“How many trans people do you work with, study with, or interact with?”
That’s a question most people answer with “none.” The reason behind that answer is worth thinking about, especially today, January 29, Brazil’s Trans Visibility Day.
The LGBTQ cause is gaining more and more space in social discussions and, consequently, on television. However, despite this progress, the road ahead is still long, especially for trans people, who are made invisible and silenced even more than gays and lesbians in all areas of society – including, often, within movements that claim to defend their rights. Beyond silencing, there is transphobia, and although it is currently a crime in Brazil (classified as homophobia), the country still leads the world in murders of trans people.
Faced with these difficulties, various social groups fight for the rights of transgender people, and the topic, though still discussed only by select groups, has been gaining space in conversations through YouTubers and also through some TV shows that seek to portray – even if often superficially – the trans experience. To celebrate Trans Visibility Day, we’ve gathered here some trans characters who have been part of TV series, such as Orange Is the New Black and Transparent, because this day needs to be remembered – and the topic needs to be addressed, as we’ve done before on Pixel TV.
#### Linda Murkland (All That Glitters)
All That Glitters was the first television production in the United States to feature a trans character. The soap opera, aired in 1977, followed the daily life of the multinational company Globatron, satirizing gender roles by reversing them – women dominate and men are objectified. In the story, the female executives at Globatron need a model for their new campaign, and that model is Linda Murkland, a trans woman.
Linda is played by Linda Gray, a cisgender woman. However, as the first representation of a trans person on television, it holds great importance for trans visibility.
#### Sophia Burset (Orange Is The New Black)
Sophia (Laverne Cox) is an inmate at Litchfield women’s prison in Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black. Throughout the story, the character – the only trans inmate – faces numerous transphobic acts from fellow inmates and prison staff. The peak of transphobia occurs in the third season, when after a fight, the character Aleida (Elizabeth Rodriguez) starts spreading transphobic rumors about Sophia, leading to harassment from many inmates and forcing Sophia into solitary confinement for her own protection, from which she tries to escape multiple times in various ways.
Sophia is played by Laverne Cox, who, like her character, is a trans woman, and was the first trans person nominated for an Emmy. Laverne also played the classic queer character Dr. Frank-n’-Further (originally played by cisgender man Tim Curry) last year in Fox’s adaptation of the musical Rocky Horror Picture Show.
#### Nomi Marks (Sense8)
More than just discussing the social integration of a trans person in a fictional universe, Sense8 showed the importance of that integration in real life by casting trans actress Jamie Clayton. As one of the protagonists, Jamie plays Nomi, also trans, who faces double prejudice for being trans and lesbian, but uses her hacking and blogging skills to promote equality and encourage her readers to be who they truly are. It’s worth noting that the journey Nomi goes through was also experienced by the series’ creators, sisters Lilly and Lana Wachowski, who were previously known as Andy and Larry.
#### Cole (The Fosters)
Aired on ABC Family, the American series The Fosters premiered in 2013. The story follows a family formed by a same-sex couple: police officer Stef (Teri Polo) and school vice principal Lena (Sherri Saum). Together, they raise four adopted children and Stef’s biological son. The trans character is Cole, played by actor – also trans – Tom Phelan. He is introduced as a friend of Callie Jacob (Maia Mitchell), when they meet at the girls’ home where she is staying after running away from her foster family (notice the lack of acceptance even from a child welfare agency: Cole is in a girls’ shelter). Soon, he becomes Callie’s love interest. Throughout the scenes, there are episodes of prejudice, such as when Cole tries to use the men’s bathroom and is kicked out, plus the taunts he hears. From an aggressive character, Cole gradually becomes more tender and reveals his true story. His participation spanned 10 episodes, from 2014 to 2015.
#### Noah (Faking It)
Faking It is a teen series that always handled LGBTQ issues quite well, since the main characters were caught up in the dramas of sexual discovery. However, after exploring gay, lesbian, bi, and asexual characters, in the third season the series took another important step and cast Elliot Fletcher, a trans man, to play Noah, a transgender person who shows up to shake Shane’s heart. So, kudos to MTV for including this theme in a teen series.
#### Unique Adams (Glee)
From its start, the musical series Glee was known for addressing diversity and especially the world of those who suffer bullying for being different. But it was only with the introduction of Unique (Alex Newell) in season 4 that the story began to show and discuss the trans experience. Unique is the alter ego of Wade Adams, who only feels like himself when dressed in women’s clothing and identified as “she.” This condition, however, causes the character to face a lot of prejudice – like being harassed by others whether using the women’s or men’s bathroom – but also serves to show how important friend support and fighting prejudice are for acceptance.
