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India Gets First Transgender TV News Anchor

India Gets First Transgender TV News Anchor

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Just months after India's Supreme Court decided to recognize transgender individuals as a third gender, Padmini Prakash is making history.

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Padmini Prakash, a 31-year-old transgender woman in Coimbatore, India, has become that country's first transgender television news anchor. According to the Times of India, the appointment came just months after India's Supreme Court decided to recognize transgender individuals as a third gender.

Padmini, a former actor and dancer, has become the face of primetime news on Lotus News Channel, winning praise from both media vets and those in the LGBT community and a rapidly growing fan base that had her promoted to the 7 p.m. spot. It is a nice surprise for a woman who was reportedly disowned by her own family when she came out as trans. She later became a vocal trans activist.

Padmini told the Times of Indiathat anchoring a live news show, with it's lack of leeway for mistakes, was at first worrisome but she was commited to the objectivity required for the job. "I was very worried because I also had to focus on my diction and maintain a steady narrative pace to ensure that there was clarity and viewers could understand me," Padmini the the Times. Turns out she had nothing to worry about.

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Diane Anderson-Minshall

Diane Anderson-Minshall is the CEO of Pride Media, and editorial director of The Advocate, Out, and Plus magazine. She's the winner of numerous awards from GLAAD, the NLGJA, WPA, and was named to Folio's Top Women in Media list. She and her co-pilot of 30 years, transgender journalist Jacob Anderson-Minshall penned several books including Queerly Beloved: A Love Across Genders.
Diane Anderson-Minshall is the CEO of Pride Media, and editorial director of The Advocate, Out, and Plus magazine. She's the winner of numerous awards from GLAAD, the NLGJA, WPA, and was named to Folio's Top Women in Media list. She and her co-pilot of 30 years, transgender journalist Jacob Anderson-Minshall penned several books including Queerly Beloved: A Love Across Genders.