Vicky Gan, Vulture
October 12, 2014
Transparent creator Jill Soloway and Orange is the New Black's Jenji Kohan kept butting heads on Saturday at the New Yorker Festival panel on LGBTQ TV, which was moderated by Emily Nussbaum. The two had philosophical disagreements over everything from the "male gaze" to sexual labels to Soloway's "trans-affirmative action" policy. Soloway believes it's important to have a trans female writer for the second season of Transparent, and since she hasn't been able to find one, she's going to train them herself: the Transparent writing team is fielding short stories from trans female writers, five of whom they'll work with on spec scripts. That way, after hiring one of them, the other four will still end up with scripts they can shop afterward. "We're actually going to be helping make trans women TV writers by teaching them how to write," Soloway said.
Kohan, who is herself is known for the diverse cast of OITNB, took issue with Soloway's hiring process, saying, "I think great writers should write great shows, and I have trouble with, like, what you are in life shouldn't automatically make you what you do in your art. It doesn't necessarily translate."
More:
http://www.vulture.com/2014/10/transparent-launches-trans-affirmative-action.html
