Maury Povich, whose show refuses to die, recently hosted crazed Britney fan Chris Crocker.
Andy over at Towelroad posted the video of the future television star and, we have to admit, this appearance sort of changed our minds about the kid.
Sure, he’s totally annoying and we have no interest in befriending him, but he said something very interesting during his appearance. When asked why he’s obsessed with Ms. Spears, Crocker replied, We’re both beautiful women that [bleeped] wants to be.” Maury later says, “America will never forget you,” which may be true. There are two sides to this: first, the perpetuation of gay men as flimsy tools and second, the potential for a broadened understanding of trans folk.
Now, we don’t know if Crocker identifies as a woman, but people seem to like him and he could potentially push gender norms in a new direction. If he does manage to open people’s mind, we’re all about it. If not, well, at least the kid got his fifteen minutes.
In case you’re wondering what word the producers censored… Well, we can’t tell for sure, but by reading Crocker’s lips it looks like he said “everyone”. We’re hoping someone in the audience yelled something offensive, because, we’re really confused as to why Povich’s producers would want to edit out “everyone”. You guys take a look and let us know what you think.
Dawster
but did Mary find out who the father was?
(lol)
Heather_L_James
Hmm, Crocker as trans icon. Not sure how I feel about that. (S)he definitely has the potential for a Kate Bornstein type of gender challenging personality. Nineteen is awfully young to be an icon or a hero to anyone, though.
One thing I will say is that Chris suffers a lot of abuse via youtube and myspace. If you ever needed any more evidence that homo/trans phobia is not only alive, but thriving, just read the comments on Chris’s videos or listen to all the “fags” bleeped out on this one.
In the end it all comes down to expressing onesself in the manner he or she is most comfortable. In that regard Chris is definitely an inspiration to me, and from the reactions I have seen, frightening to people who have never taken the time to examine their own sexuality and gender identity.
nilla4me
Isn’t this the same person who auditioned for American Idol a few seasons ago and left the judges wondering about the s/he of it all…
Jamie
Please. This guy is a dingleberry hanging off of our collective gay asses.
Time to wipe.
zeami99
why must you always accuse innocent feminine campy guys as
“perpetuating a stereotype”? They are sincerely having fun and enjoying their natures. What makes it reinforcing a stereotype if the people are really like that? Did ” the stereotype” come out of thin air? Do you think he gives a rats ass about perpetuating a stereotype? No – that is your constant, usually unwarranted angle.
Leave him alone! Leave him aLOOONE. NOW!
3Dspleen
/clap zeami99. You’re right. Gay men (or straight men) who wish to act femme, or who are just innately queeny have a right to express themselves as they wish and deserve our respect for doing so. They should not be subjected to accusations of “perpetuating a stereotype.” Let no one forget the brave actions of the drag queens and butch lesbians who stood up to police harassment in 1969, Stonewall and helped create today’s gay rights movement. Without gay men daring to bend gender norms and act as nelly as they please, the majority of spineless “straight-acting” gays would still be in the closet trying to hide behind last century’s ideals of how “real men” should act.
On the other hand, TV SHOWS, MOVIES, NEWS, etc., which portray or emphasize effeminate gay men should be reproached for their exploitation of gay stereotypes. Effeminate men should not only be tolerated and even praised for their courage, they should be left alone by the media. As long as media portrayals of gay men cater to these stereotypes, it sends the message that such men should be perceived as freakish or out of the ordinary. THIS IS WRONG. Gender roles need to be broken down, and the best way to do this is for femme gay men to exist and for everyone else to understand that their presence is not noteworthy in itself.
Kudos to queens, shame on media exploitation of queens, in my opinion.
(As to whether Chris Crocker is truly identifying as trans or not, I don’t know. Either way, I support his showmanship for challenging people to question their own position on the masculine-feminine scale and for furthering the normalcy of effeminate men. As for going on the Maury show and getting his own TV deal, eh, whatever. I don’t really care for such self-promotion and I’m worried that he’ll be presented as a source of amusement for who he is, rather than for what he’s talking about, but knowing America, if not him, they’ll find someone else willing to dance in his shoes, so in the end I don’t care.)
Mr. B
Chris Crocker has said in a vlog post that he identifies as male. And why the heck can’t he? It was a pretty well-articulated post. People on the female-assigned side of things have kind of claimed a comfortable space on the genderqueer spectrum (though plenty of people don’t get that either), but when someone on the male-assigned side acts too femme, it’s like everyone’s waiting for the other shoe to drop and said femme to transition. I say, let the kid fearlessly genderfuck to his/hir heart’s content. Plenty of us are perfectly happy with our place in the gender binary, but someone’s gotta do the blurry work. Kudos, Chris!
Honeymaid
Okay, one question, is that bitch wearing JUST leopard print? Animal print should only ever be worn in small amounts otherwise you’ll look… like Chris Crocker. But I suppose I can forgive him since he at least didn’t mix animal prints…
Zeami99, he’s not having fun, he’s enjoying the attention, any bitch who records their breakdown over a broken-down popstar is at least subconsciously, if not consciously, craving attention, they just want attention like a dog begging for scraps, I don’t care who they are.
I have absolutely no problem with queeny, camp, fem, androgyo, or anything like it. I am campy and queeny when I am happy, but this isn’t about him being fem or queeny, this is about him being a damned attention whore who won the internet meme lottery and is basking in it.
And second of all, I wish he’d perpetuate JUST the stereotype of the majority of us queers being well dressed but I just CAN’T stand that… (what the hell is he wearing I can’t think of any words besides monstrosity>)
CandelLife
So the wacko (Chris Crocker) that says he doesn’t care about 911 and all the people that died doesn’t matter to him, he specifically said he “didn’t care about 911” and that Brittany is more important than 911… this person deserves his own tv show????? Is that how low we have sunk? His own video and his own words: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7ZxLeXbA6g&mode=user&search=
SeaFlood
Candel(sic)Life,
… I don’t care about 9/11 either. All the care I could have had was sucked out of it by Bush and his supporters. I might get a lot of flack for that, but that’s how I am. It’s a position and even a protective measure for those who might be prone to post-traumatic stress disorder. However, why are you moralizing about what someone else believes? How is it even your business — even if someone puts it out there? I could be judgmental about the way you spell… well… your name. I could even make decisions about how I view your intelligence and worth — that does not make it right, or mean that you are less intelligent or worthy than you are.
It is so easy to judge people based on the surface of something, without really knowing…
*wait*
*watches*
It’s all about position and perspective, hon. He’s… how old?… Back off.
CandelLife
I think he is getting his punishment now and doesn’t even know it. They’ll use him up and throw him to the curb. That “Just Britney” art show is all about making fun of her with all kinds of crap they are calling art. Yet they paid his way out there to be a part of it…interesting…. Perez Hilton and others have vids on youtube showing it… unreal.
I won’t get into a childish debate with you, his own words say enough and I’m not alone in how I feel by a long shot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vAYfftda_0
So did they go through him first to insult her?
samfrancis
I wonder what Der Feurher would say about this?