GLAAD's Nick Adams argues that Hollywood needs to let go of the idea "that putting a male actor in a dress, wig and makeup is an accurate portrayal of a transgender woman."
It’s been two years since Time proclaimed a new era of inclusion in America with a May 2014 cover featuring Laverne Cox and the headline: “The Transgender Tipping Point.” The groundbreaking Time cover came 10 months after Cox appeared in her breakout role as Sophia Burset in Orange Is the New Black. An outstanding performance by a transgender actress that accelerates change across an entire culture.
Since then, trans people have begun to appear on reality shows. Trans characters played by trans actors are beginning to appear in scripted TV shows.
In spite of the critical and commercial success of projects that put trans people in Hollywood it is having a very difficult time letting go of the idea that putting a male actor in a dress, wig and makeup is an accurate portrayal of a transgender woman.
For more than 40 years, people have seen male actors "pretend" to be trans women. By this type of casting, viewers receive two strong and wrong messages: 1. that being transgender is an act, a performance, just a matter of playing dress-up; and 2. that underneath all that artifice, a transgender woman really is a man.
Matt Bomer find himself in the controversy, following news that he will be playing a transgender woman in Anything, produced by Mark Ruffalo.
Emmy-nominated trans filmmaker and actress Jen Richards responded with a series of tweets that re-ignited a long-simmering conversation about casting transgender roles.
Bomer, who is a successful out gay actor, and Ruffalo, who’s been a supporter of the LGBT community, took on the project with the best intentions.
Emmy-nominated trans filmmaker and actress Jen Richards responded with a series of tweets that re-ignited a long-simmering conversation about casting transgender roles.
The decision to put yet another man in a dress to portray a transgender woman touches a nerve for transgender people, and rightfully so. It's yet another painful reminder that, in the eyes of so many people, transgender women are really just men.
That message is toxic and dangerous. It's what prompts lawmakers in states like North Carolina to legislate that a transgender woman must use the men's restroom, humiliating her and putting her in harm’s way.
When you hire a trans actor, they don't have to spend weeks or months "preparing and researching" to play a trans person. They can walk in the door on day one, ready to deliver an authentic, nuanced performance. You get the added bonus of having someone on set who can tell you if something about the dialogue or the characterization is falling into tropes and clichés that will ultimately not reflect well on you or the project.
No comments:
Post a Comment