Media portrayals of transgender people

The media portrayals of transgender people refers to the varying and evolving ways in which the mass media depicts or portrays the transgender community.

Literature

Fiction

Title	Author	Trans/cis author	Release date	Trans characters	Gender
Beauty Queens	Libba Bray	N/A	2011	Petra	Woman
Being Emily	Rachel Gold	N/A	2012	Emily	Woman
Bloodhound	Tamora Pierce	N/A	2009	Okha (aka Amber)	Woman
Boy Meets Boy	David Levithan	N/A	2003	Darlene	Woman
Breakfast on Pluto	Patrick McCabe	N/A	1998	Pussy	Woman
Eva Luna	Isabel Allende	N/A	1987	Mimi	Woman
f2m: the boy within	Hazel Edwards, Ryan Kennedy	Cis, Trans	2010	Finn	Man
For Today I Am a Boy	Kim Fu	Cis	2014	Peter	Woman
Full Fathom Five	Max Gladstone	N/A	2014	Kai Pohala	Woman
I am J	Cris Beam	N/A	2011	J	Man
If You Could Be Mine	Sara Farizan	Cis	2013	Pavreen	Woman
Kafka on the Shore	Haruki Murakami	N/A	2002	Oshima	Man
Kitchen	Banana Yoshimoto	N/A	1988	Eriko	Woman
The Left Hand of Darkness	Ursula K. Le Guin	N/A	1969	Estraven and others	Agender
Luna (Peters novel)	Julie Anne Peters	N/A	2004	Luna	Woman
Nevada	Imogen Binnie	N/A	2013	Maria and others	Women and men
Parrotfish	Ellen Wittlinger	N/A	2010	Grady Katz-McNair	Man
Pantomime	Laura Lam	Cis	2013	Micah	Man
Poison Study	Maria V. Snyder	N/A	2004	Commander Ambrose	Man
Rainbow Road	Alex Sanchez	N/A	2005	B.J.	Woman
A Safe Girl to Love	Casey Plett	Trans	2014	Carla and others	Women and men
Skulduggery Pleasant: Resurre	Derek Landy	Cis	2017	Never	Genderfluid
Stone Butch Blues	Leslie Feinberg	Trans	1993	Jess
Trans-sister Radio	Chris Bohjalian	N/A	2001		Woman
Two Boys Kissing	David Levithan	N/A	2013	Avery	Man
The World According to Garp	John Irving	N/A	1978	Roberta Muldoon	Woman

Non-fiction

Title	Author	Trans/cis author	Release date	Trans characters	Gender	Notes
Becoming a Visible Man	Jamison Green	Trans	2004	Jamison Green and others	Men, primarily
Conundrum	Jan Morris	Trans	1974	Jan Morris	Woman
Excluded: Making Feminism and Queer Movements More Inclusive	Julia Serano	Trans	2013		Women and men
Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us	Kate Bornstein	Trans	1994	Kate Bornstein
Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation	Kate Bornstein	Trans	2010	Kate Bornstein
Just Add Hormones: An Insider's Guide to the Transexual Experience	Matt Kailey	Trans	2005	Matt Kailey	Men	Autobiography
A Queer and Pleasant Danger	Kate Bornstein	Trans	2012	Kate Bornstein	Woman	Autobiography
Read My Lips: Sexual Subversion & the End of Gender	Riki Wilchins	Trans	1997	Riki Wilchins	Woman	Autobiography
Redefining Realness	Janet Mock	Trans	2014	Janet Mock	Woman	Autobiography
She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders	Jennifer Finney Boylan	Trans	2013		Women and men	Autobiography
Whipping Girl	Julia Serano	Trans	2007		Women, primarily	Manifesto

Comics/Manga

DC Comics introduced Alysia Yeoh as the first major transgender character written in a contemporary context in a mainstream comic book.[1] She is a fictional character created by writer Gail Simone for the Batgirl ongoing series, and is Barbara Gordon’s best friend, and a transgender woman. They went on to premiere the first ever transgender wedding in Batgirl #45.[2] Marvel Comics has followed suit, with writer Al Ewing adapting popular character Loki to have a fluid gender identity.[3]

Transgender themes are also found in manga. One notable example is Wandering Son, which deals with issues such as being transgender, gender identity, and the beginning of puberty. Gary Groth of Fantagraphics Books said in an interview he licensed Wandering Son because "it's not a typical choice for a manga title published in the U.S. and it's not typical subject matter for comics in general,"[4] saying that the subject is "perfectly legitimate ... for literature—or comics."[4]

