Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Transgender Rights (HBO)

John Oliver: This has clearly been

a big week for the LGBT community.

But it's also been a big year

for the T part of that equation

from Caitlyn Jenner's Vanity Fair cover

to TV shows like Transparent

uh, to another small milestone

just this Friday.

Announcer: "Actress Laverne Cox

marked another milestone with the drop

of a curtain at Madame Tussaud's

San Francisco"

John Oliver: Now that is big step forward

for transgender Americans.

And it's frankly about time.

Because bear in mind,

it came after the same milestone

for Spider Americans

and wookies.

But for all the strides transgender people

have made lately,

let's not get too complacent

about how far we've come.

Because they still face a host of obstacles.

Even when the news media are trying

to be supportive,

they can make dumb mistakes.

Host: Your... private parts

are different now, aren't they?

Trans interviewee: Shh, Shh!

I don't want to talk about it

because it's still-

it's really personal.

Host: Don't you

feel funny with the-

wrong genitalia?

Not as a joke,

you stand up in the women's bathroom.

Host: You've got breast implants.

Laverne Cox: [laughs]

I, you know, I, uh

Host: They're tasteful, whatever's going on there.

LC: Thank you.

Host: So if I saw you undressed,

you would look

like a woman to me, totally-

yes?

John Oliver: What are you doing??

It is no more okay to ask

transgender people about their sex organs

then it would be to ask

Jimmy Carter whether or not

he's circumcised.

Which, by the way,

he is.

Smooth like a boiled carrot.

And, and sometimes

sometimes- don't think about that-

and sometimes

the media's confusion

is even more basic than that.

As in the case of

this Arizona weatherman

just two weeks ago.

Announcer: And a transgender woman

says she was kicked out

of a Tempe bar

Weatherman: Let's bring it back

to that earlier headline.

Now, what is a transgender woman?

Announcer: Yes?

Weatherman: What does that even mean now?

Announcer: Ok...

She- used to be a guy!

Announcer 2: But now is a woman.

Announcer: This is, this is uh, chuckles

Weatherman: Aren't you just saying a woman then?

I, I can't even keep up anymore!

John Oliver: Holy Shit!

I really hope that's also

how he reports the weather.

Wait, wait, it used to be rainy-

and now it's sunny?

So, so now it's just sunny?

I can't even keep up anymore!

I can't-

This doesn't make my head work!

Look- let's give him

the benefit of the doubt.

Maybe for him,

and for many people

this is new information.

Maybe he's thinking about

transgender issues for the first time

And he needs a minute

to try and understand it.

So let's take that minute

to fill in that bamboozled weatherman

And everyone else on some basic details.

Transgender people have a gender identity

that differs from the one

they were assigned at birth

and that gender identity

is not the same as sexual orientation.

Gender Identity is who you are,

Sexual Orientation is who you love.

Some transgender people do

undergo hormone therapy

or sexual reassignment surgery

as part of their transition, some do not!

And interestingly, their decision on this matter is

medically speaking,

none of your fucking business.

Audience: [cheering]

And if you're still wondering

well hold on, hold on,

what do I call a transgender person

it's so confusing,

well actually it's pretty simple.

Call them, whatever they want to be called.

You can do it!

We do it all the time.

Think of it this way.

David Evans woke up one day

and said,

"Everyone call me The Edge"

and we all went,

Fine, The Edge

are we talking the noun or the verb?

And, and that's

it's not just that, it's not just that!

Over the past twenty years,

we've agreed to call this man

Puff Daddy,

P. Diddy,

just Diddy,

and now Puff Daddy again

and most people don't even like him!

[laughter]

And here's the thing-

Here's the important thing

it's genuinely crucial

that we get this right.

Because there are more transgender people

in the US than you might realize.

One study estimates that nearly

700,000 American adults are transgender.

That's more than the population of Boston

and you probably know someone from Boston.

I'll give you a clue-

it was the guy who wore a Bruin's jersey

to your sister's wedding.

And while a handful of transgender people

have been winning awards,

or appearing on magazine covers

the community at large

has been facing some staggering challenges.

Voiceover: "A 2011 survey

by the National Center for Transgender Equality

found 41% of transgender people

had attempted suicide."

Presenter: They are nearly

four times more likely

to make less

than 10,000 dollars a year

compared to the general population.

Voiceover: 78% of those surveyed

reported harassment during K-12 schooling,

35% reported physical assault,

and 12% were sexually assaulted.

John Oliver: That is terrible.

Those statistics are so depressing

it's enough to make you angry

at the very concept of numbers.

Fuck you, symbols meant to represent

a specific value!

You're the absolute WORST.

The WORST!!

Look, look.

We've clearly

got work to do.

