MTV continued its streak of making bold progressive stances related to its award shows this week when it was reported the network has invited transgender U.S. troops to attend Sunday’s VMAs.
We’ve really got to hand it to MTV. The network that once was synonymous with groundbreaking has been accused in recent years of abandoning what once made it edgy and cool for lame reality TV series about terrible humans. But the channel has made a notable effort this year to earn back its trailblazing title. The latest example came Thursday, when CNN reported MTV had reached out to military personnel and invited transgender troops to attend Sunday night’s Video Music Awards.
The Video Music Awards as a rule are known for eyebrow-raising antics (see: Kanye vs. Taylor, Gaga’s meat dress, etc.) and Sunday’s show will surely be no exception. Only this year those antics have shifted with the general mood of the network’s young demographic. They’ve recently ditched separating categories by gender at both the Movie & TV Awards and now the VMAs, and there are now categories devoted to achievements in activism. People who are watching MTV, it seems, are people with a more politically-charged, inclusive perspective on what’s cool and what isn’t.
So, blatantly standing up against President Trump’s outrageous plans to ban transgender service members from the U.S. military is right in line with the image MTV has been cultivating. As MTV president Chris McCarthy said in a statement in the CNN story:
"“MTV has invited transgender members of the US armed forces to the 2017 Video Music Awards and we would be honored if they could attend,” said Chris McCarthy, president of MTV. “Any patriot who is putting their own life at risk to fight for our freedom and stands for equality is a hero at MTV, and to young people everywhere.”"
If this is what young people watching MTV support now, maybe there is hope for the future afterall.
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According to CNN, it’s still unclear whether any active military personnel will be able to take MTV up on its invitation, but if they’re able to swing it, it would certainly make an important—and super cool—statement.