The Real World's Katelynn gets real

Photo: MTV

If you were a teenager in the 80's, then you have probably said that you miss the era when MTV actually played videos.

But if you, like me, are a child of the 90's, then you miss the days when a little reality show called "The Real World" was actually real and relevant and meaningful.

Remember the show's first season in 1992, when seven diverse strangers were picked to live in a New York apartment just to see how they would relate to each other. It was a far cry from the alcohol-laced fuck-fest that the show has degenerated into in recent years, and remains important for a number of reasons.

Not only did it, for better or for worse, start the reality television revolution, but it also examined, even deconstructed such issues as racism, sexism and sexuality (when producers Jon Murray and Mary-Ellis Bunim fearlessly incorporated openly-queer Norman into the cast). Mind you this occurred less than a decade after the channel famously rejected black videos for fear of alienating its then mostly rural audience, and some years before Ellen and Rosie came out, publically.

Whether or not there was an immediate backlash from the "moral majority" I do not know. What I can say, however, is how appreciative I was to see someone like myself represented on television. This would be repeated in subsequent seasons with Beth Anthony in season two and perhaps most famously, Pedro in season four -- a cast-member who we watched succumb to AIDS, a disease that most major media still shied away from at that time.

Thanks to this landmark show, gays and lesbians finally achieved more visibility -- to the point where we now take it for granted that there will be at least one gay actor or character on most TV shows, as well as gay programs, and even two major gay channels.

To stay ahead of the pack in its 21st season and in keeping with its former social relevancy, "The Real World" has upped the ante once again by including not one, not two, but three LGBTQ characters in the Brooklyn cast: Sarah, the punk rock bi girl from San Francisco, J.D., the gay man from Miami Beach, and another series first: Katelynn, the transwoman, a native of West Palm Beach, FL, now living with her boyfriend in Missoula, MT.

Unfortunately, upon watching the first episode last week, much of my excitement over this momentous development was tempered by the reactions the "alternative" housemates received from their "normative," homo and trans-phobic roommates: Ryan, the Iraq war vet from Gettysburg, PA, and Chet, the metrosexual Mormon from Salt Lake City, UT. What bothered me most about them was their ignorance, their immaturity, and most of all, their privileged white-boy elitism, which demands that Sarah, J.D. and Katelynn explain themselves to them in order to alleviate their concerns and issues. Why, I wondered? So they won't mistakenly sleep with Katelynn or trust J.D. to keep his dick off of them?

But that's what the show is about, right? You have to break eggs to make an omelet, and hopefully break down negative stereotypes and misconceptions to come to some sort of understanding. People always tell me how far we've come, but people like Ryan and Chet remind me how far we have yet to go.

Gay.com chatted Katelynn to uncover her reasons for going on the show and some of the challenges she faced there.

Hi Katelynn, when you were getting on that plane to New York to begin this experience in the house with seven strangers, what were your greatest fears and concerns?

You know, I don't know that I had any fears or concerns... just an anxiety and excitement to get started. I had moved from Florida to Montana, and I was not working at the time, so it was great to finally just do something.

Was your health a concern, because I read that you underwent gender reassignment surgery in Thailand just a couple months prior to filming?

Actually, it was only a few weeks. I was three weeks post-op and the doctor had cleared me. It generally takes about a year, but as far as the show went, I was able to do that.

Was it difficult saying goodbye to your boyfriend?

It was a little frustrating, because we had had a long-distance relationship up till that point. Then when we were finally together and local, to be 3,000 miles apart again -- it wasn't fun by any means.

I know you are a self-identified "computer geek." What were you doing professionally before the show?

I was a Unix Administrator for a web hosting company. Now I'm an aspiring writer, so my career path has changed. I will be going back to it for work, but I also have an online journalism blog that has a high reader base, and I would love to be an author of a book.

You also have a history of trans-advocacy. Did that figure into your desire to be on "The Real World"?

I've been doing advocacy and outreach within the LGBTQ community for over a decade.

For me, going on the show, I wanted to be a voice for the community, for those who do not have a voice in the media, and to educate and represent people who are currently grappling with these issues, themselves.

It seems like in the past year alone there have been more transwomen on television. Are audiences becoming more open-minded?

I don't know that anything's changed. But we are starting to get to a point where our visibility is more common. For gays and lesbians it was the 70's and 80's, and this our time.

Honestly, I so admire your courage for going on the show. It was difficult to watch the mockery you had to endure from some of the roommates in the first episode alone. I can't begin to imagine how painful it must have been for you.

Honestly, for me that's water off a duck's back. It was nothing for me. When you go your whole life being picked on, bullied and castigated, it's difficult to care what everyone thinks anymore. What was exacerbating was that it was coming from the people I'd be living with for the next few months. But I tried to give them an educational opportunity. When we had issues, we would sit down and talk -- and you'll see that on the show as the season progresses.

What, in your opinion, is the most common misconception that people have about transpeople?

That they confuse gender identity with sexual orientation. People will ask me why I chose to become another gender rather than being gay or lesbian. It's so wildly different. That and the idea that it's a desire, more than a need. They look at it as an option.

What responses have you received from viewers?

The overwhelming response has been positive. Of course there are a few snarky comments, like one out of every 100, but overall, it's been amazing to know that I'm helping other people. A lot of people have talked to me about how scared they were, thinking that they were one of the only transpeople in the world, but they no longer feel that way. I'm actually looked up to now, which is a bit of a bizarre experience.

Are you on good terms with your family?

I have a very positive family interaction. They're very supportive of me. I am the oldest of four and my mother is still very present in my life, as well as my stepdad. I've never known my biological father.

I know you said on the show that you and Mike are on the marriage track. Is that still the case?

Yes, that is very much still the case. I have had some bad relationships, and was actually previously engaged. But Mike is the first guy I could see myself settling down with.

Mike is pretty much my ideal guy, and we have so much in common. We have this rapport that is really indescribable. I never thought I'd have that or share that with another person.

What does your future hold, career-wise?

I hope to expand on my writing, continue working on getting published, and aside from going wherever the show takes people, maintaining a role as an advocate or educator within the LGBTQ community.

Catch Katelynn on "The Real World: Brooklyn" Wednesdays at 10p.m. ET/PT on MTV.

Comments

[Michael Martin]

I posted my thoughts as I work with the cast.

Especially on how Kate was presented as she later commented on the article.

http://www.mm-agency.com/blog/mtv-real-world/real-world-brooklyn-bridge-transgender-understanding/3429/

,MM Agency

[Ryan]

Katelynn is very cool. However, the author of this article is a bigot: "What bothered me most about them was...their privileged white-boy elitism"
Nice racial attitude you have there. BTW, define "privileged". Anyway, I view heterophobes the same way I view homophobes.

[Philip]

Oh you poor oppressed rich white people. When will the bigotry you face ever end?