Whistlin' Dixie

America's Next Top Model's first transgender contestant, Isis, was on the Tyra Banks Show today. Tyty brought out Isis' fellow ANTM contestant Clark, who was the most vocal about her disapproval of Isis' presence on the show. As Isis herself said, everyone is entitled to disagree with who she is, but I really want to knock Clark's teeth out. My main beef is with her constant use of the phrase "you know, I'm from the South..." when explaining why she can't wrap her mind around transgender-ness. Where the hell does she get off speaking for all of us? My biggest pet peeve is people who perpetuate stereotypes about the South being backwards and ignorant, and Clark trying to play like everyone raised south of the Mason-Dixon thinks the same way she does is doing just that. 

She's from a small town in South Carolina (which, to me, is not "the South") and Southern Baptist, so I'm sure she was pretty sheltered, and maybe she really never met anyone who was "different." But my South is a place where the different and the ridiculous is more accepted and embraced than anywhere else I've ever been. Whether it's being gay, a crossdresser, or completely and totally insane (all of which describe close family friends whom I've known my whole life), the different and "eccentric" is not only accepted, but sometimes preferred. Maybe it's because we drink a lot and it's hot as hell, but down south we believe that if you're not having a good time you might as well lay down and die. That's probably why we embrace people who embrace themselves, however "different" they may be. I think Julia Sugarbaker said it best (Thanks Able!); so have a listen, sip on some small batch, and let your freak flag fly ya'll!