Trevor and Ian.
Queer is queer.
Shameless has been a show that I have found very raw and real. It tells you the stories of characters as the people they are. Each person has flaws, quirks, and things about them that make them unique and special. The media can often be used as a place to sugarcoat the representation of characters that they choose to portray. Shameless is a refreshing change to the commonalities that are seen in the heteronormative society we live in. There are little representations of queer characters, but Shameless shows these relationships between people who aren’t like everyone else, but are so important and such a big part of our society. The two characters that I will be talking about are Ian and Trevor, and analyzing their relationship together.
Ian is found out to be gay from the very first episode of shameless and has numerous sexual and emotional relationships with people. He is very strictly gay, but does not really have a “type” as he goes from “Cash” to old men and “Mickey”. Prior to season 7, Ian has been very sexual and had a lot of things happen in his life, and then Trevor comes along. As far as Ian knows, when they meet Trevor is a man to him. What Ian does not find out until they begin dancing and touching each other is that Trevor is a trans man. Ian happens to grab “Trevor’s” fake penis that he is wearing, and compliments it, Trevor responds with, “It should, It cost me 80 bucks”.
At this point Ian is shocked and does not know how to respond so he says some very rude and hurtful things about Trevor. At first Trevor is pissed off and starts to storm away until Ian apologizes and claims that “He really didn’t know better” and was unaware of how to address a trans person. They come to an understanding and Ian slowly starts to learn more and more about Trevor’s life and what it means for him to be a man.This relationship is such a great thing to see in the media and on a show with such high ratings and prowess. There are often two sides to when it comes to trans people. There are those who are hateful and rude whether it be from ignorance, stupidity or just hate, and there are those who are loving and supporting; most importantly willing to learn.
A lot of people who do not encounter trans men and women or see them represented have no idea how to act when they see them. Showing this progressive relationship start slightly rough and then to blossom out was great to watch. Trevor and Ian get very close and only have one hang up, the bedroom. Ian had always been a “pitcher” and not a “catcher” when it came to sex, and Trevor was the same way. They were both very hesitant to try it with each other because it was out of their comfort zone and what they had experienced before. Eventually they both are willing to try and they actually enjoy it very much. This is another positive that I find within the relationship portrayal between Ian and Trevor. Shameless shows a lot of sex, whether it be straight and/or gay, so it was so nice to see an inclusion of a trans person in that same sexual light. Transgender people are very much of the time seen as “disgusting” or “freaks” but they are humans and experience the same actions and emotions that everyone else does. It is very important for everyone to see trans people as the same as the rest of us, so including the sex life of Trevor and Ian was well done to normalize and familiarize the experiences of trans people to the rest of the world.
Kyle Buchanan talks in one of his articles about trans characters having movies made about them, but in reality the story is still connotated with the straight people in the movie. How the movie can have trans or gay people in it, but it is not centered around them. Instead those characters are used as a sort of “tool” for the straight characters. These trans people are seen as fascinating and different in the eyes of straight people, but not given the stardom and respect they deserve. This is one thing that I think Shameless did a fairly good job with. By having Ian meet and have a love interest with transgender Trevor, it allows the relationship to feel more raw and natural. The truth isn’t out at first and honestly it is impossible to tell that Trevor is transgender from one glance. They made their little relationship it’s own part of the show by feeling intimate and cute, and then they opened it up to other plots and story lines to have inclusion.
It is interesting to compare the other mediums that include trans characters and how they compare with relation to class and race. In Shameless, Trevor and Ian live in southside Chicago, which isn’t the nicest area. In Tangerine, a movie about two black trans men who are sex workers in L.A., they are also portrayed to live and work in a shaky area. In each of these outlets of media, the trans life is associated with some level “dirtiness” and sense of lower class standing. Whether this is done on purpose in each case or not shows in what light that society sees these people. Very rarely will there be a movie or show about a powerful and successful trans man or woman, and when it is they are most of the time white. But there are sights of change taking place in the world today. Everyday people are becoming more and more supportive of the trans community. In a short TV series titled, “Her Story”, about a trans female who is living life in fear of her “lover”, there are more sights of trans people with success. One of the trans characters is also a black woman who has quite a reputable career as a lawyer for the rights of trans people. It is shows like that, and like Shameless that make the stories of trans people and queer people more public and more normal to be seen.
Queer has been a term used to describe a number of things that don’t fit into the “normalized” and frankly “stereotyped” societal views of society. Yet, queer is queer. If someone wants to label themselves as queer then there is nothing wrong with them doing just that. A gay, lesbian or transgender person can be anything that a straight person can be. A queer person is just as emotional, real, and a part of society as the next. If anything from my analysis of Trevor and Ian’s relationship can be taken away it is this: learn to love at first sight, and welcome all who present themselves to you. There is no need to judge someone for wanting to be who they truly are, and that goes for any person, race, gender, sexuality, religion, disability or anything else you could think of. There are Trevor’s and Ian’s all over the world, this show just gave us an example as to how they can look and live. Normally queer.