence that Sadowski was out to deceive anyone or that she lived as a woman just to get a babysitting job. She's a transsexual, not a transvestite.
The Associated Press apparently has yet to distribute its new edition of the AP Stylebook to its own journalists. The 2006 edition has this new entry:
transgender Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth. If there preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the way the individuals live publicly.
Yet the AP story published in the Knoxville News Sentinel included this: "Sadowski apparently changed his name sometime around 1986 after being discharged from the U.S. Air Force after a 20-year career, according to a background check."
When someone is arrested for a heinous crime or discovered doing something stupid, few people rush to defend them against ridicule. There are a lot of idiots who are playing for my team that I would just as soon trade to other side. I could do without any association with conservative White House "reporter" and gay prostitute Jeff Gannon. Matt Lauer would have had to call him a limp-wristed sissy to get a rise from the gay community. Serial killers like Andrew Cunanan and "Monster" Aileen Wuornos did nothing to advance gay and lesbian acceptance. Maybe this is why I have yet to find any response to the Sadowski story from the transgender community.
Without defending the alleged crime, why is it so scandalous that Sadowski was not born a woman? The implication seems to be twofold: that transsexuals are unfit to care for children and that transsexuals are obligated to disclose their gender history lest they be deemed deceitful.
It's too bad so few people will ever see Transamerica. In it, Felicity Huffman's character, Bree, makes the point that, "Just because a person doesn't go around blabbing her entire biological history doesn't make her a liar." Throughout the film, we understand that Bree is just trying to live her life with dignity and authenticity.
Though it's none of anyone's business, Sadowski apparently has not undergone sexual reassignment surgery, though through hormone therapy, she has some feminine characteristics. Prison guards discovered this during a strip search. Given that she's been working as a nanny, I would conclude that she has never had the money to complete a gender reassignment surgery.
Nevertheless, she clearly identifies as a woman. The media should respect how she identifies her gender and leave the sensationalism to Jerry Springer. NBC owes the transgender community an apology.
6 comments:
My name is Carrie and Erica babysat for my daughter Tiffany for about five years. I never knew she had formally been a man, nor do I care. She was a wonderful nanny and I regreted that my financial situation would not allow me to keep her longer. To anyone out there who reads this, you must understand that she worked for me before she worked for the couple in Dyesburg and I would still give her a recommendation as a wonderful person who is great with children. If you have any comments for me my email is dicediva7@yahoo.com
Thank you both for sharing. Please let me know if there are any other updates. It seems to me there's a lot to this story we haven't heard yet.
I extend my thanks too. It's appalling and disgusting that Erika was 'outed' in this fashion & that some media sources commit the injustice of incorrectly assigning her as male.
In some places there exists a set of media protocols to avoid that kind of thing. Transsexuals have the right to be treated respectfully like everyone else and not to be subject to continual public ridicule based on gender bias.
I live in New Zealand, on the other side of the world, so this news story didn't even rate a mention over here when it happened. But late night TV being what it is, the "Real Crime" documentary on the story did screen last night and I must say that I was completely SHOCKED by the media circus which sprang up around the story. I felt very sorry for Erika, I think she had a reason for taking those kids and that it was for their welfare not to harm them.
The fact that transsexuals are still 'fair game' for the U.S media is really disgusting. It's strange to me because it just doesn't happen here, we have a women Primeminister, several gay members of parliament and the worlds FIRST transsexual member of parliament who retired from politics recently.
My country may be small but we seem to be a lot more accepting of gender issues. It's really sad that Erika had to suffer the abuse and derision of small minded rednecks when all she wanted was the best for the children in her care.
Yes, thanks. We had a doco on about this late last night down here in Australia. I fell asleep right at the end but I understand she passed away. Does anyone know how this occurred and if there are any other updates? The parents were certainly 'interesting' weren't they...
Marty, what a beautiful person you are! Thank-you for your even-handed, non-judgemental comments.
I am a transsexual woman living in Australia and, I too, saw the documentary "The Real Mrs. Doubtfire" on Australian television last night. I was shocked and appalled at the treatment meeted out to Erika. I do not recall the affair so obviously it did not rate a mention in the Aussie news. Sadly the Garner/Smith couple are a very poor advertisement for American people, most of whom I know, from my internet friends, to be lovely, warm and reasonable people. Once again, however, the squeaky wheel gets the oil and these moronic parents got in first and made the most noise, so their version prevailed. I am glad that the evidence of Smith's boss and the store manager refuted the claims of Garner and Smith. This may have been of some comfort to Erika before her untimely death.
Anyway, this is turning into an essay so I'll finish on a personal note: I have always found it best to "out" myself first, that way I do not live in fear of discovery and, surprisingly, this has worked well for me. I have been warmly accepted by my family, neighbours, friends and community. I guess I'm very lucky to live in Australia where people like me are taken at face value and not automatically assumed to be perverts and freaks.
Marty, judging by their responses, your readers are as thoughtful and
wise as you are.
Kind regards, Cynthia.
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