Ceara Sturgis Talks About Being an Out Teen
Earlier today I was refreshing my memory on the Brandon Teena story. Brandon was the transman who was raped and murdered in Nebraska, and whose life became the Academy Award winning movie, Boy's Don't Cry. I was wondering why it's Mathew Shepard and not Brandon Teena whose name is included on the freshly passed Hate Crimes Measure.
Perhaps because Mathew's mom, Judy Shepard, became a fierce advocate for LGBT rights, and was propelled into activism after the death of her son. JoAnne Brandon, after winning a law suit filled against the County Sheriff's dept for negligence in preventing Brandon's death, never fully accepted the orientation or gender identity of her child.
And now we have Ceara Sturgis' mom who has steadily backed not only her daughter's sexual orientation but her gender presentation. With an a almost newly minted law, Ceara's mom can rest assured that the Federal Government now acknowledges her rights of protection.
Comments [17]
Shit....
I can't believe that it's almost 2010, and we're even talking about this kinda shit in this country. A lesbian in school, bfd. Middle America, get the hell over your hateful, ignorant selves - take your blinders off, life is way too short to be so fucking stupid!
The girl is beautiful, and she knows how to love - isn't that what life is all about....love.
:insert pissed off emoticon:
you captured my emotions perfectly!
Amen.
View from Lake Wobegon
MacL, I understand what you mean about 2010, but Caera lives in the South, which, in places, is a whole 'nother country and time.
Minnie in Lake Wobegon
Civility is not a sign of weakness.
I know what you mean Minns...
That's exactly what frustrates me so much. My heart wonders how long it will take for 'certain regions' of our....... 'un-enlightened' country, to wake up.
I tried to leave this one alone...
... I really did. But I just couldn't.
I have tracked both cases, some would say obsessively, for many years now.
There are very stark differences between the murders of Brandon Teena and Matthew Shepard, both in how each was handled by law enforcement as well as how each was handled by the media. The two murders were also 5 years apart.
First, JoAnn Brandon did not know her child was transgender, and until the death of her child she wasn't even aware of the sexual abuse of her children by a trusted adult relative. All she knew was that her child was violently raped and beaten, and that subsequent mishandling, indifference, and intolerance by law enforcement led directly to her child's murder a week later, on New Year's Eve 1993. There was no community support, no national LGBT support, and no wall to wall national and international coverage from the moment the crime was discovered. JoAnn Brandon was neither physically, emotionally, nor financially equipped to do more than what she was able, to pursue criminal prosecution, file civil rights charges, and file a civil lawsuit against the Sheriff who was responsible for the events that led to her child's murder.
Now, compare to Judy Shepard. Her child's 1998 murder recieved prompt, immediate, and aggressive action from law enforcement. Media coverage, both national and international, was equally prompt and aggressive, and continues to this day. National gay and lesbian groups pounced on the case like never before, pushing since for hate crimes legislation that did not include the likes of Brandon Teena until 2005. LGBT artists wrote songs, created stage productions, and the HBO docudrama The Laramie Project within the first couple of years.
Let's now compare the media response to the school shooting death of 15 year old Lawrence King in 2008. When it was believed King was shot by a classmate for being gay, national and international press coverage was like in the case of Matthew's, wall to wall and non-stop. The moment it was learned that King was likely transgender, the story was dropped like a dead fly, even by the previously distraught Ellen DeGeneres, who hasn't mentioned the story since.
So, perhaps before we pass judgment on JoAnn Brandon's lack of knowledge and understanding of her child's gender dysphoria, we should look at how law enforcement and the media treat differently being gay or lesbian versus being transgender, and how such treatment has evolved (for lack of a better word). We should also look at the lack of knowledge and understanding amongst gays and lesbians, the majority of which still consider bisexuality a form of selfishness or inability to commit, and transgender issues as a mental instability or delusion, much like their heterosexual counterparts.
For certain, we should refrain from quantifying a parent's love for their child or grief at the loss of said child based upon circumstances we neither know of nor understand fully.
I'm glad you didn't!
