Warren Beatty’s Transgender Son Reflects on Chaz Bono Criticism

Back in September, Warren Beatty’s transgender son Stephen Ira Beatty took to his blog and accused fellow transgender man and Dancing With The Stars participant Chaz Bono a “misogynist.”

In particular, Ira’s criticism targeted Bono’s view that transgender individuals are born with a birth defect. Chaz described being transgender as having a body and brain that don’t share a gender, and that being born transgender was the equivalent of being born with a cleft palate. That’s a remark Ira felt was unrepresentative of the transgender community:

“I do not have a birth defect. If you feel like you have a birth defect, fine. That’s how you feel. Go feel that. Do not put it onto me. Do not define me that way, and do not define other trans people that way unless they claim that label.”

While Beatty’s post is now two months old, that hasn’t stopped most media outlets reporting his views as though they are new (which I get: I mean, the prospect of whipping up a storm over Stephen vs. Chaz brings in the hits, right?)

Indeed, many outlets have ignored his follow-up post that’s dated November 17th. In his latest post, Ira reflects:

“I bear [Chaz] no ill will. I just don’t want anyone thinking that he’s qualified to offer Trans 101, you know? He’s in a difficult position and he’s chosen to deal with it in a certain way. […] But Chaz already gets so much shit, and you know what? Just a couple of years after I came out, I was saying prescriptivist misogynistic nonsense too. I read a lot, I learned a lot, I spent time living as a trans guy in the world, and I came out the other side of that worldview.”

Do you think Bono’s original remarks about birth defects were out of line?