transpeepsinmedia - Tumblr blog

[transpeepsinmedia]

Should I continue this?

It started as a class thing, but if there’s any interest I can continue it in the same way.

[transpeepsinmedia]

Reflection

So... This was a really eye-opening activity to take part in, as I had always known that there was a lack of representation, however this showed me it in a new light, as it took a long time for me to find a truly good representation of transgender people in any piece of media. Another strange thing I found is that there are a much larger amount of transwomen than there are transmen, which is honestly just kind of strange, as that does make up about half of the transgender population. This really just showed me exactly how much we do need more proper representation in media. I think that the best character is Nomi Marks, as I believe she best showed the true balancing act of balancing your gender identity with the rest of your characteristics. I also believe that Herbert Garrison is the worst portrayal of a trans person, as he shows almost all the bad/problematic characteristics seen in other characters. 

[transpeepsinmedia]

Herbert Garrison (South Park)

Herbert Garrison is a supporting character on the comedy central show South Park. This character is perhaps the most problematic found in this entire list, as they are portrayed in a heavily negative and transphobic light. Originally, they are portrayed as a man struggling with sexuality, however soon they “decide” that they are transgender, and then just go and get a sex change... then about a season later they switch back. This character is constantly shown being rude, immoral, hypersexualized, and very transphobic. At one point they even say that they will (Trigger warning) at most only ever be a man with a heavily mutilated penis, as they won’t ever have periods or ovaries. It is also heavily implied that their LGBT parts of their character stem from a lack of trauma, because they are angry that their father didn’t harass them. This character is honestly just breathtaking in how bad of a portrayal it is. This combines almost all of the characteristics found in bad portrayals, hypersexualization, transphobia, homophobia, and several other things over the course of this storyline. 

[transpeepsinmedia]

Reni Wassulmaier (Grand Theft Auto Series)

Reni Wassulmaier is a minor genderqueer character from both Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. They are heavily problematic, as they are portrayed as having four separate sex change operations. This is hugely problematic, as it perpetuates the stereotype that trans people are being transgender just because they enjoy it in some way, which couldn’t be further than the truth. They also perpetuates the idea that trans people are very overtly sexual all the time, with her making several innuendos and comments similar to Poison. They were clearly made to be a parody on transgender people, and serves as a prime example of some very toxic and transphobic parts of our society.

[transpeepsinmedia]

Poison (Final Fight Series)

Poison is an antagonist in the Final Fight series, and is famous for sometimes being a transwoman and sometimes not.What I mean by that is that in different translations at time she would be referred to as different pronouns and different (very problematic) terms for transwomen. As there is not too much story in the games she is present in there isn’t much to speak about things like her backstory, however her actions are very problematic if she is supposed to be a transwoman. This is because she is very very sexual, constantly making innuendos and different sexual remarks. This isn’t inherently a bad thing, however, it becomes one when that is her only real character trait. This may seem fairly small, as she isn’t a large character in her series, however since this is her only real characteristic it still perpetuates the stereotype that all LGBT/trans people are all only very sexual.

[transpeepsinmedia]

Nia Nal (Arrow)

Nia Nal is a character from the CW tv show Arrow, and she is a great example of a transwoman with a supportive family. This is very rare, as mostly LGBT characters are shown to have unsupportive families. She has been shown to have always identified as a woman, and as such she had a tough time growing up, however her family heavily supported her throughout. This mirrors the plight of several trans people, myself included, who have had bad experiences outside the home, but in it has always been accepting. She is another great character, as her storylines aren’t about her being LGBT, and that is a great way to write these characters. The best part is that they don’t ignore that fact ever, it is heavily explored and spoken about, however it isn’t the only aspect of her character. She is also interesting, as her superpower is only passed down maternally, thus it shows that she is truly a woman, and that is just a very sweet aspect to her character.

[transpeepsinmedia]

Alysia Yeoh (DC Comics-Batgirl)

Alysia Yeoh is a minor character found in Batgirl comics published by DC Comics, she was first introduced in 2011. She is Batgirl’s roommate, and even though her background is not spoken about in this version of the character, she is always referred to as a woman with female pronouns. The fact that she is transgender is not even fully brought up until later in her time as a supporting character. This is, I believe, the best way to have a transgender character in your comics, as the fact that she is transgender is just one aspect of a multi-layered character. She also highlights the difficulty in coming out, as she says that she had been trying to build up the courage for a while to tell her roommate. This is one aspect of being transgender that many pieces of media completely skip over, and that is very sad as that is a very big moment in the lives of any member of the LGBT community. I really liked seeing this part be shown explicitly, it was a very nice change of pace. 