Because when you're transgender,

pretty much any interaction

with bureaucracy

can be humiliatingly difficult.

Just take what happened to

two transgender women

when they went to the DMV

in West Virginia.

Announcer: Both women

were asked to remove

all their jewelry, makeup, and wigs

before the DMV would photograph them.

Trans Woman 1: They're saying

that I need to fulfill

a certain- a certain look

that they are designating means- male

and that I'm, you know, hiding who I am,

which I am absolutely NOT.

Announcer: Both women say

they were also referred to as "it".

Woman 2: Words can't explain

the humiliation I felt that day.

That was the worst thing

in 52 years of my life

that I have ever felt.

John Oliver: Listen,

I'm not saying anyone

has a good DMV experience.

But that is the worst

I have ever heard.

And for the record,

you get pick virtually everything else

on your driver's license.

They ask you your weight.

They don't weigh you

like a prize hog.

[laughter]

Plus, the whole idea

of a driver's license photo

is to present

how you look from day to day.

That's why DMV employees

tell you not to smile,

because they can't imagine anyone

whose normal existence

involves happiness in any form.

And, even in,

even in organizations

that have seemed willing to change,

that change has come frustratingly slowly.

Take the military-

both the Secretary of Defense

and President Obama

have indicated they are open

to transgender troops

being able to serve.

And yet, they are still

banned from enlisting

because of weirdly archaic restrictions

on things like, uh,

"defects of the genitalia"

such as "change of sex" and

"psychosexual conditions

including but not limited to

transsexualism and transvestism"

Our current recruitment poster

is essentially,

I want you, maybe,

after we talk about your genitals for a bit,

I know that's weird,

but for the moment

this is apparently how we do things.

And yet even despite

those restrictions on enlistment,

by one estimate

there are currently

15,000 transgender service members.

And while you can be discharged

for being transgender,

those rules are enforced inconsistently

depending on your branch of service

and commanding officer,

meaning experiences can vary wildly.

For some, like Logan Island,

it can be great.

Logan: What I like about

this deployment, is-

I can be my authentic self.

I'm just another guy

whereas back home,

I'm... still seen as female

and I go by female regs and standards.

Here, in Afghanistan,

a war zone,

It's like a vacation to me

because I can be myself

in such an austere environment.

John Oliver: It is not

a great sign

for how we treat transgender people

that Afghanistan is

"a place where you can be yourself"

That is the least likely

tourism slogan for Afghanistan.

Well, I'd put it right behind

"Waterpark Capital of the World"

and "Birthplace of the Twerk"

But, compare that with the experience

of Captain Jacob Eleazar,

of the Army National Guard

who faced discharge

for being transgender

despite his own commander's support

and the fact he was being awarded a medal.

Jacob: The thing

that stuck with me the most

is as they were pinning

that army commendation medal on me,

my regimental commander said,

"Thank you for everything that you've done for our regiment,

Jacob."

And, and used- used my real name.

Um, and, I can't- I can't express

just the emotion

of that juxtaposition.

Because like, you're,

you're kicking me out

um, but you're acknowledging me

for myself and giving me an award

at the same time.

John Oliver: That's utterly ridiculous.

They gave him an award

and then tried to kick him out.

It's pretty much what

Hollywood did to Cuba Gooding Jr.

And that wasn't ok either!

But, but this is the big problem.

this is the big problem!

Because even when

people say the right things

about the transgender community

too often

practical change fails to follow.

And perhaps the perfect embodiment

of this concerns bathrooms.

We all use them.

As the good book tells us,

Everyone Poops.

Or, as it's known in England,

Everyone Poops but the Queen.

She has people do it for her.

Across the country,

there have been efforts by lawmakers

to fight non-discrimination ordinances

with so-called "bathroom bills"

Like this one, in Arizona.

Announcer: It's a new

"show me your papers" bill

for Arizona,

the sex on your birth certificate

would have to match

the sex of the bathroom

or locker room that you use.

The target: transgender men and women

here in Arizona.

Interviewee: 6 months in jail,

2500 dollar fine,

for just going in to pee.

John Oliver: 2,500 dollar fine

for peeing in the "wrong place"

Look, unless you happen to urinate

a 1989 Chateau Petrus,

you're not even gonna break even on that deal.

In the most recent session,

at least 13 bathroom bills

have been introduced in state legislatures.

And the reasoning behind them

can be pretty insulting.

Just listen to Presidential Candidate

Mike Huckabee.

MH: We are now, in city after city,

watching ordinances that say

that your 7 year old daughter,

if she goes into the restroom

cannot be offended-

and you can't be offended

if she is greeted there

by a 42 year old man

who feels more like a woman

than he does a man.