Web comics have also included trans characters, with award-winning[5] series Questionable Content adding trans woman Claire Augustus in comic 2203.[6]

Film

Title	Release year	Trans characters	Gender	Notes
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective	1994	Lt. Lois Einhorn	Woman	Trans woman played by cis woman, referred to in film as a "man"; villain.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert	1994	Bernadette Bassenger	Woman	Trans woman played by cis man (Terrence Stamp).
Anger Management	2003	Galaxia the prostitute	Man
Boy Meets Girl	2014	Ricky	Woman	Trans woman played by trans actress.
Boys Don't Cry	1999	Brandon Teena	Man	Dramatization of real-life events surrounding Brandon Teena's murder. Trans male character played by a cis woman.
Breakfast on Pluto	2005	Kitten	Woman	Based on the book of the same name.
The Carmilla Movie	2017	LaFontaine	Genderqueer character	Nonbinary character, using they/them pronouns
The Crying Game	1992	Dil	Woman	Trans woman played by Jaye Davidson, a cis man.
Dallas Buyers Club	2013	Rayon	Woman	Trans woman played by Jared Leto, a cis man.
The Danish Girl	2015	Einar Wegener/Lili Elbe	Woman	Trans woman played by Eddie Redmayne, a cis man. Based on the novel of the same name.
Dog Day Afternoon	1975	Leon	Woman	Trans woman played by a cis man. Based loosely on a true story.
Every Day	2018	A	Non-binary	Based on young adult novel of the same name. A is a genderless being who wakes up every day in a different person's body. Played by multiple actors of different genders.
Every Day	2018	Vic	Man	Based on young adult novel of the same name. Trans man played by a trans man.
A Fantastic Woman	2017	Marina Vidal	Woman	Trans woman played by Daniela Vega, a trans actress.
Girl	2018	Lara	Woman	Trans woman played by Victor Polster, a cis man.
Orlando	1992	Orlando	Woman and Man	Orlando changes genders.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show	1975	Dr. Frank N. Furter	Man, transvestite
Romeos	2011	Lukas	Man
Soldier's Girl	2003	Calpernia	Woman	Trans woman played by cis man. Fictionalized account of murder of Barry Winchell.
Tangerine	2015	Sin-Dee Rella and Alexandra	Woman	Trans women played by trans actresses.
Tomboy	2011	Mickael	Boy
Transamerica	2005	Bree	Woman	Trans woman played by cis woman.
The World According to Garp	1982	Roberta Muldoon	Woman	Trans woman played by cis man.

