Portrayal of transgenders in Turkish films, or lack thereof
EMRAH GÜLER ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/portrayal-of-transgenders-in-turkish-films-or-lack-thereof.aspx?pageID=238&nID=24492&NewsCatID=381Turkey might be more accepting and tolerant of the first three letters of the LGBT communities, but when it comes to transgender people, not so much. This year, Trans Pride Week was a separate event, ending with a Trans Pride Parade that was held for the third time. The event was tenser than hoped for as a nationalist group attempted to attack the parade.
In fact, trans communities almost always come lowest in a hierarchy where the right to justice, ostracization and fair representation are concerned. Turkish cinema is no exception, with transgender characters either used for comic relief or serving to reinforce their image as bitter sex workers – that is, if we are talking about male-to-female transvestites or transsexuality.
Veteran film critic and historian Agah Özgüç identifies the very first trans character in Turkish cinema in director Muhsin Ertuğrul's 1923 work "Leblebici Horhor," in which the male lead dresses like a woman to save his girlfriend.