[transpeepsinmedia]

Sera (Marvel Comics)

Sera was a character introduced in a spinoff of Thor, titled Angela: Asgard’s Assassin. She was introduced as one of the Anchorites, a specifically male type of angels without wings. However, she always identified as a woman from the first time she was introduced, as such it is assumed that she is transgender. Her story is very good, mainly for the same reasons that many other good LGBT stories are, it doesn’t focus on the fact that she is LGBT. This is a great choice and allows her to be a more fleshed out character, however sadly she hasn’t had a large history, only really being found in one comic series. She was also seemingly randomly written out of the book, with her just leaving, and without her being spoken about since it is unlikely that we will see more about her. This character does show one of the issues that some trans characters have though, that people introduce these characters that are clearly supposed to be trans, but then never actually speak about it. I know that is something I may have praised, however there is a line, where you don’t want to make the whole character about that one aspect, but you also don’t wanna ignore it. I believe that Sera falls into the second category. 

[transpeepsinmedia]

Jessie Drake (X-Men)

Jessie Drake was a minor character in a 1994 storyline from the X-Men comics, only appearing in two issues. She still did have a strong presence though, even if her background was barely explored she is the first openly trans character in Marvel Comics. Her being transgender was also a very small part of her character, with it only being mentioned toward the end of her last comic. Sadly, the last time she was seen was in 1994, after being saved by an evil corporation and then walking into a psychiatrist’s office. This was a very small character, but she led led the way for many other characters in the future. On top of that she was a very young character, and transgender minors are very rare to see in any piece of media. So far she hasn’t been mentioned since 1994.

[transpeepsinmedia]

Coagula/Kate Godwin (Doom Patrol)

Coagula is a character from DC Comic’s “Doom Patrol” series of comic books, coming from a 1993 run on the comic. Much of her early life is left unexplored, however it is known that she had to take up prostitution, and gained her powers after having sex with an intersex person (that’s some good representation tbh). She entered into a fairly realistic relationship with a man on the team, she originally identified as lesbian, however as the series went on she began identifying as bisexual. Later in her life she was killed after delivering news to a teammate, and she hasn’t been brought back up since. I would say that this character is actually very good, both in terms of showing a realistic trans person, as well as just being a good character. This was surprising to me, as I was expecting a 90′s comic to not have that great of representation. After researching a little for this post, I learned that the creator of this character was actually trans as well, this makes a lot of sense. The only problematic part of this character I could think of is that she worked as a prostitute, however this could be seen as just a realistic part of the character, as at the time many transwomen had to enter the sex work business. Sadly, I don’t believe that she has been introduced in the Doom Patrol show that is being made right now. 

[transpeepsinmedia]

Trevor (Shameless)

Trevor is a transgender man in the American television show Shameless. He serves mainly as Ian Gallagher’s love interest throughout season seven, and then as a secondary recurring character in season eight. Trevor also works as a social worker for LGBTQ+ children, he could be described as a non-revolutionary LGBT rights worker, using the “master’s tools” to help people stuck in the system. Trevor is a great example of not very extreme transgender people, which is a very rare case in hollywood, not even mentioning the fact that he is a transman, who are even more rare to see in any media than even transwomen are. He is a very good depiction of a trans person though, showing the viewers some of the struggles that come with being transgender in such a high poverty area of Chicago. We see even Ian, a gay man very in touch with LGBTQ+ culture, still do some very transphobic things, however, as Trevor is a realistic depiction of a trans person, he chooses to help educate people instead of be angry at them. And, as is the case with many of these posts, a great aspect of his character is the fact that he isn’t just transgender, a lot of his storylines revolve around his work and his relationship with Ian. As such he feels much more like a real person, which will help people with whom this may be their first experience with a trans person and not replicating any hurtful stereotypes used in other media. 

[transpeepsinmedia]

Nomi Marks (Sense8)

Nomi Marks is a transwoman on the (criminally underrated) Netflix original show Sense8. She is openly trans throughout the entirety of the show’s run, she even has a black partner in Freema Agyeman’s Amanita Caplan throughout the whole of it as well. She is another example of a great trans character, because she is a character first, and a transgender woman second. Many of her arcs in the show deal with either her relationship or the main overarching conflicts, of which she plays the “hacker” role in the group. However, when there are storylines about her being transgender, it is handled very well, such as her originally unaccepting family coming around toward the end of the show. In a very moving er being surprised with her father calling her his daughter for the first time. This was an amazing portrayal of a transwoman in media, the only issue? The show, which featured several openly LGBTQ+ characters and even a whole scene at a pride parade, wasn’t advertised properly, and as such it didn’t get enough viewers to keep it from a quick cancellation. I can only hope that there is a show in the future that can achieve that level of representation, and hopefully show this type of acceptance to an even wider audience. 

