𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘺

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I think that it's about time we discuss the whole issue with Shannon/Sheldon Beiste. I lightly touched the topic last chapter, but there's so much to be said that I had to focus on it more deliberately.

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From seasons 2-5, one of Coach Beiste's main topics was how she was a masculine female. She got incredibly offended when people referred to her as a manly type, and occasionally referred to herself as being "such a girl". Beiste's whole storyline was being accepted as a woman, despite her boyish qualities, and accepting what separates her from other "normal" girls. Making Beiste a trans-man ruined all of this development, and wasn't even realistic.

Here's a brief example of Beiste's storyline but vice-versa: Kurt. Kurt is a feminine male. Throughout most of season 1 and 2, he worked to prove to others that, despite his more girly features, he is a proud and enthusiastic male. We never once expected Kurt to be transgender, did we? He was so focused on proving himself as a man that there was no way he could change his mind over a summer break and say "I'm guess I'm gonna chop off my junk now".

Beiste is the female version of Kurt's personality. She's tough; she's ruthless; she plays football; she eats a lot of chicken. But most importantly, Beiste was defensive towards that fact that she classified towards her birth sex. Beiste was female and proudly so, and didn't want anybody to see her as anything other than.

So, why is it that Beiste magically decided that she would rather be male? I'm not saying that realizing you're not born in the body you feel you are meant to be in is wrong— it's a gift, in fact, to know who you are on the inside compared to the outside. I'm just saying that Beiste has felt like a proud girl for her past four years in Glee. Suddenly deciding that she would rather be male than female changes everything the character stood for. Beiste has always classified as a female, not a male, and was incredibly defensive towards it. Miraculously having a change in mindset just isn't realistic for her character.

I understand that Ryan Murphy wanted to show diversity and acceptance into the show. I totally get that they needed a new plot to get Season 6 going — despite the fact that it was a complete fever dream anyhow — but I feel as though making Beiste transgender wasn't the right way to go with it.

Also, it takes around 6 months to grow facial hair after a physical transition and it literally took Beiste two weeks. That always bothered me.

Opinions?