For those for you who haven't heard of it, Twin peaks is a cult classic murder mystery thriller from the early 90s. I started watching it on netflix because of a recent revival on showtime. It's a fun, surreal, campy, bizarre show. What's more, in the middle of season 2, a young David Duchovny (pre x-files) unexpectedly struts on-screen as a trans woman (and former colleague of a main character) named Denise when the characters were expecting to meet with Dennis. Personally, I think that for the 1990s, bringing a trans character to the TV screen was a huge step, and even looking back on it 25 years after it's release, I'm amazed at the manner in which they tactfully handled the situation in an appropriate and realistic way. Now, I've also seen that Duchovny has reprised the role once again for the continuation.
I'm curious to hear other people's thoughts on the representation of transwomen in entertainment both in this situation and in general. Do you take issue with a cis man portraying transwomen or is it the manner of portrayal and context that matters more than the actor?