[transpeepsinmedia]

Sophia Burset (Orange is The New Black)

Sophia Bueset was a transgender character in the Netflix original show, Orange Is the New Black. She was a transgender woman located in the shows main location, a female jail, she was featured prominently on the show for the first five seasons, and then appearing intermittently throughout the rest of the shows two seasons. Her portrayal in this show is a huge leap forward for trans representation, not only because she was played by a real transwoman (Laverne Cox) but also because not all of her storylines were based on the fact that she was trans. It was also a very important character because it showed some of the injustices fraught on not only black inmates, but also on trans (or generally LGBT) inmates, as much of the things done to her were because of the fact that she was transgender (putting her in isolation, stealing her wig, etc.). It also highlighted another issue, the fact that Sophia, if she were a real person, would definitely be in a vast minority of trans people allowed to be in a prison that align with their gender identity. Her original crime was also a highlight of the issues that trans people have to face, as she was arrested because she had to use fake credit cards in order to pay for her hormones and gender reassignment surgery. 

[transpeepsinmedia]

Jo (Lumberjanes)

Jo (weird name for a transgirl, I know) is a character in Image Comics’ comic book Lumberjanes, a comic series for readers of any age. This character was revealed as a transgender woman of color in the seventeenth issue of the series, however it was hinted at slightly in some earlier issues. Throughout the series she had pretty much been the leader of the group, and her being transgender was never even brought up until this issue. Even further, the only reason it was brought up was because Barney (the younger person seen) had shown that they were seemingly uncomfortable with their gender. This is great, since like the last character her being transgender isn’t the focal point of her character, instead it is used as a part of her character. This also spurs Barney into later being comfortable using they/them pronouns. Another reason this is great is because it is seen in a comic that is meant for people of all ages, as such people from a very young age can read this and be better informed on not only transgender issues, as well as issues for everyone, regardless of how they may identify. I can say if this was around when I was younger it would’ve made my transition much easier, especially in it’s early days.

[transpeepsinmedia]

Gillian (Jessica Jones)

Gillian is a fairly minor character in the third season of Marvel’s Jessica Jones, however she does have a very important impact on Hollywood in general. I say this because both the actress and the character are transgender women from India, a specific type of intersectionality that is rarely, if ever, seen in popular media. The most interesting part of this character? She may be transgender and Indian, however in the show neither of these are pivotal aspects to her character, whereas it is normally the opposite for any people in a minority population. Her role and storyline in the show is mainly just being the newest assistant to Jones’ investigation company and coming up with a witty line or two, as far as I could tell her being transgender doesn’t even come up in the show, as such she isn’t a transgender character, she is a character who is transgender.

[transpeepsinmedia]

Lt. Lois Einhorn (Ace Ventura)

This character was the villain in the 1994 Jim Carrey film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Throughout the whole of the movie she was portrayed as a woman with the other characters being unaware of her gender identity, the protagonist (Jim Carrey) included. She was also shown as a very sexually promiscuous woman, making out with Ventura very early after meeting him, and being implied to be doing that with other people. This is all debatably okay, however it is a bit problematic, but it takes a huge downturn when Ventura figures this out, he says “Finkle is Einhorn!”and, later, “Einhorn is a man!”. He then proceeds to gag, seemingly throw up, and clean his mouth with different sorts of cleaner. This representation, as I said wasn’t terrible, and is even debatably deserving of kudos, as the characters aren’t even aware of her transition, however any type of kudos is gone by this part. Later, when Ventura outs her, there is a reenactment of his earlier freak out (including gagging and cleaning mouths) by all the men in the room. This is very disheartening, as it not only is incredibly transphobic and homophobic, but also this movie made more than enough money to warrent a sequel, meaning many young people most likely saw this, and took what it said about trans people to heart.

[transpeepsinmedia]

Loki (Marvel Comics)

The famous Norse mythological figure, Loki, has long been a character in Marvel Comics, as the mischievous sibling of the prominent Avenger, Thor, they are seen frequently. Recently (in about 2014 or so) it was revealed that they were both bisexual, and that their ability to switch genders with magic (god, I wish I could do that) would be used prominently from then on. When the character was asked about this, they said that their realm (gods in Norse mythology) didn’t adhere to society’s gender norms, and that they view themselves as Loki. This was very interesting to see them take this route with the character in the comics. However, in recent years this has been mainly forgotten about, as the comics shifted to be more similar to the popular films, and the film studio hadn’t yet implemented that aspect of the character, there were hints to their bisexuality, but their genderfluidity was mostly phased out, now only being casually mentioned at best in comics.