In the past year or so, it seems that the media has taken a
new, positive step towards representing the “T” in the LGBT community.
From the success of Orange is the New Black, with one of the
main characters being a transwoman, Laverne Cox, to the success of Transparent,
a story about a families experience as their father/husband transition into a
woman, it seems that our society is starting to accept that not everyone in
America is cisgender. So this raises the question, does the media pave the way
for society, or do the people pave the way for the media?
Although this is a question that may always be up for
debate, I believe that things happen in the world, such as certain movements,
and after the move has been made, the media acts on it to make a profit off of
the new fond movement.
In the previous years, there have been transgendered characters
in films, but most of these characters are there to be laughed at, such as
Quagmires Dad in Family Guy, or to show the hardships of real people, such as Hilary
Swank’s portrayal or Brandon Teena in Boys Don’t Cry. It has not been until recently
that we see positive representations of these characters in the media.
Laverne Cox’s character Sophia in Orange is the New Black
for instance shows a somewhat positive representation. Although she is in jail,
she is one of the inmates who stays out of trouble, goes to church, and helps
out her friends whenever she can. I also think it is important to note that
Laverne herself is transgender because usually LGBT characters are played by
cisgender heterosexual actors/actresses.
Shonda Rhimes is known for showing all types of diversity in her show Grey's Anatomy, and she has recently added a new transwoman into the script (she has had many trans characters in the past). This new story has a realistic and modern feel to it. One of the main characters finds out his brother is transitioning into a woman, and does not take it well at first. The other characters are totally accepting of it and end up talking to him making him realize he needs to accept his family no matter what the situation is. I feel that this portrayal is realistic and modern because in current times, our society is accepting of LGBT people, but not immediately when it is someone within their family- especially a brother or son.
Also, there is a new show coming out on TLC called All That Jazz, which is about a transgender 14 year old. I find this show so important
because many people know at a very young age that they were not assigned the
right gender at birth, and this series will shine light on the struggles of a
young girl living transgendered. I believe that as society becoming more
accepting of LGBT people, it is important for the media to show diverse stories
about people of all ages.
I think it is amazing how society is starting to open more to things that was made unlawful just a few decades ago. Just a few decades ago transgender male and females were arrested because it was a crime and punishable by law. It is crazy how fast times have changed. In our parents generation is was rare to see homosexuals let alone a transgender male or female. Our generation is much more understanding and tolerable to other cultures and other people lifestyles that we don’t look down upon those who are different. It is true that children know at a young age if they are homosexual or not, just like they know if they were born into the wrong body. I am glad that that girl in that show has supporting parents because that it what society needs more of. Not parents who try to push their beliefs and culture down their child’s throat. We need to give a huge round of applause to her parents because I am sure it was hard, but the love they have for their child is unconditional.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see that the T in LGBTA is being more noticed, especially in media. I feel like more positive representation of transgender characters is a really great step forward. Transgender people, especially youth, will hopefully feel more comfortable seeing characters just like them. Cisgender people will hopefully react better to transgender (since overall response to transgender is not really positive). It's also nice to see actual transgender actors and actresses play trans characters, which I think helps. I didn't know that there were a nice handful of trans characters in media now. I was originally only aware of Laverne Cox in Orange is the New Black, so I'm really glad to see more trans characters arising.
ReplyDeleteI love that you chose to write about this. I feel as a society, the T in LGBT has been grossly underrepresented and with the media FINALLY showing transgender people in a positive light, we can all start being one big happy family. Okay maybe that's a little far fetched, but I still do think it's awesome.
ReplyDeleteLisa- wow thank you for bringing that up. I had no idea people could be persecuted for changing their gender years ago. That is horrible and very alarming actually. It really is crazy how fast times have changed.
Sarah- I agree with what you are saying about transgender youth. It really is important that people see other people who are like them represented in a positive light in the media.