The main reason why “Vote for the Girls” is now the longest running site

As the founder, host and webmaster of Vote for the Girls, I have been asked a lot of questions about this web site and quite frankly, some of the answers I’m giving why I created what is now the longest running web series for 11 seasons and lasting longer than Vote for the Worst as of September 4, 2019.

Unfortunately the setbacks I dealt with while growing up in Van Buren and for 22 years in Marion apparently have followed me up north in Fort Wayne. Also, all of my children now live in Fort Wayne though they are living independently and visiting me on a regular basis as well as Alexx Moffitt, Karly Jameson, etc. I spent 22 years in Marion prepared for the worst case scenarios I would face and long story short—what worked for me in Marion doesn’t always work in Fort Wayne. Well generally what worked in Marion 87 times out of 100 worked in the Summit City.

If you’re expecting a sex tape of a female lobster and a human transgendered female with a queen cat and transgender female dog watching, and if you are reading this—you are at the wrong site and have realized that it’s a Queen of the Willis episode that is never gonna air—it may be just the fact I voice all of those fictional characters (Ava, Heather, Tabby, and Shushu) on my animated sitcom. But I will say I wrote a particular episode of Queen of the Willis that aired exactly 10 years before Emily Dwire anchored her final newscast on WPTA-TV. It is the episode that twice-predicted a rare problem and what local television news organizations that only a fat transgender female (Tabby) and fat queen cat (Shushu) can do on an animated comedy-drama that quite frankly as the writer of that episode, could land me in serious hot water.

“Vote for the Girls”, “INNewsCenter”, “Queen of the Willis” and “Retail Nightmares” are all created by yours truly, Ava Zinn

Now here comes the “Don’t give Ava a death threat” part… aka Don’t shoot the messenger.

It is with extreme regret and very sad that it has to be the best decision at this time. In my 11 years as the Founder, Webmaster, and Principal Host of Vote for the Girls USA that I have the very sad duty to forfeit my Dancing with the Stars picks of Fifth Harmony Star Ally Brooke Hernandez and American Idol 10 Lauren Alaina due to a psychological trauma trigger I briefly saw last week on WANE 15 and for the past five weeks on ABC 21 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

• 

If you’re wondering why two women anchoring a news broadcast is becoming the new standard, the all-female American Idol 12 finale, all-female The Voice 13 top 3, and all-female SYTYCD15 top 3, then you have probably noticed a strong connection.

Unfortunately, for the past several weeks, I was traumatized and suffered from flashbacks and got into probably my worst depression in almost 20 years. What I saw was completely uncalled for and I refused to watch those news broadcasts. I exposed this problem to Fox 59 in late 2006 and I do not mind seeing two women in addition to the typical male-female co-anchor I’m used to seeing, but NEVER EVER two males — not since I last saw Clyde Lee and the late Howard Caldwell in 1985 on WRTV—though in 2009, I did watch Scott Jones and Gene Cox anchor as a late April Fool’s joke on INNewsCenter. This is 2019 and the 21st Century, for crying out loud. 

I’m sorry to say it WANE and WPTA, but you would’ve lost a viewer in this manner—but you didn’t because I have too much respect for the broadcast industry for this BS. It is wrong. I got very offended, humiliated, traumatized, ashamed to live in Indiana’s third largest LGBT community and quite frankly scared to death as a frightened child with a nightmare. As a news organization, you should know better than respect viewers in that manner. You ought to be ashamed that a long time viewer caught you in the act.

As soon as things get settled down, I kindly ask this doesn’t occur again and I never want to see two anchormen on any newscast (weather or sports programs are fine) any reason (even if the news anchorwoman goes on maternity leave or go on vacation, etc.) on my television again. I don’t expect an apology—but I am willing to believe it was unavoidable and if it is the case try not to let it happen again.

Two males co-anchoring news broadcast isn’t a crime, but it is a crime on my watch (you probably don’t see a problem with it as a news director/program manager/GM but as a loyal viewer since November 1983 I do). I only wish that I knew about this ahead of time so that the proper procedures are taken (of which is placing a temporary channel block only for the newscasts in question) on my end. 

And if that means yours truly, Ava Zinn herself, has to run for mayor of the second largest city in Indiana and becoming the first openly transgender woman and the second female mayor since Cosette Simon, in order to make this issue permanently resolved (as well as evicting sex offenders from the city limits), that will be all right with me as early as the 2023 Municipal Election should I be elected.

