October 6, 2007

Yeah, Well, We Just Condemn Rush Limbaugh, Period.

GLAAD Condemns Rush Limbaugh’s Vulgar On-Air Tirade Against Transgender People

New York, October 5, 2007 - The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) today condemned Rush Limbaugh’s defamatory attack on transgender people during his Oct. 4 radio broadcast.

Limbaugh used the vulgar slurs “add-a-dick-to-me” and “chop-a-dick-off-a-me” in discussing an article about the medical and psychological outcomes of sex reassignment surgery, part of the transition process for some transgender people. The following is a transcript of his remarks (the audio is available here):

We have affectionately named a female-to-male sex-change operation the “add-a-dick-to-me,” and we have news about “add-a-dick-to-mes” today?

I realize that many of you are just hanging out there ? well, that’s a bad choice of words. Some of you — well, it fits. Some of you people hanging out there to the edge of your chairs waiting to hear the latest news on the “add-a-dick-to-me” research that has been done. I want to do this before we get back to our audio soundbites with Mrs. Clinton. (laughs)

Most people — this is Reuters Health, ladies and gentlemen — most people who undergo male-to-female sex change surgeries are satisfied. This we call the “chop-a-dick-off-a-me,” by the way. Most people who undergo the “chop-a-dick-off-a-me” are satisfied with the results, this according to a follow-up study of patients treated at one of the UK practice over a 10-year period. Dr. Jonathan C. Goddard and colleagues, University Hospitals of Leicester, reviewed the cases of 222 individuals who had undergone the procedure, known medically as feminizing genitoplasty. But that’s such a long word, it’s so confusing, we have come up with our own terminology for this.

At the first outpatient visit after the surgery, 88 percent said they were happy when they became babes. Seven percent said they were unhappy. Now, among patients who had undergone the “add-a-dick-to-me” procedure, they said that it?s too sensitive and they needed to have the surgery again because it was just uncomfortable. It was much, much less satisfying to go the “add-a-dick-to-me” route.

“Rush Limbaugh’s vulgar on-air behavior is appalling,” said GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano. “Limbaugh’s crude slurs are an important reminder of the hostile climate that transgender people still face in this country and how these kinds of degrading attacks contribute to putting them in harm’s way.”

Rush Limbaugh’s radio program has an estimated audience of nearly 13.5 million weekly listeners. It is syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, which is a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications. GLAAD is calling on Clear Channel and its CEO, Mark Mays, to hold Limbaugh accountable for his derogatory and sensational remarks.

GLAAD is also calling on media outlets to examine Limbaugh’s most recent attacks on our community in the context of the debate over the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

“Limbaugh’s comments, and the sort of vitriol and discrimination they create, are a wake-up call for why gay and transgender Americans alike need the equal protection of our nation’s laws,” Giuliano said. “Rush Limbaugh’s brand of dehumanizing rhetoric makes it harder for millions of Americans to earn a living and provide for their families, and our nation’s media outlets have a responsibility to turn a spotlight on the real-world impact of that kind of abusive behavior.”

About GLAAD

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org.