Shister: Chaz Bono Won’t End Homophobia

Gail Shister on this season's 'Dancing With the Stars' controversies

Chaz Bono is taking a lot of heat from conservative viewers about his role this year on the hit ABC television show Dancing With the Stars (which premieres Sept. 19 at 8 p.m.). Recently, psychiatrist Keith Ablow warned parents to boycott the show, saying that Bono would be a bad influence on children.

The Fox News regular had this to say in an online op-ed: “Chaz Bono should not be applauded for asserting she is a man (and goes about trying to look like one) any more than a woman who believes she will be happier without arms, has them removed and then continues to assert that she was right all along – her self-concept was that of a double amputee.”

We would have plenty to say to Ablow, a psychiatric professional, no less, who obviously has a very limited (if non-existent) understanding of transgender issues – right down to the insensitive pronouns. But thankfully, on the Philly Post, columnist Gail Shister talks about the impact of the first transgender dancer and why other contestants like Queer Eye‘s Carson Kressley can’t seem to cut a rug with same-sex partners.

Check it out:

In all the hoopla surrounding Chaz Bono as the first transgender competitor on Dancing With the Stars, a larger issue is being ignored: Why isn’t Queer Eye for the Straight Guy alum and out-and-proud Allentown native Carson Kressley doing the cha-cha with a male partner?

For the record, Kressley is not the first open homo to appear on DWTS, which launches its 13th season on September 19th. That distinction belongs to former boy-band star Lance Bass, in season 7. He and his female partner finished third.

Opponents to same-sex partners argue that tradition dictates strict gender roles in ballroom dancing. Despite the fact that many of the male pros on Dancing are closeted queens, their partnership with females puts them right in step with the ballroom-dancing world.

Also, the queens lead.

Of course, tradition can vary by country. The Israeli version of DWTS last year became the first in the world to feature a same-sex couple–an openly-lesbian TV sportscaster and a heterosexual professional dancer.

Last time we checked, the Wailing Wall was still standing.

For the complete post, click here.