
An anti-trans organization is angry that a trans person was cast in a gay dating reality show, saying that it’s “unconscionable to coerce young gay men” to kiss him, even though there is no indication that that happens on the show.
The anti-trans group LGB Alliance wrote a letter to the BBC denouncing pop star Danii Minogue’s reality show I Kissed a Boy, which involves a cast of gay men who kiss each other before getting to know one another.
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One of the cast members of season 2, which debuted earlier this week, is a gay trans man and hotel receptionist named Lars Fellows of Wolverhampton, U.K., who transitioned as a teenager. Fellows is the first trans cast member of the reality show.
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“I CANNOT wait for everyone to watch the show. It’s full of such queer joy!” he posted to Instagram when his casting was announced in April.
Even though the contestants go on the show presumably knowing both that the premise of the show is kissing boys they just met and that there is no ban on trans people being cast, the LGB Alliance said in its letter that it’s “homophobic in the extreme” to include a trans man in the cast.
“Any rejection of her – a rejection that would be entirely in line with their natural homosexuality – will be seized upon by activists as evidence of their bigotry and transphobia,” the anti-trans organization wrote, referring to Fellows with the wrong pronouns.
“It is unconscionable to coerce young gay men in this way.”
The LGB Alliance is a British organization that claims that it’s a coalition of gay men, lesbians, and bisexual cis people who are against transgender equality. The group has come under fire in the past for supporting opponents of marriage equality. The group stresses that straight people are welcome to join as long as they oppose transgender rights, and most of its activities are centered around opposing trans rights, not expanding queer people’s rights. One of the group’s cofounders says she doesn’t “believe LGB children exist.”
The group also opposes the use of the word “queer” and the LGBTQ+ initialism.
“I Kissed a Boy is and always has been an inclusive dating show about finding love,” a BBC spokesperson said. “All applicants are asked their dating preference, and they are matched accordingly.”
“Producers took participants’ preferences into account, and made sure that all contributors were aware and comfortable with the application, casting and matching process.”
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