Ryan Conklin is someone who is interested in expanding his horizons and learning about the larger world around him. This includes meeting new and different kinds of people. By being part of The Real World Brooklyn, Ryan knew he would have that kind of opportunity to meet and get to know different types of people that he might not otherwise meet in his fairly homogeneous hometown area. For these reasons, he was particularly interested in knowing more about the uncommmon Katelynn Cusanelli, her life, and her transgender experience. However, this didn't mean that Ryan was prepared to embrace everything he learned with a wide open mind and an abundance of respect. It is said that you can take a boy out of the small town, but you can't take the small town out of the boy. For Ryan this means that, as should be expected, part of his personality is still firmly in the perhaps less progressive society from whence he came. Coupled with that in Ryan is a tendency to fall into using the usual jeering banter about people that are different that is not uncommon among groups of young straight men at home or in the military. A result of this is that there were some times that Ryan let himself say some rather unkind things about Katelynn and her situation.
To Ryan's credit, it appeared that for the most part he didn't initiate such talk, but rather got sucked into by the instigation of his cohort on the show, Chet Cannon.
On one occasion, Ryan was telling Chet about a statement that he heard JD Ordonez make about Katelynn that he didn't understand. Ryan told Chet that JD had said about her, "It's that time of the month." Ryan was curious if were possible for a transgendered person to experience cyclical symptoms that would be similar to those resulting from menstruation. Chet indelicately replied while Ryan patiently listened, "She's a freaking guy. If you are trying to fool everybody that you are actually a woman, you're going to have to fool everyone into thinking that you're going to have a period, which she doesn't. It's just an excuse to be a b-i-t-c-h around all of us. And who get's the brunt end of it? I do!" (deservedly)
On another occasion, Ryan and Chet were away from the house outside in the city. About their plans for the evening, Chet commented, "It's supposed to be a boy's night out." Then derisively, "Is Katelynn coming?" Chet quickly gave himself a mock rim shot for what he (for one) thought was a humorous line. Ryan went along and laughed with his friend.
Chet went on to goad Ryan by asking him if he thought it was "odd" that Katelynn got more dates and more drinks bought for her than any of the other girls in the house. Ryan thought about it and agreed that a wide variety of men seem to be attracted to Katelynn. Ryan offered up rather emphatically that when Katelynn is out on the town, "She's really convincing."
At that point Ryan knew what his friend Chet would find funny, so he switched gears and talked about wanting to see up close what a guy that Katelynn may bring home might feel the morning after. Ryan suggested that the date would have some remorse after he had sobered and the sun had risen. It sounded only like a typical disparagement of a girl whom a guy doesn't find attractive, but Chet made sure it was colored with an anti-transgender remark, by loudly capping off Ryan's comment with the word, "Freak!"
So it seems that Ryan would like to be more sensitive towards people that have different life experiences than he has, but not everyone around him makes it conducive for him to be so.
