I think that the outrage sparked by Jared Leto's portrayal stems from a) the fact that trans actors are very infrequently chosen to portray anyone be it straight, gay, cis, or trans and b) the character of Rayon reinforces some not-so-positive stereotypes about trans women.
When I saw Dallas Buyers Club I was moved by the performances of Leto and McConaughey and thought that they both did a very good job at embodying these characters. However, the movie did make me question whether I had ever seen a dramatization of the AIDS crisis which had featured lead roles played by people who have actually experienced the pain and the drama of living through that crisis. I also think that often when trans characters are portrayed, there is a trope of a tragic existence and often demise of these characters which mimics the statistics of homelessness, self-harm, attempted suicide, drug use, and hate crimes affecting people who fall beneath the umbrella of trans identity. I think it would be nice to see a trans person on screen who thrives in order to give hope to other trans people who are living with the harsh reality of the systemic oppression weighing down on them. Maybe even an Oscar winning performance by a trans person in which the role they play doesn't end in death. Hilary Swank and Jared Leto both shed light on the types of truly f---ed up things that happen to our community but that isn't the only narrative.
I think that movies can be a major life changing force for a lot of people and it is really important for there to be many many different portrayals of trans folks by trans folks to change the predominant views of us by cis people and ourselves.
