No Antitrans Bias Intended in 'Lost Girl,' Say Producers

[Shana A]

No Antitrans Bias Intended in 'Lost Girl,' Say Producers
They say an apparently female character who is attacked when revealed to be male represents a mythological shapeshifter, not a transgender person.
BY Trudy Ring
January 18 2013 6:32 PM ET

http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/style/2013/01/18/no-antitrans-bias-intended-lost-girl-say-producers

The SyFy series Lost Girl has received some criticism for apparent antitransgender bias in its third-season premiere, and now its producers have released a statement saying no such bias was intended.

In the episode, heroine Bo, who investigates crimes among supernatural beings, is in a prison run by Amazons, the mythical tribe of women warriors, GLAAD reports on its blog. The villainous warden appears to be a woman and claims to be an Amazon but turns out to be biologically male, and the revelation leads the prison guards to attack the warden.

[...]

After GLAAD raised the issue, Prodigy Pictures, which produces the series, released a statement saying the warden was intended solely to represent a "mythological shapeshifter known as the Liderc," as all the show's episodic characters are based on established mythology. "We did not intend this character to be seen as a transgender person, we apologize if the character was seen as such," the statement continues. "We do hope that you accept that no comparison or discrimination toward the transgender community was intended by the depiction of this mythological character. Lost Girl prides itself on being open and accepting to everyone, and are enthusiastic supporters of the GLBT community."


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Lost Girl Producers Release Statement Following Outrage Over Offensive Scene
Thursday, January 17, 2013 - 6:10pm by Matt Kane, Associate Director of Entertainment Media at GLAAD

http://www.glaad.org/blog/lost-girl-producers-release-statement-following-outrage-over-offensive-scene

GLAAD spoke with the show's producers today after finding the episode offensive. Prodigy Pictures, Inc. have released the following statement:

    We want to let you know that the Lost Girl writers base all episodic characters off of researched folklore, and that the character of The Warden in the premiere of Season 3 is a character based off the mythological shapeshifter known as the Liderc. The Warden was only intended to represent this mythic being. We did not intend this character to be seen as a transgender person, we apologize if the character was seen as such.  We do hope that you accept that no comparison or discrimination toward the transgender community was intended by the depiction of this mythological character.

    Lost Girl prides itself on being open and accepting to everyone, and are enthusiastic supporters of the GLBT community.  We want to encourage a society in which everyone can feel comfortable to express and be who they are without judgment.  Equality and a world without labels is important to all of us at the series. We strive to create three dimensional characters, who empower all viewers regardless of sexuality or gender.

[Ms. OBrien CVT]

I saw the episode in question and I understood that the character in question was a shapeshifter and not a transperson.

During the entire episode, it was explained that there was a shapeshifter at work.