Why try to leave it alone? I'm very glad you spoke up and said many of the things I was thinking.
In comparing the public response to the Shepard and Teena murders you are right to point out that the five years time difference was significant--things were happening pretty fast and furious during the 90s in terms of the public's education and awareness of LGBTs. Also, the impact of socio-economic status on the two families cannot be over-stated: the Shepards were middle-class and educated whilst JoAnn Brandon was a struggling working-class single mother.
But...there's no getting around it: the primary reason why Brandon Teena's murder did not initially receive more public attention was because gay men in positions of power didn't give a shit.
I first learned about the Teena murder from a lesbian play-reading group that a friend of mine had organized. This was well before the feature movie, though I'm not quite sure where it stands in relation to the documentary. In any event, it was a strong, solid play, certainly worthy of development, but the female playwright had trouble generating interest from the predominately gay male powers-that-be in the NYC theatre scene. Teena was murdered the same year (1993) that Tony Kushner's Angels in America was taking Broadway by storm and the play I saw was written during the same time period as Jonathan Larson's Rent.
It's notable that both The Brandon Teena Story and Boys Don't Cry were brought to the screen by women producers, directors and writers.
Matthew Shepard became the poster-boy for the hate crimes bill despite the fact that his killers were not solely motivated by anti-gay bias (this is well-documented, though it has been swept under the carpet by the gay community). The sole motivation for Teena's rape and murder, on the other hand, was his gender identity.
I love my gay male friends and hate painting in broad strokes, but even they are appalled at times by how insular and self-centered too many of their brethren can be. The fact that there were no press passes for lesbian media at the HRC dinner is just the tip of the iceberg. I've often wondered what would have happened if the AIDS crisis had struck the lesbian community rather than the men: how long would it have taken to reach the national consciousness, and who would been at our bedsides to nurse us?
As a friend of mine loves to say--if men menstruated, tampons would be tax deductible.
Now don't get me started, lol
I could go on forever along that line of discussion, especially when it comes to the media. For instance:
Why is it that, at Sirius OutQ, there are no women who have there own shows? Why are there no shows geared towards lesbian, bisexual, or transgender women? Why, with all the male dominated shows on that channel, was the Diana Cage Show, the only one hosted and controlled by a woman, cancelled?
Or how about LOGO, in which 80% plus of the programming is geared towards gay men?
And, as my grandmother use to say, if men could get pregnant, birth control would be free, and there would be drive-thru abortion clinics.
Yes.
Yes.
"about her lifestyle
choice" ???
"a teen that's openly gay!"
Did I hear that tv moderator say "W-LBT News"?
only one letter missing!!
What a great interview. Nice to hear some good news for a change. But strange to hear people still talking about "sexual orientation" as tho they're peering at an exotic bug, some 50,000 years after Martina coming out.
I wish they'd asked Ceara how many love letters she gets...
LOL
I replayed it the first time around thinking it was just my hearing. Then I saw your comment.
As for the sexual orientation, its Mississippi. Some folks out that way are still adjusting to electricity and the need to educate children of color.
Really?
I've lived in Mississippi my entire life. I know that much of the state is close minded and ridiculously conservative, but that comment was really unnecessary. "Children of color" Really?
Yes, children of color.
Everyone hears/reads things differently, but in education that is the respectfully appropriate way to speak of the diverse none anglo population. And I spent a bit of time in Mississippi myself. I interviewed at 3 different schools and each principal gave me some form of, "You'll have N** in your class, but that doesn't mean you have to teach them." Yes, that was a couple of decades ago. But I know folks who are still teaching out there. In some areas, not much has changed.
Yes
I completely agree with you there. Mississippi, unfortunately is very far behind and I hate to hear that happened to you in your job search. Some parts are surprisingly progressive, considering the location. I know that a log has changed in the past couple of decades, and hopefully it will continue into the future.
Good for you, kid! Keep up
Good for you, kid! Keep up the good fight... you know she'll have all the femmes swooning over her now!
TRUE
I was just about to say:
Hey Ceara,
Call me in 5 years.
.
cougar.
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