Meanwhile, Callie is filled with sadness that everyone is getting freaky except for her. She laments to Owen, then to Amelia that she has no game, and she needs some game, and some out-of-pajamas time, but with another person. Girl has gone so bananas—so completely ’round the bend—that she’s now identifying with a guy who’s so needy his girlfriend has taken to literally hurling her body down flights of stairs to get away from him.
Rosalyn’s lab results come back and they’re doubleplus ungood. Her spleen is shot to hell, and her estrogen levels are the same as a teenage girl’s. Ben’s in a panic, trying to figure out what’s wrong. Drugs? Rosalyn’s colon? I didn’t think the spleen-bone was connected to the colon-bone, but my specialty is spicy beef stew and cheese grits, so I have no idea what I’m talking about. Bailey and Meredith usher Ben out into the hallway and make urgent faces at one another until Rosalyn starts coughing up blood and is rushed to the OR.
Quick! Pop Quiz! What do you not do when a loved comes out as Queer/Trans/Bi/Gay/Lesbian/Asexual to you?
That’s right, the correct answer is “Make it all about yourself and call them crazy!” That is what you DO NOT DO. Ten points to Hufflepuff!
Ben, however, gets no points. No points for you Ben, because when Bailey pulls him aside to out Rosalyn (No Bailey! That’s not your job, Bailey!) Ben pitches such a temper tantrum.
Bailey: I will tell you, but only because when he tells you, you need to react better than this. Curt is transitioning. He…She is transgender, and she identifies as female, and she wants to live life as a woman. Your brother is becoming your sister.
Ben: He’s upset about dad. He’s having some kind of emotional breakdown. So we’ll get him a psych consult.
Bailey: No, we won’t.
Ben: Curt’s crazy. This makes no sense.
Bailey: After the surgery, you will talk to Curt, and you will listen to Curt tell you her good news, and it is good news, and you will listen. And you will tell her that you love her.
After surgery, Ben lashes out at Rosalyn, because the best way to show someone you love them is to attack them immediately after someone has had their hands all over your loved ones’ internal organs. Rosalyn pleads with Ben to understand that she just wasn’t ready, but she’s waited 25 years and she just wants to be happy with who she is. Ben stomps his feet and pitches a fit about “you don’t know crap” and “I’m just supposed to be okay with this?” and “why didn’t I know?”
He storms out of the room and Bailey flies after him like she was shot from a cannon of Tumblr’s own fury, whole-naming him and shouting. “Benjamin Warren, I am so disappointed in you. She’s your family…She wasn’t ready. This isn’t about you. This is her song, so get off the stage and let her sing it.”
At its heart, Grey’s has always been an ensemble cast, and sometimes some characters slide into the chorus so others can have a solo, but I’ve missed original Bailey so much. She’s hard and unyielding, and doesn’t always get it exactly right, but most of us don’t either. I’m convinced that this show is never better than when Bailey is at the center. She’s their moral compass.
Protect Bailey at all costs, is what I’m trying to say to you. Perpetual prayer circle for Bailey.
Rosalyn has named herself now, and it’s a beautiful name. Jackson tells her as much when he comes to talk to her about her medical transition. As our Trans Editor Mey pointed out, an endocrinologist might have been more helpful because Rosalyn’s medical issues are stemming from her DIY hormone replacement therapy, but Jackson was so good it’s like Bailey brought him in for that reason alone. He asks Rosalyn if he can call her Rosalyn, because he doesn’t know what they’re waiting for. As he speaks, Rosalyn physically unfolds, uncrossing her arms and turning towards him, looking for the first time in the whole episode like she’s not holding herself together with her bare hands.
It is very rare to find these kind of trans allies on television, especially when we’re talking about black trans women (glaring at you forever, Glee). Usually, we see trans characters being used as the punchline for main characters’ jokes or as the catalyst for growth for main characters’ storylines. We see really violent things like misgendering someone with incorrect pronouns being played for a seemingly innocuous laugh. (It is not innocuous.) And then, eventually, one main character maybe comes around and teaches a lesson to the other characters, who become the focal point of the trans character’s story. Mey says she thinks these are some of the best trans ally characters she’s ever seen, in large part because they insist on correct pronoun usage and refuse to make Rosalyn’s coming out about themselves.
I want to quote Mey here, one more time, because we’re having an important cultural conversation right now about whether or not it’s fair or correct to have cis men play trans women on television:
I understand all the reasons they might want to go with a cis actor, but it’s probably always going to rub me the wrong way. Like, I know how hard that must be and how weird that would be for the trans actor [to play a character who appears male], and in the real world I know that this is the most practical and realistic thing. But in my dream world, they would be able to find a trans actress, you know? So I know all the realities of it, but still, I don’t know if I’m ever going to like the idea of a man playing a trans woman, even though I know that sometimes in a practical sense, that’s possibly the best move.
One of the greatest needs of the queer community right now, visibility-wise, is more quality representation for black trans women on television. We’ve lost six trans women of color to murder already this year. In 2014, 14 trans women were murdered, and 12 of those 14 were black trans women. There is a pandemic of bigotry and violence against trans women of color in this country, and frankly, sometimes scripted TV is the only way to make people pay attention, and to teach them.
This was a great first step for broadcast television. So let’s see more Rosalyn, Grey’s!
Meredith, turns out, rented a hotel room and spent three whole days sleeping like single people sleep, talking to herself, and drinking tiny bottles of alcohol out of the mini-fridge. Maggie hears this news like it’s the saddest thing ever, but every parent watching just laughs and laughs. That sounds like heaven, Maggie.
Across the street at Joe’s, Callie drinks shots and makes eye contact with a pretty fellow. When he does not immediately offer to put a baby in her, she grabs his hand and pulls him onto the dance floor. She dances, tosses her hair around and looks how she looks.
Back at the hospital, Arizona and Dr. Geena Davis steal a couch, and Arizona laughs her magical laugh for the first time in I can’t remember how long.
They’re finally healing.
