Thinking™️ about the three types of trans women you see in live action media:
1) Character is played by a cisgender woman. Her trans status will be used as a surprise reveal and most likely never referenced again (if she even bothers to stick around afterwards). As a rule, her storyline will revolve around her sleeping with someone who doesn’t know she is trans (how tricksy!). For some reason this will almost always also be someone she knew before she transitioned (but she wont need a motivation for hiding her identity because trans people are Just Like That). She’s among the most actively transphobic form of representation, but despite (or because of?) that she’s never much more than a narrative jack-in-the-box. This is, notably, the only type of trans woman who is allowed to “pass”.
2) Character is played by a transgender woman. Care will be taken to select an actress who is beautiful, but still has that “trans look” (because a passing trans woman would be poor visual storytelling, of course!). Her story will be plausible, but clean-cut and sanitized. She’ll be the sort that “always knew” (as if there was any other option!). She’ll have transitioned young (but not THAT young!). She wont struggle with her gender identity or identify as anything other than a binary woman (she’ll almost certainly be straight, too, since everyone knows “being trans is just gay++”). If she had any trouble with her transition, it will stem from a botched surgery and never from medical gatekeeping (doctors know best! Except those creepy surgeons…). Overall not the absolute worst representation but somehow the most infuriating.
3) Character is played by a cisgender man. This type is an absolute wild card and can range anywhere from a viciously hateful caricature to essentially the same as the type-two trans woman character (though in this case, the story will be focused more on her dealing with the early phases of transition, like coming out or having surgery (it will not be any less problematic or sanitized)). The media will praise the actor regardless of any of the actual qualities of their performance (he’s so brave, he’s so subversive, he’s such an artist!).
In all cases, she will be the first and only trans woman in the universe and will therefore have no connection to any pre-existing queer communities or support systems. The cisgender people in her life will be clueless about trans issues (but that’s okay because being trans is so new and confusing!). She will also be strictly apolitical, but she might have a trans flag on a shirt or something just to show you how out-and-proud she is. :)
stormborns
kaledo-art
titsay
blakekathryn
turnnoffyourmind
