I have a lot to learn about the LGBT community in general, but especially about the trans community. I just recently differentiated between "transgender" and "transsexual," for instance, and I think there is a subtle negative connotation in some people's minds associated with "trans," and that could simply be due to the word "transvestite." As a child, I wrongly gave that a negative image just because it was something I didn't understand, and the word itself is a particularly extreme word with extreme sounding syllables.
Recently, an openly trans woman, Amy Schneider, has surpassed James Holzhauer's 32-game winning streak in 2009 by winnin her 33rd game this past Friday (we only found out about it on Friday Jan. 14th, but the episode was actually taped on November 2nd last year, per Jeopardy's method of taping games well in advance of when they air.) Amy's run has given Jeopardy a positive ratings boost as it's one of the highest rated shows on TV right now, as there may be some carryover from 38-game winner Matt Amodio's run earlier this season. Amy is such an impressive player, showing diverse knowledge in all areas, and the gameplay is improved due to her presence (it's always more fun when the contestants actually know the answers), and when even Amy doesn't know an answer, it's usually because it's a very hard clue. More impressive, however, has been Amy's representation of the trans community, and her message to the audience that trans people can do anything, and she dedicated her performances to "that little trans girl nerd out there" not to doubt herself. Amy is a great representation of the trans community not only because of her accomplishment and the positive message that she's spreading, but also not engaging in all the negativity and vitriol online. There are just so many people on the internet with apparently too much free time on their hands shouting "Congrats dude!" and "Great job, Mr. Schneider," among other derogatory comments insinuating that Amy is actually a man. Really makes you wonder how bored or hateful or both some people have to be to go online and seek out this topic and express themselves like this. I can see if people have strong religious beliefs or ideas about biological differences why they want to express themselves, but attacking someone just because they are on TV doing well on a game show. It'd be nice if people had some empathy/sympathy/could imagine what it might be like for other people.
I watched some more interviews with Amy and she apparently has a girlfriend now, but also an ex-wife who was supportive of her efforts to get on Jeopardy. I wonder how difficult that conversation was for Amy and his wife as she struggled with her own sexual identity and gender. I imagine that there were sacrifices made and a lot of conflict affecting someone who seems to be a very reasonable person and put together. Again, I have little exposure to the trans community except for watching "Orange is the New Black," a few trans facebook friends whom I'm not close friends with, and Amy dominating on Jeopardy.
On the Jeopardy front, I have to say that as intriguing as Amy's domination storyline is going, it's a little frustrating to see her dominate every single game, getting off to a huge start against her 2 opponents, often taking an insurmountable lead by the end of the Jeopardy! round and easily clinching a run-away game by the end of Double Jeopardy! thus making Final Jeopardy moot, as she's already won. I often wonder whether the level of competition is just a tad lower and whether the other contestants are late on the buzzer all the time or just don't know and letting Amy rip right through categories like a runaway locomotive. This past week, she missed the Final Jeopardy question 4 out of the 5 nights (including a couple relatively easy ones IMO about Vincent Van Gogh's brother and a question essentially asking which 19th century American added a second "S" to his/her surname in 1838........I feel like 30 seconds was enough time to come up with Douglass, Frederick Douglass). So maybe Amy is fading, she's tired, and it's just a matter of time until someone dethrones her. Before that happens though, I'll be watching intently this week (starting tomorrow, MLK Day, a holiday but jeopardy will still air!) not just for the competition, but to learn more about her life as a trans person.
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