One of the minor characters in Tiger King, the docu-series taking Netflix by storm, is speaking out after he was misgendered throughout the entire show.
Kelci "Saff" Saffery, one of the zookeepers who worked with Joe Exotic, Jeff Lowe, and all the others, claims that he was incorrectly identified as a woman on the show despite using male pronouns.
Saff was a favorite on the show, viewed as one of the only people who actually cared about the animals. While Joe Exotic likely started off with a love for his tigers, he ended up getting caught up in an evil game against Carole Baskin, Jeff Lowe, and others, losing his passion over time. Saff has been championed as a hero but he still wishes the show portrayed him differently.
The producers of the show failed to address Saff's bisexuality and they did not respect his desired pronouns of "he/him."
"I've always gone by 'him' since I could say that out loud. If people are asking me what I prefer, it's very obvious what I prefer, and that's he," said the zookeeper in an interview with Out Magazine. "I'm not going to tell anyone what they need to or should call me. I think that everyone's entitled to their own opinion, and I'm obviously as easygoing in that department as I can get."
Saff claims that he is not bothered by people misgendering him, but that he certainly prefers going by "Saff," "he," or "him."
Dwyane Wade Speaks On 12-Year Old Child’s Coming Out Story
Dwayne Wade and Gabrielle Union’s 12-year old child has changed her name to Zaya, the basketball player discusses on Ellen Degeneres.
Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union have both been a champion of LGBTQ+ rights over the past few months, a journey Wade discusses in a new interview with Ellen Degeneres. While some have criticized Wade for encouraging his child to live her truth at such a young age, Wade has been adamant that he wants to be the best father possible and hopes for his child to live the best life she can.
In the aforementioned interview, Wade opened up even more about his child and how she recently came home asking to go by a new name. His 12-year-old was born with the name Zion which is a more masculine name. Now, she prefers to go by Zaya which is something Wade has 100 percent embraced.
“When Zaya came home and said, ‘Hey, I want to talk to you guys. I think going forward, I’m ready to live my truth. I want to be referenced as she and her. I would love for you guys to call me Zaya,'” Wade said. “So internally it’s our job to one go out and get information, to reach out to every relationship that we have. My wife reached out to everyone on the cast of Pose. We just tried to figure out as much information as we can to help our child be her best self.”
Wade’s entire family has been supportive of Zaya, particularly his wife Gabrielle Union who took Zaya to the 2019 Pride parade in Miami. The former basketball star also says he hopes Zaya can become a leader in the LGBTQ+ community and will continue to speak out on gender identity-related issues.
[Via]