Music

Ottawa radio station gives away $40,000 for gender transition

by Jesse Locke

Ottawa radio station Hot 89.9 is giving away $40,000 for a gender transition with their their latest contest ‘The New Normal.’ Listen to their announcement below:

According to the station, this contest offers one lucky listener (a “Hottie”, in their words) the chance to “live the life they want to live.” Though they can’t nail down the exact numbers of transgender people in their community, the station offers an estimate of 1% with the following caveat: “We use the 1% figure colloquially to help spark conversation. There are no citable references for the size of the population in Canada, much less Ottawa/Gatineau.”

‘The New Normal’ promises to be empathetic in its portrayal of entrants, although the official rules say finalists “must demonstrate sufficient physical, psychological, and mental capacity to endure the process of the contest.” September 30 is the deadline to fill out an application form asking for detailed answers on contestants’ medical/treatment history as well as 100-word responses on how the money would impact their life.

It’s easy to be wary of ratings-grabbing stunts when stations such as Calgary’s AMP are cutting pop songs in half and burning $5,000 cash. However, Hot 89.9 was previously the first station to broadcast a gay wedding live on air when Amazing Race contestants Lynn Warren and Alex Ali tied the knot in 2005. Then, in 2012, the same station awarded five entrants $35,000 in-vitro fertilization treatments for their ‘Win A Baby’ contest. Hopefully their intentions are pure with their latest effort. We’ll give them the final word:

“Let’s show our families, our friends, and our neighbours what The New Normal looks like in our community.”