ABC’s midseason lineup will feature the new sitcom Work It, which stars Ben Koldyke and Amaury Nolasco as a pair of car salesmen who wind up unemployed thanks to what they refer to as the “man-cession” (a recession of society’s demand for men in the workplace). The duo decide to dress in drag and adopt female identities in order to secure jobs for themselves in the newly female-centric economy that the show is touting. But this premise has stricken controversy for GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
GLAAD is vocalizing the idea that Work It will trivialize the hardships that the vast majority of transgender men and women admit to suffering in the workplace. The organization teamed with the Human Rights Campaign to open a campaign, via Daily Variety, educating the media and the public about the dangers of Work It‘s perspective on cross-dressing. Although the men in the show do not dress as women for any reason relating to gender identity, the organizations still feel as though the images propagated by the show will be detrimental to the plight of the transgender population.
The organization published the following statistics on its website in accordance with its condemnation of Work It:
Transgender Americans can be legally fired in 34 states today simply for being who they are. 97% of self-identified transgender people reported being harassed or abused at work. 26% reported losing their jobs because they are transgender.
