dr. mark craig: “so, what are you in for?”
bob overland: “well actually mark, i’m here for a sex change.”
i recently downloaded the first season of st. elsewhere from iTunes. this episode is from 1983. need i say more?
Saturday, July 28, 2007
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Wha??? You mean to tell me that they didn’t need to live full time for at least a year first in 1983? Ya just walked in and got it done like a walk-in haircut?? Wow! Well, actually, I suppose if William Daniels can change from a Dr on one show, to KITT (the car) on Knight Rider and back again, then a simple television sex change should be simple!
I was 13 in ‘83. I remember walking forever from my house to sneak into the drugstore downtown in the city and buy my first very own mascara! Smeg, that was a bloody long time (and a gallon of mascara) ago!
Comment by Emily Grae — July 29, 2007 @ 7:32 am
the harry benjamin standards of care (HBSOC) is the medical standard upon which living full time for a year is based. it was originally published in 1979. i’d imagine that even by 1983, it wasn’t very well known or followed. and i’d imagine that television writers, even the better ones (like the writers for st. elsewhere), even if they knew about procedures, felt that a manly looking man walking in off the street for a sex change operation garners more spectacle, and therefore more viewers, than a trans looking person.
still, i think it was pretty cutting edge for a network primetime tv show to feature a character getting a sex change back in 1983. a few episodes earlier, an e.r. patient, who was going to jail right after his treatment, asked dr. fiscus to cut off his “clothes” - it turned out he was wearing a bra, panties, garder and stockings under his t-shirt and jeans, and didn’t want to get hassled by his cellmates.
Comment by nexy — July 29, 2007 @ 10:51 am
I don’t know if this is the first time I ever saw a sex change talked about on television, but I remember the Jeffersons in 1975 had an episode about George all excited to see an old buddy from the navy, until “he” showed up and wasn’t a he anymore. I was 5 in 1975, so I probably saw that later on reruns in the 80’s. Anyways, it ended up as a positive portrayal, unlike a lot of other TS on TV.
Comment by Emily Grae — July 29, 2007 @ 5:11 pm
i recall there being an “all in the family” episode about a trans person as well - i don’t remember the timing.
Comment by nexy — July 29, 2007 @ 11:13 pm