An Oral History of Transgender Representation on Scripted TV
Alexandra Billings, Candis Cayne, Laverne Cox and more trans performers reflect on the progress TV has made — and where it still needs to go.
n our current golden era of TV, storytelling is the most progressive that audiences have seen with almost all members of the LGBT community finding representation on screen — most recently, the “T.” Yet, with shows like Transparent and Orange Is the New Black receiving mainstream accolades — the Amazon series taking home five Primetime Emmys and OITNB’s Laverne Cox earning the first Emmy nomination for a transgender actor — it’s easy to ignore the decades of negative transgender portrayals that came before it.
For decades, to be transgender on TV meant being a pariah paraded around on talk shows, a victim of a hate crime, or a punch line. Unfortunately, it also meant being a joke. It wasn’t until the mid-2000s that the first cracks were made in the transgender glass ceiling. Finally, transgender characters were being portrayed by transgender actors — and the stories slowly moved beyond a tertiary perspective.
Now, in 2015 with Caitlyn Jenner becoming the most high-profile transgender personality and Laverne Cox and others leading the so-called “transgender tipping point,” audiences are seeing varied, inclusive storytelling on scripted series. But as Cox and the many pioneers before her will explain, there’s still a lot of ignorance to overcome.
Please read a portion below, and check out the full story on Out.com.
By 2001, transgender characters started to appear on TV — but almost always as some sort of victim. In 2012, GLAAD released a report detailing 102 instances of transgender representation on scripted television going back to 2002. Of those roles and storylines, 54 percent contained negative portrayals with trans characters playing victims, killers, or sex workers.
Drucker: There’s a long history of trans narratives that we need to undo and correct. I am friends with both Alexandra Billings and Candis Cayne, and it’s mindboggling to hear their stories of what the landscape was like back then, how they were treated at auditions. Candis couldn’t get an agent or a manager.
Billings: They were auditioning trans people for a role on Curb Your Enthusiasm. It was something like a trans female going to a restaurant and there’s a long line for the ladies room and she decides to go into the men’s room to go to the bathroom. She meets the star of the show and comedy ensues. Candis was there. We arrived at the same time and we looked, there was this sheet of paper and it said the scenario. I looked at her and I said, “I’m not doing this.” And she said, “I’m not doing it either.” We both got on our phones, we both called our agents. Mine was like, “Yeah, don’t do it.” He was like, “Go to lunch with Candis.” I turned to Candis and said, “You know what we should do? We should go into the audition and say something.” And she said, “You’re absolutely right.” I don’t remember if it was my idea or not, but one of us said it. That’s what we did.
Cayne: I definitely went in front of the producers and said, “I’m sorry this would never happen,” but hoping they would say, “How can we fix it?” But there was no way of doing that. I said, “I’m sorry I can’t do this, so I’m going to have to leave, but I love the show,” and then I walked out.
Billings: I said, “Guys, I need to tell you. This is really insulting. Comedy comes from truth and this is something that would never happen. What you’re doing is making us the punch line, and I won’t be a part of it.” I remember the producers said, “I guess this isn’t the role for you.” And I said, “Well, it’s not the show either.”
Cayne: On an episode of CSI I did early on, I talked to the producers and the writers about how to make the character more realistic. You know, not dying in the men’s room but dying in the women’s room, not standing at the urinal or in the stall. If I’m going to get murdered with my head stuffed in a toilet and drowned — which is disgusting, but it’s television — at least make it an accurate portrayal.
Laverne Cox, Orange Is the New Black: It’s funny because I talked to a friend of mine who didn’t audition for the prostitute part on Bored to Death and was like, “Oh blah blah blah, that’s not a role for me.” Because of my training and because of my background, I’ve never assumed that just because someone does sex work that she’s not a human being. Obviously the narrative has to have room for humanizing moments of the character. I’d have to be able to find those, and I can’t do it by myself. The story has to support that. The director has to be interested in that.
Scholfield: We’ve been trying to find roles — any roles — that I can play, but I’m a white guy with relatively little experience. So, in order to get people interested, my team says, “He’s the transgender guy, he’s the first transgender person on daytime.” So, casting agents perk up and listen to that but then they don’t know what to do with me. They’re like, “What does that mean if he’s transgender? Is he a man?”
Billings: I was in the hospital for a long time. I told my manager, “I can’t be in any more hospital gowns. I’m done. I can’t do it.” If there are anymore of those roles, I’m not going to do it. And I didn’t work for two or three years.
Cox: It’s about having multidimensional portrayals of people no matter what they do for living on television and on film and having nothing but affirming, humanizing portrayals.
See the full story at Out.com.
