Appropriation Tales: Israel Luna and dead trans women
March 23, 2010
by gudbuytjane
http://gudbuytjane.wordpress.com/2010/03/23/appropriation-tales-israel-luna-and-dead-trans-women/ (http://gudbuytjane.wordpress.com/2010/03/23/appropriation-tales-israel-luna-and-dead-trans-women/)
Warning: Contains quoted descriptions of violence against trans people.
With the state of appropriation of trans lives in the queer community being what it is, I wasn't terribly shocked when I found out about Ticked-Off ->-bleeped-<-s With Knives, a new "comedy/thriller/'transploitation" film directed by a cissexual gay man, Israel Luna. Trans women especially are subject to being reframed in cis people's narratives, and gay men especially seem to have a sense of entitlement over the identities of trans women. This piece does a good job of pointing outmuch of the transphobia, transmisogyny, and cissexual privilege in the movie and in Israel Luna's attitudes towards trans people.
Although annoyed by the news of the movie, this seemed just another case of the LGB community appropriating trans lives. When I checked the movie's trailer on YouTube, however, I was genuinely shocked. Only four seconds in, against mournful music, I could not believe what I was reading: