Our new favorite person on The Real World: Brooklyn? Ryan. He’s the straight Iraqi veteran who’s taken a keen interest in all things Katelynn, the MTF transgender roommate, who until last night’s episode had come out to everyone but the straight guys (and Devon, but that got taken care of too). But then Ryan approached her directly — and learned all about the process of transitioning. And after all the joking and the misinformation, we see Ryan as a pretty decent guy: naturally curious, and pretty okay with things outside his comfort zone once he gets acclimated. Katelynn always wanted to tell her roommates THE BIG SECRET on her own terms, but everyone had guessed by this point, and those who were unsure were told by … none other than gay roommate JD. So guess who’s pissed at JD? Roll footage!
We walked into this season of The Real World thinking dolphin training hottie JD Ordonez was just the type of gay representation we were looking for the show: Educated, worldly, cute, a cheerleader for gay rights, and not there just to hook up. But when the cameras are rolling, the worst come out. Namely, his protective alliance with Katelynn (the MTF transgender) seems to have blown up, all because he let her secret spill when he was drunk or just hanging with the guys.
Was he just doing her a favor in softening the news shock to the straight guys of the house? Or did he violate some trust boundary when he told all?
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Adam
Those boys already had an idea that something was up with Katelynn. JD should have kept his drunk mouth shut.
cruiser
Personally I think JD violtaed and unspoken trust with Katelynn, it was not HIS place to “out” her it was he decision WHEN she was ready. JD is a tool(a drunken one at that). It would appear that Katelynn may have a new ally in Ryan(a cutie in his own right)he does seem to be pretty level headed about things that fall outside of his “comfort zone” he seems to be the leaset judgemental of the bunch(except when he is teasing the **** out of Scott) which he enjoys enormously. Now that Katelynn’s secret is out hopefully she will be able to feel more comfortable in not just her own skin, but in her environment as well. Wish them luck(they are going to need it)
cruiser
Criminy I can’t spell for beans, that is supposed to read…violated…
Lena Dahlstrom
It was Katelynn’s call to make, so yes, he was violating “some trans boundary.” More like the Prime Directive.
This where things are a little different between being LGB and being trans.* For LGB people being “out and proud” means being open about who you are. For trans people, while it ought not to be a big deal, we ain’t there yet. So being being out an proud means non-trans people usually focus on who you were — in Katelynn’s case that she was born male, or that people pigeon-hole you as something other that your desired gender, i.e. you’re treated as a trans woman or trans man, rather than just another woman or man. Even for a crossdresser like myself, when I’m presenting as a woman, I’d like to be treated as one — even if I know that people aren’t mistaking me for someone who’s female bodied.
So needless to say, a lot of trans people don’t announce that they’re trans people. To the point that — unlike many gays and lesbians who will drop “friends of Dorothy” hints when someone sets off their gaydar, the Prime Directive among the vast majority trans people is “thou shalt NOT give any indication that you think someone might be trans unless they choose to disclose.” Among other reasons, if someone’s insecure about being accepted as their desired gender, it can be really crushing to know that you’re getting read. (Knowing that people may well be reading you is very different than them demonstrating that they are.)
* Though of course there are trans people who are also LGB — and transsexuals who transition end up usually being seen as LGB some point in their lives depending on who they’re attracted to. (For example, MTFs who are attracted to women go from being seen as straight men to being seen as lesbians; FTMs who are attracted to women go from being seen as (usually butch) lesbians to being straight men, etc.)
kevin
JD threw Katelynn under the bus in a perverse way of fitting in with the straight boys. He sold her out, like a capo.
RR
JD is someone who can’t keep a secret, particularly when he’s drunk. A lot of people are terrible at keeping secrets, and you have to be aware of that before you tell someone anything you don’t want to get around. I don’t think he was specifically choosing to screw Katelynn, I think he would have blabbed anything he knew about anyone. He was blabbing all of his own family problems and personal issues to the roommates and cameras almost as soon as they met.
In Katelynn’s case she didn’t have much choice, though, because JD and some of the others spotted her out right away.
Sebbe
On JD ditto – it was defo wrong and he was just doing it to “fit in” with the str8 bois (+chet).
I watched the after show this morning while I was getting ready and what was surprising to me (since they don’t show it in the show at all), is that Katlynn was actually closest with Abs (I forgot his name already Scott?). Both before and after he found out.
I still think Sarah is probably the biggest busy body there though and Baya they should just edit out completely, waste of air time.
The rudest thing I thought (and I’m not sure he did it on purpose), was Ryan telling Katlynn that he knew she was a boi from the first minute he saw her. That’s got to be crushing to her. But, I will say once he got over his initial shock and laughs, it seemed like it was no big deal to him.
Irregardless of who you like and don’t like, I think this season has shown that gays, straights are all just people with normal problems (more so than past season’s with their token character sans Pedro).
donsnyc
JD is a total ASHHOLE! He is giving the gays a bad rap with his drunken obnoxiousness and shallowness. I was first turned off when he came in drunk and cursing immigrants (english as second language) who had a hard time understanding his drunken assholish words. He forgot that he is the son of first generation Cuban immigrant parents. Then he outed a trans M-F just so he could fit in and be one of the boys.
He is a shallow and pathetic gay man who has self esteem issues. He said that he had a tough life growing up with a foster family as his parents abandoned him as a child, but you know what? that is NOT a reason to be an asshole, other people grew up in worst conditions than he did and a lot of them have overcome and did not grow up to become an ass.
