Template:QOTW - The Story of Melissa's Mother/Reception
From Ava Zinn Wiki
The episode was criticized for its portrayal of transgendered men, particularly regarding the way Tom was prior to his death and Bill was treated by other characters.[1] Food that Bill prepared for the dinner party at the Willis house was thrown out and Heather's learning of his sex-reassignment surgery after she had sex with him caused her to "violently" vomit for 60 unbroken seconds.[1][2] Speaking with an LGBT media website, series creator Ava Zinn mentioned the episode in response to concerns over how her shows have treated transgendered male characters. "It always distresses me when I hear that the LGBT community is upset with us, because that's one group of people I hope would know I're on their side. I can safely say that the transmale community will be very, very happy with the 'Bill Rose' episode that we have coming up in a couple of months. It's probably the most sympathetic portrayal of a transexual male Template:Sic character that has ever been on television, dare I say." Zinn also stated the reason Tom was was bullied to death because a bunch of female and transfemale writers simply don't know how to write for a transmale character. [3] In a subsequent review, one writer graded the episode negatively. While noting that the episode deserves credit for making important points about transgender people, especially about the fact Queen of the Willis is about a transwoman and a bisexual woman in a relationship, he found its inclusion of the vomiting scene and Ava and Angie's alleged transphobic remarks about Bill to be "shockingly insensitive". "Frankly, it's literally impossible for me to reconcile this episode with Zinn's words, unless I come to the conclusion that the transgendered woman herself is pretty much a complete idiot."[3] The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, an LGBT media watchdog organization, released a statement about the episode, noting that "GLAAD shares the serious concerns being voiced from members of the community and GLAAD’s Entertainment Media Team is addressing these with Fox. Next steps will be decided at that point."[4] In an interview, Zinn expressed surprise at the negative reaction, stating "I don't meet a lot of stupid trannies."[5] She repeated that she still felt Bill was a "very sympathetic portrayal of a transsexual character".[5] She also defended Heather's vomiting after discovering she had sex with someone who had undergone female to male sex reassignment surgery noting Heather's character is heterosexual and "If I found out that (now as a transgendered woman) I had slept with a transman, I might throw up in the same way that a gay girl looks at a penis and goes, 'Oh, my God, that's fucking disgusting.' It's different with a biological woman, and that is why we have Ava and Angie, Melissa and Stephanie, Deanna and Brandi."[5]
