I was scanning through blog posts this week and was excited to find the CW channel is planning on launching a new television series titled Ze, with the focus on a transgender teen and his life with his chaotic, dysfunctional family in Texas. This will be the first show that features a trans* person as the main character. Television has become more accepting to trans* characters over the past few years, but this will be the first show centered specifically around a trans* character, rather than viewing them as occasional or side character.
When I first read about this I was intrigued. To have a trans* teen character and to place them in Texas is huge, as a state that known to be less welcoming to members of the LGBT community. The visibility of trans* individuals is extremely limited on television. In a study by GLAAD this past year, they found that since 2002 54% of shows featuring a trans* character presented them in a negative light and 35% featured characters ranging from “problematic” to “good”. Over the past ten years, only 12% of those shows featuring trans* characters were considered groundbreaking and positive. The new CW show can go against this negative representation of trans* individuals and use it as a springboard to introduce higher visibility. I also like that the character is younger and can give a relatable figure for struggling trans* teens. 50% of trans* teens will attempt suicide by the time they are 20 years old. There are slim to no images in the media of trans* teens, and Ze could change that. This could open the door to educating others about the transgender community and opening dialogue on trans* rights.
However, while this sounds like a great idea on paper- is it going to translate as well on screen? For example, the title Ze alludes to the fact that the gender- neutral pronoun “ze” will be an area of focus on the show. Some bloggers wonder whether or not they will accurately use the pronoun in a respectful and detailed manner. Some wonder whether the show also cares to respectfully build a genuine trans* character and not use it as a publicity stun to get the show attention, only to have the character lack development.
Another concern is whether or not the main character will be played by a cisgender male of a FTM trans* individual. While there have been trans* characters featured on television before, they have mostly been played by cisgender actors. Take Ugly Betty for example- while they did feature a trans* character, the character was played by cisgender female actress Rebecca Romijn. Even with younger characters, like Ze is attempting to do, trans* student Adam on Degrassi was played by another cisgender female actress Jordan Todosey. While the inclusion in story line is a positive move, it does not help visibility to the fullest extent if these characters are not portrayed by trans* actors. Shows like Orange is the New Black and Elementary are making headlines featuring trans* actors Laverne Cox and Candis Cayne in their shows. I hope the CW follows this trend and shows authenticity in the show’s representation of the trans* community.
What do you think about a television show’s ability to effectively increase visibility of the trans* community? Do you think the show will go about it correctly and sensitively? Leave your thoughts below!
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I am totally feeling this post. I like how you point out that it is great that trans people are being represented on television, but the stories could be portrayed better by people who actually identify as transgender. What really makes me mad about Degrassi is that Adam has been killed off and the show could have done a lot more with that character. Adam had just started taking hormones in the show and soon after that in the most recent season he was killed in a car accident. It also points out the limitations of the cisgender actress and I wonder how far they could have went with this character based on physicality alone. I’m sorry I’m typing a lot I just really like this post!
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Thanks bestlittlelion92! I knew you would feel my Degrassi reference 😉 But that is so true. The trans* characters that are currently featured on TV have limited character development or act in the “oh well let’s add some diversity to the show for the sake for diversity” without the writers intending on focusing on examining the difficulties for trans* characters. For that reason, I don’t think cisgender actresses can truly portray these characters.
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Thanks for putting this on my radar! It will be interesting to see how Hollywood handles this, unfortunately, I don’t have high hopes we still can’t get people of color playing parts specifically for those of color. Not only do I hope that they treat this with the sensitivity and respect that it deserves, but I hope that they follow in the recent shows footsteps of using someone who is actually trans*. Though, have you all noticed that there has been many instance of MTF but next to none FTM? I didn’t notice myself until this article, but we seem to have focused on one sort of trans* and they have all decided to go through hormone therapy and/or surgery. What about those who don’t? Are they being seen as less trans* because of it? And why don’t we see more FTM, I know you mentioned Adam from Degrassi, but what others are there? Your article got me thinking! Great job!
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