Sell Out or Hero?
Thomas Beatie, the Pregnant Man, is due any time now, and has sold exclusive pictures of himself to the British tabloid, News of the World:
"Our photographs show Thomas having his daily shave then taking a bath, lying in the bubbles, gazing at his bump.
He poses lovingly with Nancy, clearly showing the scars from his breast operation and pregnancy pigmentation lines on his abdomen.
And he plays with his pet birds, perching them on his arm.
Then the amazing couple got out their family albums, revealing just how
beautiful Thomas was as Tracy from her early school years to her teens."
And of course, Good Morning America was all over the photos today, sensationalizing the whole thing. I've defended Beatie and his media appearances and criticized gay groups like GLAAD for not defending him in the media. According to some critics, they refused to do so largely because they appear to have believed Beatie is doing the media rounds just for the money and isn't interested in working with activists. No matter though, I think it's great that he's giving visibility to trans men, and yes, even to those who raise families and get pregnant. It's bound to be sensational before it's just mundane.
But I wonder if some of you think that he's now has gone to far. Is he just cashing in? And even so, what's wrong with that? Isn't he entitled to make money that would benefit him and his baby? After all, Jennifer Lopez (along with many, many other celebrities) sold pictures of her babies for millions of dollars, so how is this any different? What do you think? We'll get into on the show too today, in the second hour.
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