Hi everyone.  I started watching Wentworth. It's an aussie show about women in prison. Its like OITNB only way darker. Like OITNB Wentworth introduced a trans character.  But the person playing the part of Maxine is not trans. He is a 100% male .Maxine is supposed to be a post Op MtF transwomen . Like I said the actor playing her is a cis man. Full beard with scenes of her shaving her face, 100% male facial features and very muscled arms. WTF is that?!!  A post op girl would have been on hrt and her features would soften and her muscles would decrease. I would also think she would have had facial hair removal.  I can't believe they portray a transwoman like that! I swear I think the character of Maxine is meant to be comical. OITNB and Sense8 both have trans characters but they are played by real transwomen.  I just can't understand why they would want people to think thats what transwomen are. And I am not saying bad stuff about people who are starting transition. We have all been there. I am not talking about not passing. I'm talking about a person who is very obviously NOT trans playing a trans character.  It's like the producers of the show are trying to make trans people look like a joke. I'm not picking on the aussies  either. They do the same thing here in the USA.  It's just totally messed up!

I would urge caution about who and how we, as transgender people, are represented.  As a person who does Trans and LGBTA 101 presentations I am careful to acknowledge that I do not represent all Trans people and no one does.  If you have met a Trans person you have met only one.  Like all of humanity there are millions of very diverse folks with any number of very interesting presentations within our transgender world.  Inclusion, the big tent and concepts of umbrella terms and organizations serve us well.

I might personally prefer to have actual Trans people portray us in films but happy to acknowledge a vast array of very diverse presentations and appearance are part of our community.

I agree with you.  But it seems like most portrayal of trans women is totally inaccurate or trying to make being trans funny. I'm not saying the actor has to be trans but at least make it believable.  I watched soldiers girl and the actor playing calpernia was a cis make. He did a great job. And I have also seen trans characters played by cis women. A trans actor would be better but at least with a cis woman its a little more accurate.

I'll have to see it to make an accurare opinion but it does sound a bit off to me

You're complaint has been echoed by Native Americans portrayed as savages, Black people portrayed as genetic idiots or habitual criminals, by white men in black face, women portrayed as helpless Madonnas or whores and gay men and women portrayed as freaks and molesters. Expect the patriarchal string pullers of the world to continue to portray their ideas of how things are or how they wish they were. We're in a big boat with lots of others. So at the very least, we're in good company. Screw em'. Those that know better don't care and those that don't wont see the truth anyway.

I sort of touched on this the other day, posting about trans visibility & representation in entertainment. I've not seen Wentworth or oitnb, but I've watched Sense8 and of course I've seen plenty of representation of trans individuals in other than shows, movies, etc. I think, like any character portrayal, the context matters as much as the method.

For instance, what sparked interest in the topic was the show Twin Peaks. During it's original 2 season run from 1990-92, David Duchovny actually guest started for a few episodes (pre x-files) as DEA agent & transwoman (then described as a ->-bleeped-<-) who had recently transitioned from Dennis to Denise after discovering herself during an under cover operation. I actually really enjoyed the way the show & Duchovny handled the part. You need to keep in mind the surreal, bizarre, awkward structure of twin peaks when thinking about this, but the main character who knew this character previously took to the change as simply as saying "Okay," and a little blurb about how he looked forward to hearing her story. The character interactions we're believable in the context, if not realistic, ranging from one or two characters who were present for the introduction candidly offering a weird look, to others either totally seeing her as any other woman, and others seemingly clocking her but saying nothing. In the end it didn't feel like the character was the butt of a joke, just another stop on the show's surreal journey as it critiques everyday life and weirdisms. They definitely used the character for humor, but I never felt that they demeaned the character in the least bit. If anything most of the humor came from the audience and character  reactions to Denise's presence. Furthermore he sunk so well into the role to the point where I was giggling most of the time he was on screen. I'm about to get into the 2017 season and I read he reprised the role, so I can't wait to see what has changed in the portrayal and depiction as opposed to 25 years ago. Needless to say, I have my hopes up for a fantastic performance.

In the case you describe in Wentworth, just going on what you said, that seems as though it could be a misrepresentation, I'd have to see it for myself to give a good critique. Tessa is absolutely right that there is no singular representation of transmen or women, so try looking to the context and character backstory, but I do find it at the very least odd that the character is supposed to have transitioned &  post op but have all of those other male traits as well as being in a women's prison.

Quote from: Julia1996 on June 28, 2017, 12:15:55 PM
A trans actor would be better but at least with a cis woman its a little more accurate.

Not really. You are thinking of transsexual which is a sub group of transgender. Susan has an official post of what is included under the term transgender but I rely on our WIKI when I am working with people. I believe that there are even more expressions that are transgender than the two links I have provided. I haven't seen the show but the actor could be a cross dresser in which case a transition might not even be considered.

I understand where you are coming from as before I joined the site, I was only familiar with the transsexual branch of the family. It was a serious crash course in gender identity for the first few months I was here understanding just how diverse our family really is.

QuoteA post op girl would have been on hrt and her features would soften and her muscles would decrease. I would also think she would have had facial hair removal.

Not necessarily:
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php?topic=182328.0

If one can't judge legitimacy by femininity, one has to accept that there's potentially no  difference in appearance between a transwoman  and a cis man. If it's funny, serious questions need to be asked why a masculine looking person in a dress is funny.

Julia, you paint a very narrow window of what being transgender is. Perhaps the producers understand it more than you think they do.

Hugs, Devlyn

Julia, sorry I'm a year and a half on HRT, 20 years of transitioning socially and 9 weeks post op.

I'm quite strong/muscled and have no intention of letting that change as I blow glass for a living. I wear a beard because I can't be arsed to try to keep up with shaving & makeup every day and can't even vaguely afford facial electrolysis.

I'm more than 2/3 bald and the idea of wearing a wig in my profession would be ludicrous.

Open up your notions of what transexual looks like; please also note that the cis actor who played the lead role in transparent did a quite credible job of portraying the role. Sure I like seeing trans actors cast but they need not be typecast.