He's a Lady

Set in Los Angeles, the show depicted a group of eleven men in competition for a reward of $250,000.[1] The men were under the guise that they would be participating in a competition-based reality show titled All American Man, in which they would compete in a variety of physical challenges. The men, however, were then informed that, in order to win the reward, they would need to cross-dress and compete in challenges where they "live like ladies."[2] These challenges included training to be a supermodel, wedding planning, serving as a bridesmaid, and passing as a female in front of their family and friends.[3] During the competition, the men were required to live in the Doll House, a decorated dwelling intended to "help them get in touch with their feminine sides."[1] The culmination of the show featured the men competing in a beauty pageant, in which each man was asked the following question: "What, as a lady, have you learned about being a man?”[2] The men's performances were judged by a celebrity panel, including Morgan Fairchild, John Salley, and Debbie Matenopoulos.[4] The series was hosted by American producer and writer Tony Frassrand.

TBS green-lit the series in early 2004, although its true premise was initially concealed by the network.[2] According to executive producer Tommy Campbell, the purpose of the series was for the contestants to become more sensitive to the needs of women and therefore treat women with more respect. Following the cancellation of the LGBT-themed Fox reality television series Seriously, Dude, I'm Gay before an episode even aired, the producers of He's a Lady wanted to be proactive in order to avoid a similar fate. Executive producers Douglas Ross and Campbell claimed that they approached the media monitoring organization GLAAD to get feedback on the series in an effort to avoid offending transgender people.[5] However, GLAAD claimed that they were the ones to contact the producers after having seen a press release about the series.[6] After meeting with the organization, Ross and Campbell stated that GLAAD helped them become "more aware of transgender issues and the double standards of beauty."[5]

Originally, the show was sponsored by S.C. Johnson Wax[8] but it was pulled out[9] later at the last minute on claiming that an SCJ spokesperson said "We've assessed the show, and we will not sponsor it". Additionally, it was also sued by Freund & Brackney LLP by plaintiffs John Phillips and Derek Gerard[10] claiming that the format was taken from the transgender-theme reality show called Sex Change with its plot, themes, dialogue, mood, setting, pace, characters and sequences of events.

• Cross-dressing in film and television

• He's a Lady official site
• He's a Lady at IMDb
• realitytvworld.com's entry