Trans in The Arts and Media
Welcome to OUTober, or so I have heard it called. (I prefer ROCKtober myself.) Fall is in full swing and that means fall movies and Oscar season. I have already seen a preview about a movie called Boy Erased, with Russell Crow and Nicole Kidman about Religious Conversion Therapy. While it is not a transgender theme, but a gay one, it will be one to watch since it relates to us trans folks. Hopefully other movies will tell transgender stories soon. As I always say, we need the kind of movie that changes hearts and minds. Love is always more important than anything that divides families.
Nicole Maines (R) portrays Dreamer (L).
I know I have mentioned it in previous Trans Media Arts columns, but the fact that Nicole Maines is going to make history as the first transgender superhero continues to be white-hot news in the transgender entertainment world. There really is no bigger story than this. For those that don’t know, the show Supergirl, starring Melissa Benoist started off on CBS on October 26, 2015. It moved to the CW the next season. Maines will join the cast as Dreamer. The 4th season of Supergirl debuted last night. Nicole was just on Ellen last week promoting the show and her historic debut. See the Ellen interview here.
A new movie called Colette is out in theaters this week. The film is based on a true story. An interesting aspect of the film is that it deals with gender roles in the early 1900’s. After marrying a successful Parisian writer known commonly as “Willy” (Dominic West), Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (Keira Knightley) is transplanted from her childhood home in rural France to the intellectual and artistic splendor of Paris. Soon after, Willy convinces Colette to ghostwrite for him. She pens a semi-autobiographical novel about a witty and brazen country girl named Claudine, sparking a bestseller and a cultural sensation. After its success, Colette and Willy become the talk of Paris and their adventures inspire additional Claudine novels. Colette’s fight over creative ownership defies gender roles and drives her to overcome societal constraints, revolutionizing literature, fashion and sexual expression. Watch the trailer here.
Ruby Rose as Batwoman.
Ruby Rose, a gender fluid actress, who previously appeared on Orange is the New Black featuring our own Laverne Cox, is “ thrilled” to be cast as Batwoman for the CW. Filming has begun and fans got to see a glimpse of her costume. Rose has been the subject of backlash from fans who thought that a lesbian actress should have been cast as the world’s first lesbian superhero. Rose deleted her Twitter profile because of the backlash. The actress will be seen this December in crossover episodes of existing series The Flash, Arrow and Supergirl ahead of having her own TV series.
Anna Friel and Callum Booth-Ford in Butterfly.
ITV’s Butterfly hopes to be a ‘game-changer’ for trans people. The British show tells the story of a transgender child and a family struggling to know how best to deal with the transition. It stars Anna Friel as Vicky, mother to 11-year-old Max (Callum Booth-Ford), who wants to become Maxine. Emmett J. Scanlan, of Hollyoaks fame, plays father Stephen. The family has been torn apart. Despite the couple’s love, Stephen has left, unable to cope with Vicky allowing Max to be a girl at home. Meanwhile outside, Max suffers the bullying and isolation of day-to-day life at school. Is this just a phase for Max? Will he start puberty blockers? The show mirrors the struggles going on all over the world as youth begin to question their gender in the age of the internet.
Eddie Ayres struggled with depression and gender identity for years until realizing in his 30’s that he was a transgender man. The professional musician formerly known as Emma Ayres has written a book about his life, Danger Music. He first realized he was transgender while cycling through Pakistan in 1999. The Pakistani people treated him like a man since he had short hair and wore male clothing. “I was treated as a man and I was taken into the man’s side of houses and I realized that after a few weeks, I was feeling profoundly happy.”
That’s a wrap folks! Happy Halloween! See you in November. The Holidays are right around the corner.
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Category: Media, Music, Transgender Fun & Entertainment
About the Author (Author Profile)
I am a transwoman originally from Pittsburgh, PA. I have been living full time for 5 years. I work in retail but am an artist/Graphic Designer and aspiring writer. I tend to address the controversial in my writing. I would love to change the world one article at a time. I moved to The San Francisco Bay Area to start over, again. But recently moved back to the East Coast. The adventure continues...Subscribe
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