Now, I wish someone had told me

when I was in high school

that I could have felt like a woman

when it came time to take showers in PE.

I'm pretty sure I would have found

my feminine side and said,

Coach, I think I'd rather shower

with the girls today.

You're laughing

because it sounds so ridiculous,

doesn't it?

There's something inherently wrong

with forcing little children

to, to be apart of this social experiment.

John Oliver: No, but uh,

there IS something inherently wrong

with forcing us to listen to

your fucked up daydreams about

all the sex crimes you would have commited

as a teenager

had you just been able to find a legal loophole.

That's weird!

[cheering]

And that, that kind of

baseless fear mongering

is everywhere!

It even turned up in a campaign ad

when Gainesville, Florida

was trying to pass one of these bills.

[sounds of children playing]

John Oliver: Ok-

let's- let's break that bullshit down.

Because, first,

assaulting children is still illegal.

Secondly, someone abusing

a non-discrimination ordinance

to assault someone in a bathroom

is almost unheard of.

It's a borderline imaginary crime.

Like, dragon rustling

or space bestiality.

Sure, it's terrible,

but it doesn't really happen!

Also, forcing transgender people

into certain bathrooms

can actually be much more disruptive,

as activist Michael Hughes,

a transgender man, showed with

this photo

of himself looking,

understandably,

awkward in a ladies room.

Because, there are many places

that Michael would fit in.

Um, a tattoo parlor in Reno,

playing steel guitar in a Johnny Cash tribute band,

or on the label of his own BBQ sauce,

but a women's bathroom

ehh, not so much.

Besides, it is so much easier for everyone

when people are allowed to use the bathroom

that matches their gender identity

rather than one that might match

the genitalia they were born with.

That is why, the little pictures

on bathroom doors are

stereotypical representations of

men and women

and not biologically accurate depictions

of penises and vaginas.

Because that,

would be troubling for children!

Um, Mommy, mommy,

Do I go with the one with the

pouty slug or the angry goat skull?

I'm scared.

Yet, legislators have even tried to

enforce these bills in high schools

with damaging consequences.

Take the case of Henry Brousseau,

a transgender high school student

who spoke in opposition

to a proposed bathroom bill in Kentucky.

HB: Even though I've been living as a male

for some time,

and I've been accepted

by my friends and family as male

I was being forced to use the girl's bathroom

at my school until very recently.

Because the school administration

did not support my gender identity

by letting me use the restrooms

concordant with my gender identity,

the kids at my school bullied me.

The kids thought that because

the administration didn't support

my gender identity, they didn't have to either.

John Oliver: And that,

is the whole point.

Official rules can end up

legitimizing prejudice.

And besides, teenagers

really don't need extra ideas

for how to make each other's

lives miserable.

That's what they do!

Uh, sit on your own Becca~

side ponytails are so

5 nevers ago.... ha!

And, look,

as Henry finished his speech,

it actually seemed like

he'd really connected with the legislators.

HB: If you don't know a transgender kid already,

you do now.

You know me, Henry.

Please let me know how I can be

of any further assistance

and thank you so much for your time today

and please vote no on Senate bill 76.

Sen. Max Wise: I educated myself

a lot today,

and I appreciate the testimony.

Sen. Carpenter: You should be proud of yourself

for being able to stand

in front of this committee and

be so articulate in your comments.

Sen. Kerr: Henry, I love you man.

I- I appreciate you.

I appreciate your courage.

I can't really imagine that anyone else

in this room has the kind of courage

that it took for you to come

and testify today.

John Oliver: Ok, ok, but

"I luv you man"

is a little much.

I love Henry too,

but he's not the best man at your wedding,

he's a teenage boy

trying to take a shit in the men's room.

And, and it's worth noting

once they were done patting Henry

on the back,

and then patting themselves

for patting Henry,

all three of those lawmakers

voted to advance the bill

to force him into bathrooms

where he's bullied!

Now, thankfully that particular bill

never became law

but that dynamic

of praising a transgender person's

couuurage

and then not actually supporting them

speaks to the fact that

we are weirdly comfortable

celebrating transgender people

while simultaneously dehumanizing them

at the DMV,

pinning awards to them

as we drum them out of the military,

and constantly quizzing them

about their genitals.

And look, this is a civil right's issue.

And, if you are not willing

to support transgender people

for their sake,

at least do it for your own.

Because we've been through this before-

We know how this thing ends.

If you take the anti civil right's side,

and deny people access to something

they're entitled to,

history is not going to be kind to you.

There is no biopic where Liam Neeson

kicks the shit out of a Suffragist.

There, there's not a stamp

featuring George Wallace

at the school house door.

And you are not going to get

a monument that says at the base of it,

"He Told People Where to Shit."