This is the Finest Nerd Czarina, and I hate the news. My friend Sarah Burns made me aware about a panel hosted by MSNBC’s Megyn Kelly about Scarlett Johansson’s recent casting as a Dante Gill and transgender invisibility. You can watch the discussion unfold via Kelly’s Twitter. My first reaction was, “What the FUCK.” It is, unsurprisingly, still my reaction.
Backlash over the casting of Scarlett Johansson to play the role of a transgender man. Our panel discusses. #MegynTODAY pic.twitter.com/Mn38GIzaY1
— Megyn Kelly TODAY (@MegynTODAY) July 5, 2018
You may note the lack of actual transgender people on this panel. You may also note the problematic language being used. You may notice the goose egg forming on my head from slamming it against the desk in frustration. LGBTQ Nation summed up the panel’s discussion.
| The criticism Johansson received caught the attention of MSNBC’s Megyn Kelly, a former Fox News anchor. She assembled a panel that included NBC anchor Craig Melvin, sports analyst Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, and comedian Matt Iseman.
No one on the panel identifies as transgender. In fact, none of them seemed to know much about transgender issues at all. |
No. No, they didn’t.
I find it very hard to believe that there was not a single trans person that any of them could have asked to be a part of this discussion… if any of them were asked to begin with. Yet, they still thought that a cismale sports analyst, cismale comedian, and two cis news anchors would have a valid, enlightening discussion. How about no?
This reminds me of a time, way back in February 2018, when Brigham Young University decided to host a panel on Women in Math, without actually having any women on the panel. Sigh.
The Finest Nerd Czarina 
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