LGBTQ & Gender Identity

An emotional, profanity-laden, tense conversation grips the audience as this panel decides what comes first relationship or street cred. July 20th, 1995.

"You shouldn't be with him for one. You shouldn't be with an enemy if he is a female or a male..."

The audience learns early in this clip that there are lots of gay gang members, as the panel struggles with questions about where loyalties really lie. The sexuality doesn't seem to be a primary concern it has to do with whether they'll be there for their homeboys. They gangbang, they shoot, but sometimes they fall in love across enemy lines.

Jamie is happy the way he is. Fellow gang members might not approve of gay relationships but that's not going to stop him. They don't make a big show of it and when it's time to get together they step back from their crews.

Two straight gang members are on set and they disapprove of all of it, calling these boys and girls traitors in disguise. The drive by shootings, the crime, all that is fine but this gay stuff.....

Tense confrontational attitudes are on stage as many guests threaten each other for various reasons.

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Jerri Sousa had three children before she decided to transition to a man. What caused the regret? Jerri explains her childhood and feeling alienated from her female sex. So the fantasy started and eventually, she took concrete medical steps to make the change. Many do this looking for a 'cure'. One of her daughters is on stage and speaks to the change, their feelings about it, being raised and signs in their environment.

Brian lived 14 years as a woman after his surgeries, He talks about the implants he used to have, silicone injections, taking hormones for 15 years. Now after almost two decades he's having it all removed in surgery that amounts to a mastectomy. Confronted with a picture of his time as a woman, he says that was me, at the time. Life is a process.

Dr. Jayne Thomas, a transsexual psychologist is in studio and says that studies show 9 out of 10 who go for the surgery would do it again. Dr. Jayne used to be a man but made the transition hersself. She would do it again every day, and it's not enough for people to accept you, you have to accept yourself.

Kate Bornstein is put on the spot, if you've like women why did you become a woman? Identified as a lesbian transsexual, she says she had her gender identity and sexual orientation totally confused because what society was telling her was all wrong. Kate lays out in detail the differences between orientation and identity in a succinct way.

Jerri says god has forgiven her, but the scars remain. You can never undo what you've done but god gives me strength. Clearly emotional the segment heads for a break.

Richard Friend PhD, a psychotherapist for transsexuals talks about the ethical stance of psychotherapists. He emphasizes one must live as the other sex for some time, sort of an unwritten lawn, before the therapist advised medical procedures. Even though you can go over the border and get an operation in a weekend. The role of the therapist is to help the patient, not stop them.

Dr. Jayne emphasizes this is a personal journey. It's so good that Jerri has found what's right for him, even if the journey was long. An audience member confronts and says how can you change what god made you? She describes going on the gurney to the operating room, and the memories and specifics of her journey.

Audience questions range from recommending to ask god for forgiveness, to wondering where tdo they get their parts? They come from your own body, actually the tissue that creates clitoris is the same that creates the penis.

Brian closes the show telling the world about his depression when he decided to get the surgery. To anyone considering this, take your time.

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Four women with the same problem, their teen boys all want to be girls. A full episode of The Geraldo Show dated July 28th, 1995.

"I consider myself a girl. I always wanted to be a girl..."

On stage we first meet the adults then the teens Stephanie, Angie, Lisa and Carlisa. These former sons and nephews discuss why they want to change their sex, what in their lives led to now. As the first segment draws to a close celebrity transsexual Jahna Steele comes in bearing gifts from Hawaii.

Coming back Jahna is asked, after the sex change operation has she has she actually had sex with a man? Another audience member wonders if the father figures were present. Back on stage Nikki is introduced to the panel, along with boyfriend Mike. Nikki has been identifying as a woman and might proceed with the operation. An aunt of one of the boys closes the segment saying she should be able to do whatever she wants.

"Is this you're image of American women? Because I don't see American women looking the way you look..."

In the midst of audience questions an emotive women gets up and defends the panel, Arielle Sinclair an entertainer from Rhode Island. They need support more than anything else.

Some don't understand how a male identifying as female dating a male isn't just a homosexual relationship. The conversation continues to simmer as we hear tales of discrimination and woe which influenced the decisions for a new sexual identity.

Jahna Steele talks about her childhood, that boy she was is dead and gone, it's not who she is. Confronted with a childhood photo Jahna says she would've made fun of the child in the picture.

