Dolly Parton has long been a supporter of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community -- even before it was trendy -- and the above throw back Thursday clip proves that point exactly.
Deeper Understanding, a duo made up of Danny Haloossim and Robert Hill that creates edits of found footage to showcase and highlight the often ridiculous aspects of '80s and '90s culture, unearthed this scene from the credits of Parton's film "Straight Talk," which was released in 1992.
In the video, Parton's character, Shirlee Kenyon, hosts a radio call-in program. The clip shows Dolly's character receiving a call from an individual who is seeking advice about transitioning to live as a woman. Kenyon's words of wisdom? "If you're sure that's what you really want, all I can say is don't try to perm your own hair and don't wear high heels on a soggy lawn!"
Two decades before what many have termed the "transgender tipping point," this silly little comedy was light-years ahead of where much of the rest of the culture was when it came to treating trans people with dignity.
"We've been going through Dolly's filmography with some friends who had never seen any of her movies before," Deeper Understanding told The Huffington Post. "This movie was released in 1992 and the filmmakers could have gone for a cheap joke and made the call into an easy, offensive laugh. They do go for a laugh, but instead of being cruel, Shirlee lets the caller know that if this is something she wants, she should go for it."
Deeper Understanding added, "We did a search to see if this was online anywhere, but couldn't find it. So we decided to put it up on our channel because we thought people needed to see it. Plus, who doesn't love Dolly Parton?"
Who indeed!
Deeper Understanding, a duo made up of Danny Haloossim and Robert Hill that creates edits of found footage to showcase and highlight the often ridiculous aspects of '80s and '90s culture, unearthed this scene from the credits of Parton's film "Straight Talk," which was released in 1992.
In the video, Parton's character, Shirlee Kenyon, hosts a radio call-in program. The clip shows Dolly's character receiving a call from an individual who is seeking advice about transitioning to live as a woman. Kenyon's words of wisdom? "If you're sure that's what you really want, all I can say is don't try to perm your own hair and don't wear high heels on a soggy lawn!"
Two decades before what many have termed the "transgender tipping point," this silly little comedy was light-years ahead of where much of the rest of the culture was when it came to treating trans people with dignity.
"We've been going through Dolly's filmography with some friends who had never seen any of her movies before," Deeper Understanding told The Huffington Post. "This movie was released in 1992 and the filmmakers could have gone for a cheap joke and made the call into an easy, offensive laugh. They do go for a laugh, but instead of being cruel, Shirlee lets the caller know that if this is something she wants, she should go for it."
Deeper Understanding added, "We did a search to see if this was online anywhere, but couldn't find it. So we decided to put it up on our channel because we thought people needed to see it. Plus, who doesn't love Dolly Parton?"
Who indeed!
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