Welcome to In A Lather. i'm sookie, and here you'll find my takes on celebs, tv shows and movies that are favs of mine, that i hope are or soon will be favs of yours too. Also events in the entertainment and fashion industry.Thanks for stopping by, and please feel free to comment.
“There’s a gender in your brain and a gender in your body. For 99 percent of people, those things are in alignment. For transgender people, they’re mismatched. That’s all it is. It’s not complicated, it’s not a neurosis. It’s a mix-up. It’s a birth defect, like a cleft palate.” ~ Chaz Bono
Documentary filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato's Becoming Chaz chronicles the events that transpired when the subject of their film has sexual reassignment surgery. The World of Wonder production was originally screened in January at the Sundance Film Festival and won best documentary at the Milan International Film Festival. Recently Becoming Chaz was purchased by and aired on OWN.
Born in 1969 to Salvatore "Sonny" and Cherilyn "Cher" Bono, Chastity Sun Bono had as far back as she could recall, felt as if she had been born the wrong gender. In March of 2008 Chastity began procedures to change gender. As of 2010 pronoun references for Chastity would change from she/her to he/him as well as a legal change of name to Chaz Salvatore [in honor of his late father's birth name] Bono.
This documentary is unflinching in showing very private aspects of what is involved in making such a dramatic change in one's life, but also manages to maintain what would clearly be doctor patient confidentiality issues. For example, we don't see the psychiatric evaluations anyone, be they the offspring of celebs or not, would undergo. But the viewer is allowed to see how Chaz' decision to change gender is one that has plagued him his entire life even though he couldn't really put a specific to the choice until shortly before turning 40. While still hormonally female, coming out to her parents at age 18 as preferring sex with women meant living as a lesbian. Still something was faulty---she did not and never had enjoyed being a girl. It is heartbreaking to see Cher trying to come to terms with the fact that she no longer has the daughter she bore, while trying to be emotionally supportive and understanding. Beyond that are the health concerns. Among the possible side effects from the meds required for gender reassignment are weight gain, damage to the liver and/or heart.
As any couple does, Chaz and girlfriend Jennifer have their moments of disagreement, and his gender change has effected their relationship. In fact she says at one point during the film that she misses the person that Chaz was when they met [when he was a she]. Chaz must take male hormone shots twice a month for the rest of his life. Michael Chiklis is the male image [except for the shaved head] that Chaz would like to project.
i support Chaz' decision or any adult in the same situation who has the means, to make the changes they need to make, to feel complete and sane. i do have a problem with the portion of the film where the subject of altering the hormones of minors is introduced. i'm not saying that it's not possible for a child to feel they are the wrong gender. But i can't support a parent opting to have medication prescribed for a child as young as age 10 that will prevent the onset of puberty and then at 16 be prescribed medication that would chemically alter their gender in an effort to eliminate the need for surgical procedures when they become adults.
Get your paws up lil' monsters! Lady Gaga's concert [5 sold out] at Madison Square Garden is airing on HBO. Wow! This Lady truly knows how to entertain, and her fans whom she affectionately refers to as "little monsters", reciprocate the gratitude and happily show Gaga their teeth.
There are some who will be quick to say Gaga's performances are derivative and nothing more than a compilation of the aesthetic of some who preceded her i.e. Madonna, Elton John, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Gwar, and even some of Gaga's contemporaries i.e. Katy Perry. And to be fair even the most ardent of her fans would be hard pressed to deny that Gaga has surely been influenced by some, if not all, of these artists. But even with all that taken into consideration, if you were to dissect Gaga's performances and then view them objectively on their own merit, it is impossible to come away feeling anything other than completely satisfied. Influences aside Gaga is unique and uniquely talented.
Gaga has many assets. Her keyboarding skills are undeniable. She's an excellent songwriter. She's a savvy marketer, appreciative of her well earned success, her crew, and her fans. Gaga has a tremendous set of pipes---equally adept as balladeer and belter. my fav part of the HBO special is during the ending credits when she and the backup singers are doing an acapella rendition of Born This Way. Their harmonies are rousing and flawless.
Throughout the 2hr Garden performance Gaga is working the heels, the glam, the costumes, and the crowd. Sure you're right---rub that glitter and grease around!