#### Buck Vu (The OA)
“I have a huge difficulty at school, because I wanted to act but it’s not like high school plays have roles that describe someone like me. You can’t imagine what it was like to go online and see a Netflix ad that described me” – these were the words sent by Ian Alexander, recorded on a phone in his home bathroom. Ian’s “audition” seemed the most genuine of all, which led to the actor being cast in the series The OA. Months later, the 14-year-old would be one of the revelations of Netflix’s sci-fi drama. Ian plays Buck Vu, an Asian trans boy who, like the other teenagers recruited by Prairie (Brit Marling), tries to find his place in the world. Marling told Vulture in an interview that hiring Ian was no accident, and that from the start, Buck had been written as a trans Asian teenager. For her, finding an actor who fit the role was a matter of time (and a lot of work). According to the actress, trans actors aren’t very common in casting agencies, so she turned to the internet. It worked: Ian Alexander landed his first role, reinforcing the idea that representation is truly important for the acceptance of the trans cause. And that’s really the highlight of the series. Buck is described as just another misfit, like the others in the group (Alfonso, BBA, Steve, and OA herself), avoiding the recurring TV and film trope – he doesn’t seem to suffer any bullying at school, sings in the choir, is articulate, sensitive, and strong, and transitions very well among the other characters. Among them, Buck seems to be perseverance, and at the same time temperance, like someone who respects their own pace. At home, things also happen slowly, as the boy’s father doesn’t fully accept his gender – but even their relationship, though not ideal, seems to be in transition. Because of this, Buck has to buy his hormones illegally, highlighting another important issue: the medical community’s acceptance of transgender teenagers. Overall, the transformation of the character played by Ian Alexander is shown slowly and naturally, which according to the actor was the most truthful way he found while collaborating on Buck’s construction.
#### Alexis Meade (Ugly Betty)
Back in 2007, a time when sexual and gender diversity was still rarely discussed, Ugly Betty took a big step on the subject, and in a quite unusual way, by portraying someone going through the transition from man (Alexander) to woman (Alexis). While still male, the character appeared little (or almost not at all), but was always mentioned and had a strong influence on events. Her definitive appearance happened in the 13th episode of the first season (where she was played by Rebecca Romijn), without revealing her true identity – to everyone, Alexander had died and Alexis was someone else. Only later does the truth come out.
#### Max Sweeney (The L Word)
The American series The L Word centers on a group of lesbian friends living in sunny Los Angeles, California. Some of them are in couples, others are single and navigating dating rituals, and still others can’t come out and try to maintain their marriages. Amid this, there is the character Moira (Daniela Sea) who, over the course of the series, undergoes a gender transition, adopting the social name Max Sweeney. What stands out most about the character throughout the series are the scenes of her transition. At first, Moira/Max becomes obsessed with the male body, even using bandages to hide her female body. In front of the mirror, she wants to see herself as a man, not a woman. Off-screen, the actress who plays Max is a lesbian, the daughter of a father who came out as gay after her birth. The L Word, produced by Showtime, ran for six seasons, from 2004 to 2009.
#### Maura Pfefferman (Transparent)
If there’s one series where trans identity takes center stage, it’s Transparent. The Amazon comedy portrays the life of Maura – formerly Mort – who decides to come out as trans only in her later years, with three already adult children. Because of that, in Transparent we see not only the impact of the decision on Maura, but also on everyone around her, including family and friends. For his portrayal of Maura, Jeffrey Tambor has won 2 Emmys and a Golden Globe. Despite that, there is some criticism about a cisgender actor playing the role. However, the series also makes room for trans actresses, such as Alexandra Billings and Trace Lysette, who appears more prominently in the third season.
If American TV already has few trans characters, Brazilian TV has even fewer. There have been only a handful of characters to date, and in the past year, the only trans representative in Brazilian television drama was Janette, on the series Supermax (from Rede Globo), played by trans actress Maria Clara Spinelli. Additionally, this year, a new soap opera by Glória Perez is scheduled to air, which brings up the theme of gender diversity and will also feature a trans character – however, played by a cisgender actress, a fact that has drawn criticism. Still, even though television is not yet a vehicle to break the silence and invisibility, it is important that demands continue, always, so that trans people are increasingly represented in the media, suffer less prejudice, and can feel more welcomed and accepted in the society they live in.