Again, I’m sorry that I have to take this step in forfeiting my Vote for the Girls Dancing with the Stars picks of Lauren Alaina and Ally Brooke because of the trauma trigger I have encountered. There’s always someone who caused the problem and I’m not even going to mention who or what caused it—I wouldn’t even be surprised if it was a staffing problem.

I do expect backlash and outrage for this post because I am taking my stand based on my gender identity and sexual orientation (as a transgender female and a lesbian). 

I’ve said this back in 2007 when I lived in Marion and I’ll say it again 12 years later now that I’m living in Fort Wayne. 

If you do not like how I do things like obtaining footage or my biking through the streets of Fort Wayne (I don’t drive—I walk, bike and/or occasionally take Citilink like everyone else)—that is sadly and unfortunately your own problem you need to find a detour (if you know what the hell I am talking about). This isn’t why I came out as a transgender female (and also a lesbian) and moved from Marion to Fort Wayne on May 15, 2018. If you choose to post a negative comment like, “Who cares?/Nobody cares”, “Oh, Ava, why don’t you f••k yourself,” “Kill yourself, tranny” or worse—I know what it it like to be both bullied and cyber-bullied ON MY WEB SITE. Know the Golden Rule and if you don’t know what “Golden Rule” is… I will explain it:

The Golden Rule is the principle of treating others as you want to be treated. It is a maxim that is found in many religions and cultures. It can be considered an ethic of reciprocity in some religions, although other religions treat it differently. The maxim may appear as a positive or negative injunction governing conduct:

From Wikipedia

Treat others as you would like others to treat you (positive or directive form)

Do not treat others in ways that you would not like to be treated (negative or prohibitive form)

What you wish upon others, you wish upon yourself (empathic or responsive form)

That “Golden Rule” of mine has been with me since my 10th birthday on January 4, 1993. That has been unchanged since that day 26 years ago. It was that year my oldest daughter, Samantha, was born and the following year I knew I was gay (not as a man, but as a woman), but it wouldn’t officially be until May 1, 2002 when I watched Cindy Ward and Debora Daniel on WSBT-TV’s late newscast I was on the north side of Marion after years of hiding the fact I was a lesbian girl stuck in what was then a 19-year-old male body until I had to make a choice and that choice was coming out as a transgender female (my mom and my brother had a feeling they knew they had respectively posthumously got the little girl my mother and sister my brother had wanted, and by the time I had came out to my family—only my mom, my brother, older relatives of mine, and a few cousins never knew what I was talking about nor did they even know until years later).

I am still living as a woman since 2004 because I knew that had I not socially transition from male to female, I would not be around for my children and grandchildren. I’ve fared far more better as a woman than I ever did before January 2004, although I’ve still got some more work to do.

To those in Marion and Fort Wayne that know my position on this, I sincerely like to thank you for the continued support and my long time friends and fans know who they are, whether it is from my RATTV days co-anchoring with Justin Planck, #INNewsCenter #RetailNightmatesAvaZinn, #VoteForTheGirls, #QueenOfTheWillis, my webmastering career, etc. 

If my actions have caused more people to pay more attention to what they watch on their local news and/or reality competitions, then truth be told—I have accomplished a long-time goal I started when I launched this web site at Mississinewa High School on November 1, 1999. That web site grew to a number of spin-offs related to digital media and retail that I continue to own and operate as I celebrate 20 years as a webmaster. I may be known to be misandrist and swear like Gordon Ramsay on Hell’s Kitchen, yet I believe I have a passion for digital media and retail that has been tried and true, perhaps launching a television news department if that is what will take (I’ve done it in 1999 by accident with the news following in 2007).

At any rate, I thank you in advance for your support and remember to control your child’s education—have them immunized and may Fort Wayne’s Good News Be Yours.

#TransLivesMatter #FemalesMatter #M2F #TransWoman since 12/1/2004.

Sincerely yours truly,

Aeverine “Ava” Zinn

PS: To my fellow Purple Team North Vote for the Girls moderator and fellow transgender woman, Rachael Passalt, congratulations as the winning moderator of Dancing with the Stars 28. You, Kendra (Ray), Donna (Doogan), and I as the Purple Team North officially became the first division to have since realignment have won as a moderator or had a Vote for the Girls or Flex Pick in the DWTS finale.