Former Cycle 11 America's Next Top Model contestant Isis King visited The Tyra Banks Show yesterday and was surprised with news that Tyra will help her get her long-awaited sex reassignment surgery.

Isis, the first transgender contestant to ever appear on ANTM, was originally scouted for the show when she appeared in the background of an ANTM photo at a homeless shelter (where she was living at the time). She won a spot on the current cycle of ANTM, but was ultimately eliminated in the fourth week.

On Banks, Isis talked about growing up feeling like she was born in the wrong body, and how getting sex reassignment surgery has been cost prohibitive.

Below is a short clip of Isis on The Tyra Banks Show:

Her mother, Sharray (who is a ringer for rapper Eve) appeared on the show with Isis, and talked about watching her transition into being a woman, as well as her own process of coming to accept her daughter. … continue reading

AfterEllen.com reader Traveler tipped us off to the fact that the New York Times featured not one, not two, but three same-sex marriages in this weekend's edition. One of them was the focus of a longer piece, and it happened to be a familiar lesbian couple: poet Jewelle Gomez and her partner, Diane Sabin.

From the article:

Dr. Sabin met Ms. Gomez at the Oakland, Calif., airport in 1984. Dr. Sabin was there to pick up Ms. Gomez and her partner at the time, who were both taking part in a series of poetry readings that Dr. Sabin was producing in San Francisco.

“I looked at Jewelle, and she looked at me, and it was love at first sight,” Dr. Sabin said. But Ms. Gomez was not available.

Don't worry — they obviously found each other later, when they were both single and living in San Francisco (Gomez briefly relocated, but came back to the city in 1992). … continue reading

I have a friend who hates my use of the word “awesome.” She prefers to reserve it for things she deems to be truly awe-inspiring. She wouldn’t have the least objection, though, to my using the word to describe Robin Roberts.

My love for Robin goes back to the first time I saw her during a women’s basketball broadcast on ESPN. It was in 1990, shortly after the Lady Vols had proven to me what an idiot I was for not appreciating the game earlier. Robin quickly became my favorite commentator, not only because she’s absolutely gorgeous, but also because she loves the game. And it’s obvious that those who play the game love her — last week, the WNBA let Roberts know what she meant to professional women's basketball by presenting her with the 2008 WNBA Inspiration Award.

In case you are a Today Show-watcher and don’t know, Roberts is co-anchor of Good Morning America with Diane Sawyer — they are the first female pair to host a morning show. Between her Emmy Award-winning tenure at ESPN and her GMA audience, Roberts has developed quite a following. So, when she went public about her diagnosis with breast cancer last year, the outpouring of support was immediate and dramatic. (Kleenex alert!) … continue reading