Kree
JD is a social alcoholic and a natural blabber mouth. He violated Katelynn’s trust and took away her option to tell her secret on her own terms.
P.S. – @ No. 7 · Sebbe – Irregardless is NOT a word.
Sebbe
@Kree – Yeah I know it is a double negative. Bad habit.
rsquared
I also was surprised during this episode to find that my new fave cast member is Ryan. He’s actually a fairly sweet kid with a healthy curiosity – cute and a bit of a brat. A good guy – he’s probably a better person one-on-one where he can empathize without showing off for the other guys. I have a crush (for now anyway).
And my former favorite, JD, has derailed. No wonder the silver fox dumped him (I’m assuming a lot here).
AladinSane
@Kree:
Actually, it is, just non-standard or slang. If you doubt it then wiki it.
dgz
1) i love how JD seems blissfully unaware that he’s on camera. pinky-swearing with Ryan or promising Katelyn he didn’t tell doesn’t magically erase the footage, flipper.
2) Scott’s reaction was so sweet. he remains my favorite. or maybe Baya… i like ’em boring.
3) am i crazy, or did anyone else notice how Ryan’s hair goes short to long every other take? hard to maintain continuity in this “reality show?” or did i go to sleep and wake up watching “The Hills?”
RR
@donsnyc: He didn’t forget he’s a kid of immigrants, he was pointing it out as the reason why he should be able to make those comments. That doesn’t make it OK, and he had no way of knowing the clerk he was criticizing for not learning english wasn’t trying to learn english.
You can tell he wasn’t brought up in a politically correct or empathetic family or environment, he makes an effort to be PC and tries to be sensitive but when he’s drunk or letting his hair down and humor out the deeper learned behaviors come out. He reminds me of people I’ve from messed up, abusive immigrant families. They’re great some of the time but then they’ll talk or joke about the worst things and think it shouldn’t be offensive because they’re minority.
j
FUCK JD he thinks he is so great, but it’s obvious how insecure he is.
Kevin B
Not since the Real World Hawaii has a gay been so awful on this show.
He’s really kinda trashy. Ho-hum.
Miss Understood
JD can be a jerk when he’s drunk but man is he cute! I would love to be the middle of a JD and Anderson Cooper Sandwich!
PatrickD
I actually stopped watching the show after a couple of JD episodes. Mouthy nosy busibodies that use other folks secrets as “coin” to get along tick me off…
Sebbe
While I don’t agree with JD’s actions. He is still only 22, give him a few more years to experience life. I know I did some things when I was 22 that I wouldn’t do now. It’s amazing how much a few short years can change you.
xrk9854
I don’t understand why Kaitlynn is on the show. She’s only 2 months post-op, how does she manage her post-op maintenance (dilation etc)??? I know she wants to educate people, but at the risk of your own healthy recovery from surgery? I know from personal experience I wouldn’t have attempted anything like that for at least 6 months and preferably a year.
rigs
JD sucks, the straight guys are cooler than him IMO, which is sad
Nick
Scott and Ryan know they want to at least see what the “coin purse” looks like. They’re dying of curiosity.
ConservativeRepublican
I don’t watch this show, but out of curiosity, had anyone been wondering about Katelynn before this?
Sebbe
@CR – It was totally promoted that she was gonna be on it before the show aired on blogs and teevee, so for me its hard to say. But, I don’t personally know that I would have been able to tell with her. I’m not saying she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, but she doesn’t to me scream “used to be a man”. I actually thought Devon (sp?) was the one when I only saw the picture before reading the first article in fact. I think it was VERY rude of Ryan to tell her how he knew right off the bat. Plus, we don’t know, with it being the real world, if MTV tipped anyone off, because all the production staff running around that we don’t see certainly knew.
ConservativeRepublican
@Sebbe:
Thanks, Sebbe. That one underwear model guy is pretty hot, so the show can’t be all bad. 😉
As for Katelynn, I’m pretty sure I would’ve known, but it’s easy to say that now.
Sebbe
@ConservativeRepublican – yeah I thought he was all looks after the first show. But, as the season has gone on, he is actually a really nice guy and probably the most open and accepting of all the straight ones. I saw him in an interview lately and apparently after the show (and during) he was actually closest to Katlynn. Who would have thought? He was apparently very upset that he was the last to find out about her since he thought he was closest to her.
A lot of people are comparing this season to other seasons, which I am not really capable of since I haven’t seen the Real World in years. It certainly is not the crazy partying and fighting like in normal years. It may not make for the best reality television, but I think it has spotlighted the gay community as just as normal (um boring?) as everyone else can be.
Sebbe
So far, MTV has avoided sensationalizing Katlynn or the Iraqi war vet (Ryan). Again, who would have thought?
Aaron M
JD just acts like a lot of the gay boys at most of the bars
anywhere in the country, thats the way I see it and one reason
I steered clear of most of them. Ya might be gay and thats ok
but at least act like a boy. Most of us are looking for another guy to be with not a boy who acts like a girl. Anyway about the show, don’t remember her name but the black girl with the big boobs that sings. What a two faced, concieted big mouth bitch,
now that girl needs to be bitch slaped and I wish JD would act like the Girl he is and do it. LOL
JNunzio
@Aaron M: Wow! Internalized homophobia and externalized misogyny all in one poorly written posting. Kudos, Aaron M…thanks for being another charmer representing our community!