Further insights determine an operation isn't what will make them happy, and if they can come to grips with the fact that they'll never be a woman, it can help deal with everything else. Jahna disagrees, and sometimes gets what he's saying, about never being a woman.

This classic and entertaining 90's television episode informed the American public of emerging sexual identity realities. Some of the viewpoints here then became core arguments on both sides of the 2026 sexual identity debates.

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1977. Geraldo Rivera's Good Night America program hosts a man who was fired from his teaching job following the sex change operation.

"I knew that I was different, and I had a lot of cross-characterisitics of a male... why am I like this? And it was determined...that I was predominantly male gendered."

Stephan tells the story and talks about the medical testing they did at Stanford University prior to his operation. He talks about the surgery being great for him and upon trying to return to teaching the students were great and many felt he was the same person despite.

Stephan Dain talks in depth about how long he considered the operation, and what it meant for him and his sexual identity. The program closes with a description of transvestites.

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May 8th, 1991. Geraldo Rivera's namesake talk show brings us the phenomenon of trans-sexual lesbians, perhaps one the audience has not heard before.

"There are two definite questions here...the first question is who am I, am I a man or am I a woman. That's called gender identity..."

Kate, the first to speak, goes on to describe the difference between gender identity and sexual orientation. Dr. Richard Friend talks about how society has always heard the same messages, and this makes men who identify as women yet are still attracted to women difficult to understand. He claims there are 10s of thousands of trans-sexuals in the United States, and he defines that person as someone who believes their sex is different than their biological sex. Janina Sajka talks about her journey and becoming a Christian through it all, yet being very estranged from her family. She goes on to make eloquent points on how we are not that different all of us, and it is her right to correct her genitalia.

While trans operations and sexual identities continue in 2026, rarely are the arguments laid out so clearly as here over 30 years ago.

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Richard Standford Cox, star of Bewitched, was gay all those years the show ran but at age 61 decides to tell the world his truth. November 6th, 1991.

"It's been coming on for quite a long time, I was semi-outed by the Star....I was fixated but it's all over with now.."

Mr. Cox talks about receiving publicity after a trashy magazine ran a story about him falling in love with a man half his age. When National Coming Out Day came along he decided after all the years it was finally time.

Dick brings out some statistics, how gays and lesbian youths are three times more likely to commit suicide. This is one of the reasons he wanted to come out and tell the world his sexual preference, as a role model and supportive figure, to help in some way.

Conversations about how his friends were told first before he went public, the time it took and decision process, a tremendous amount of support he's received. Dick closes with a plea that the world see gays and lesbians as just people like everybody else.

Mr. Cox passed away in 1994.

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July 28th, 1995. Geraldo Rivera's namesake talk show brings us the case of four women with the same issue: their teen boys are becoming women. We meet the families as the boys explain reasons to change their sex and become women.

"It's weird because...it's not discussed, but it's accepted..."

The severity of the operation is discussed and halfway through the segment Jahna Steele, celebrity transsexual joins the set. Is a child choosing to change their sex one of the most difficult things a parent could ever go through? These situations are much more than a one sided story.

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1989. Geraldo Rivera's namesake talk show meets a trans person who says she is very happy with the decision and it's even made her some money.

"I knew, I knew I was gay in high school and I knew it all the time. But I didn't know I wanted to do this."

Brittany always knew she was gay, even when she was a he. Confronted with a picture of the man that was Ms. Satin says that person is dead and unrecognizable. Towards the end of this clip she describes the struggle being housed in prison and ending up in a private cell. Despite the accommodation a rape attempt is described.

Brittany describes being very sought after, as she has both a penis and breasts. Despite the uptick in business with all the extra parts she thinks she will go 'all the way' and remove the penis.

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October 8th, 1992. Geraldo Rivera on his namesake talk show brings us 'Women who dress as men', this introductory segment hearing from the guests.

"Ever since I was very little I felt like a feminine girl, and I also was a tomboy....and I think it's part social also because I was rewarded for looking pretty, and feminine..."

The women describe how wearing clothes usually used by men helps them express who they really are. Some are trying to emulate the look that they like, but only doing so part of the time. Most are married and talk about reaction from their partners.

Our host mentions Phil Donahue frequently discussing cross-dressing men, but this may be the first feature discussing cross-dressing women.

In 2025 forms of expression have gone far beyond different types of clothing.

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