The Kennedys, the mini-series that The History Channel and a few other networks were too afraid to touch, did so well in the ratings on it's first go-round, it is having encore airings on Reelz Channel the network that did have the foresight to realize it was worthy of a home.
The entire look of the production is flawless never giving away it's secret that much of it was in fact shot in Canada with the help of cgi to recreate the Kennedy compound, Washington DC, Dallas Texas, etc. Use of film of actual events also lends to the authenticity of the look. Bravo to the costumers, hair and make-up artists as well.
i like Greg Kinnear, but other than a physical resemblance to our 35th president [again helped by the previously mentioned hair and make-up artists], i did not find his performance to be very compelling. It's not so much that his performance is bad he does have many good moments, as that i often felt that i was seeing Greg Kinnear instead of JFK on the screen. Katie Holmes as Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy captures the paradoxically fragile and strong first lady extremely well. But the true standout performance is delivered by Barry Pepper. Every moment he is on the screen the man is putting on an actor's master class. The mannerisms, the voice, everything about his portrayal says "Robert Kennedy". If his performance does not render an Emmy, i cannot imagine why.
Kudos to Reelz Channel for having no fear in giving this production, which shows the triumphs, as well as the scandals, and tragedies that was theKennedys, a home.
The 8 part mini-series The Kennedys airs at 9:00pm and Midnight weeknights on ReelzChannel. Please check your local listings.
i'm a gemini from wash.dc, married 35 yrs to an aries from san antonio texas.
i'm sookie, he's tex, together we are sookietex.
Many people think i adopted the name sookie after HBO's TrueBlood heroine Sookie Stackhouse.
Nope. It's not my birth name, but my older brother gave me the nickname sookie when i was a baby.
Best and might i add most prescient gift bro' ever gave me ;D
hubby and i live in nyc and even though we like it here, we dream of the day when we'll pull up stakes and move to austin, or maybe some other town in the lone star state.
a bit more about me and In A Lather public domain image credits
library of congress prints and photographs online: secession bubbleknow nothing soap
i am a child of the south, a "boomer", born in 1958, a child of the television age. This was a time when "African-Americans" referred to themselves as "colored". In fact on my birth certificate under racial description, "colored" is the word that is used. Today i still affectionately refer to myself as a "colored child". my paternal great grandpa was Blackfoot Nation, and my maternal great grandmother was also Native American, [but i have not found out which Nation]---i affectionately refer to that part of my heritage as 'injun'---hey i'm never going to be described as politically correct and have no desire to be.
my mother was a woman who was far ahead of her time in terms of "feminist" survival. Long before it was fashionable, she was a single parent. She did have support, and not just financial from my pop, but they did not live together as husband & wife. In fact they never did take that walk down the aisle...but that's another story. Mom was a woman who worked outside the home long before most women of her generation would have even thought of making that choice, much less do it. She fully appreciated the value, neccessity, and strength of a loving extended family. She did not need anyone to tell her it "takes a village".
When mother was at work, i, the youngest of 4 (2 sisters 1 brother & me), was alternately cared for by mother's eldest sister, "auntie" as we used to call her, and our nextdoor neighbors. They were like family to us. We called the elder woman 'grandma' (to this day I do not know her given name), and her daughter Miss Elsie, or more usually 'aunt'Elsie. They were very religious folk. God fearing, bible reading, honest, and i and my family loved them dearly. 'Aunt'Elsie always made sure my days were full of activity, but one of my favorite times of the day was when she would look at her watch and say "oh my, we'd better hurry, it's almost time for my stories". By her 'stories'
she of course meant the day's soap operas. For Elsie and her mother, watching the soaps was sort of a guilty pleasure, but at the same time they made it seem sacred. It was a ritualistic activity. Her favorites were The Edge of NightThe Secret Storm and General Hospital
Paul Harvey would say i am giving you "the rest of the story" so that you may better understand its importance, and how it relates to the spirit of this blog. Which is to say we all have drama of some level going on in our lives, so sometimes the plotlines of our favorite shows may seem either tame, empathetic, or absurd, depending on where life may take you on any given day.
