Transsexuals According To The Mainstrem Media: Either Deceptive or Pathetic
Posted by Ampersand | September 8th, 2009
http://www.amptoons.com/blog/archives/2009/09/08/transsexuals-according-to-the-mainstrem-media-either-deceptive-or-pathetic/Aqueertheory at Below The Belt, nutshelling Julie Serano,1 writes:
...one of the main problems that trans women face is the common belief that their femaleness and femininity are somehow fake or inauthentic. This view is constantly (re)emphasized in the mainstream media. Transsexual women are routinely portrayed "in the act of putting on lipstick, dresses, and high heels, thereby giving the audience the impression that the trans woman's femaleness is an artificial mask or costume" (41). Their desire to be female is reduced to the pursuit of "stereotypically feminine appearance(s) and gender role(s)," which emphasizes that they are not real women, but men who are simply parading as women (41).
snip
I have to admit, I can't think of a single mainstream media presentation of transsexuality that doesn't fall into one of these two categories (unless you could the psycho serial killer trans stereotype). Even relatively progressive films still tend to contain the "transformation" scene, usually shot in an almost fetishistic style (close-up of lipstick being applied, etc.).
