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A woman behind
the words
Christine Daniels offers the
unique chance to meet a familiar voice
By
Cyd Zeigler jr.
Outsports.com
Discuss this article
It should
be no surprise that of all the stories the Los Angeles Times
carried on Thursday, from the Lakers' woes in the NBA
playoffs to dying kittens in L.A. shelters, the
most-viewed and most-emailed story at latimes.com was one
titled, "Old
Mike, New Christine."
Long-standing Los Angeles Times sportswriter Mike Penner, it
seems, has had a secret shared by precious few in our
society, let alone sports. For years he has felt like a
woman trapped in the body of a man. And he's finally doing
something about it.
"I am a
transsexual sportswriter," Penner wrote. "It has taken more
than 40 years, a million tears and hundreds of hours of
soul-wrenching therapy for me to work up the courage to type
those words. I realize many readers and colleagues and
friends will be shocked to read them."
Those will
be some of the final words written by Mike Penner for the
Times. He's taking a permanent vacation, and in a few weeks,
Christine Daniels will be the new sportswriter – with
Penner's voice. Rather, maybe all along it was Penner making
a name for himself using Christine's voice, but afraid to
let that voice out completely. In his column, Penner said
the writer's block that has plagued him at times is slipping
away. He is, it seems, finally willing to let Christine's
full voice be heard.
Transgender
issues are barely on anyone's radar screen outside of the
relatively small community of self-aware transgender people.
They're the "T" in GLBT – always last, often left off the
acronym entirely. Some gay people think that gay issues
should be addressed and debated entirely void of transgender
issues, because they're different. And they are different.
But the social issues transgender people face are much like
those faced by gay men and lesbians. Their struggle, while
deeper and often more painful, is much like ours, and I feel
proud to call them, in loose terms, family.
Many gay
people also erroneously see them as just the over-the-top
drag queens who lip sync along with Mariah Carey as we sip
our vodka-cranberries and chat the night away. Many straight
people see them as stubble-chinned men in dresses. But what
gets rarely acknowledged is what that dress means to the
person wearing it: A symbol of self-expression they hold so
personally and so dear that they are willing to put their
future on the line to wear it.
For any of
those quick to judge Penner, and there will be many (though
I doubt many of them read this Web site), consider how
strongly he must have felt this lack of belonging, to risk
what he is risking. His marriage. His job. His spot on his
over-30 rec league soccer team. His friends. For the next
year, when he tries to get quotes and comments from people
for a story, he'll have to wade through a litany of
questions and doubts. When you consider all that he is
putting on the line, and the 40 years he has tried to
suppress this feeling, you understand a bit better that this
isn't some passing whim to put on a dress.
There was
certainly a time I shunned transgender issues and belittled
transgender people. But, for the last several years, I have
dove into transgender issues, and specifically their role in
sports, as best I can. I feel blessed to have met Molly
Lenore, an incredible woman who joined the New York Gay
Football League two years ago. She has been a staple of New
York gay sports for years. She's got a fantastic attitude,
is warm and caring, and is a hell of a football player. In
college, she was a man, and no one would have guessed Molly
was deep inside him waiting to get out. But she did, and the
people in her life are better for it. The people in Penner's
life will be better for it, too.
The beauty
of Penner's revelation is that people like Molly have one
more person like them to look up to, and that those in the
sports media have the "news hook" to tell stories like
Molly's. While Penner might not want a lot of attention for
this, he's going to get it. And he should. It's not every
day that a story like his comes along that opens the doors
to these discussions. The good his story will do for other
people like him could be felt from coast to coast.
But will
the major sports media use Penner's story to tell these
other stories and broaden people's understanding, the way
they did with John Amaechi's coming out? Chances are, it
will be a very mixed bag. Homosexuality is something
straight men can relate to and understand on at least a
carnal level: Gay guys are guys who love sex; they just want
to do it with another guy. But transgender issues: That is a
whole other realm of identity and being that most haven't
even considered, let alone understand.
Talking to
a friend who's a sports radio host a couple hours after the
story broke, he didn't even know where to begin with the
questions.
"How long
has he known he's gay?" He asked.
I explained
that gener identity and sexual orientation are two
completely different things. I told him about a transgender
woman I know who now mostly dates women: As a man he dated
women, and as a woman he dated women. Just because he was
transgender doesn't mean he was a gay man.
That all
just confused him even more.
Still,
there is an inquisitiveness there that is undeniable. Any
journalist worth his salary will see this story and perk up,
as I did several years ago when a story about a trannie
stuck in a tree in Central Park came across my desk. And all
of those Mike Penners across the country – those solid
writers who have the ability to think a little deeper and
express their thoughts eloquently – will certainly have some
thoughts to sort through in the coming hours and days.
Hopefully, they'll share those thoughts with their readers.
For those
who knew Mike and will soon see Christine and don't know
quite what to do, may I suggest a simple salutation:
"Hello,
Christine. I've been reading your stuff for years. It's good
to finally meet you."
April 26,
2007 |