Television

Title	Trans characters or personalities	Gender	Notes
9-1-1: Lone Star	Paul Strickland	Man	Portrayed by trans man, Brian Michael Smith.
Becoming Us	Carly Lehwald	Woman	Reality show focusing on a family whose father has come out as a trans woman.
The Bold and the Beautiful	Maya Avant	Woman	The first US daytime soap opera to feature a trans woman character as a series regular.
The Bold and the Beautiful	Nick	Man	Maya's mentor. The actor, Scott Turner Schofield, who is trans in real life, became the first openly transgender actor in daytime television with this recurring role.
Brave New Girls	Jenna Talackova	Woman	Reality show focusing on aspiring model Jenna Talackova.
Chicago Med	Denise Lockwood	Woman	A transwoman, who is played by Alexandra Grey, who is a trans woman herself.
Coronation Street	Hayley Cropper	Woman	Played by Julie Hesmondhalgh, a cis woman.
Degrassi	Adam Torres	Man	Teen trans man, played by a cis woman.
Doctor Who	Cassandra	Woman	Tells Rose that she was "a little boy" in the episode "The End of the World".
Elementary	Ms. Hudson	Woman	Played by Candis Cayne, a trans woman.
Faking It	Noah	Man	Played by Elliot Fletcher, a trans man.
The Fosters	Cole	Man	Played by Tom Phelan, a non-binary trans person.
The Fosters	Aaron	Man	Played by Elliot Fletcher, a trans man.
Glee	Unique Adams	Woman	Teen trans woman, played by cis man
Glee	Sheldon Beiste	Man	Adult trans man, played by cis woman
Gray's Anatomy	Casey Parker	Man	Adult trans man, played by a trans man, Alex Blue Davis
Gwaith/Cartref	Macsen Issacs	Male	Teenager transitioning from female to male.
Hit & Miss	Mia	Woman
Hunter x Hunter	Alluka Zoldyck	Woman	Constantly they referred to her as "it" and "he". Her brother, Killua, constantly reminds people that she is a girl. Strong, not afraid to stick up for herself, but still a cute and lovable character portrayed right by most of the fandom.
Hunter x Hunter	Kite	Genderfluid	A man in their past life, Kite was reincarnated as a little girl later in the series and is struggling with their gender identity. It is still unknown whether they consider themselves to be a male or female, or genderfluid.
Hunter x Hunter	Neferpitou	Genderless
I Am Cait	Caitlyn Jenner	Woman	Reality show focusing on the gender transition of Caitlyn Jenner.
I Am Jazz	Jazz Jennings	Woman	Reality show on transgender teen Jazz Jennings and her family.
The L Word	Max Sweeney	Man	A trans man played by a cis woman.
My Transsexual Summer	Maxwell Zachs, Sarah Savage, Drew Ashlyn Cunningham, Lewis Hancox, Rapheal Fox, Donna Whitbread, Karen Gale	Woman	A 2011 British documentary series.
The OA	Buck Vu	Man	Teen trans man, played by a trans man.
Orange Is the New Black	Sophia Burset	Woman	A trans woman played by Laverne Cox, a trans woman.
Orphan Black	Tony Sawicki	Man	A clone of a cis woman.
Pretty Little Liars	Charlotte Drake	Woman	A trans woman played by a cis woman.
Pose	Various	Women	A story about the underground ballroom culture in New York City in the 1980s and 1990s.
Rise	Michael Hallowell	Man	Teen trans man played by a non-binary actor.
RuPaul's Drag Race	Various	Drag Queens	A reality show about drag queens; features two trans women as contestants.
Science Ninja Team Gatchaman	Berg Katse	Genderfluid	Katse is an intersex mutant created from the synthesis of male and female twins in utero, they were created by the alien leader of evil organisation Galactor.
Sense8	Nomi Marks	Woman	A trans woman played by Jaime Clayton, a trans woman.
Shameless	Trevor	Man	A trans man played by Elliot Fletcher, a trans man.
Soul Eater	Crona	Unconfirmed
South Park	Mr. Garrison	Man	Went a sex change at the start of Season 9, later reverted to a male in Season 12.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	Jadzia Dax, Ezri Dax	Woman	Dax has changed genders throughout their lives.
Supergirl	Nia Nal (Dreamer)	Woman	Season 4 regular played by Nicole Maines, a trans woman.
The Switch	Sü Phan and others	Women and men	All transgender characters are played by transgender actors.
TransGeneration	Various	Women and men	A documentary series.
Transparent	Maura Pfefferman	Woman	A trans woman played by Jeffrey Tambor, a cis man.
Twin Peaks	Denise Bryson	Woman	A trans woman DEA agent played by a cis man.
Zombie Land Saga	Lily Hoshikawa	Woman

Web series

Title	Character	Gender	Notes
Carmilla	LaFontaine	genderqueer character who uses they/them pronouns[7]	nonbinary character played by a nonbinary actor; unconfirmed for a while in-series
Paranatural	R.J.	Non-binary character who uses they/them/their pronouns
Pride: The Series	Liev	Man	Trans man played by a transgender actor, Scott Turner Schofield
RWBY	May Marigold	Woman	Trans woman played by a transgender voice actress, Kdin Jenzen

Theatre

Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a trans woman, played by both men and women on the stage. La Cienega in Bring It On: The Musical is a transgender teen character.[8] Individual productions alter the identity of characters, such as Angel in Rent who is a drag queen in some productions and a trans woman in others. Adam is a play based on the true story of trans man Adam Kashmiry and his journey from Egypt to Scotland.[9]

Video games

Early examples include Birdo in Super Mario Bros 2, where the manual asserts that Birdo is a boy who "thinks he is a girl",[10] and Poison in Final Fight, who was censored in the English localization.[11] More recent examples include The New Kid in South Park: The Fractured but Whole, where the player character can optionally be portrayed as transgender. There have been recent indie games which have addressed the transgender community, including Hardcoded and other titles.[12] A recent example includes The Last Of Us 2 (released 2020), with young trans boy Lev.

Music

Against Me! is an American punk rock band formed in 1997 in Gainesville, Florida, by singer and guitarist Laura Jane Grace. The band's album Transgender Dysphoria Blues deals with gender dysphoria, following Laura Jane Grace's gender transition and coming out.[13][14]

Music videos

The music video for Hayley Kiyoko's "One Bad Night" stars a trans woman playing a trans woman. The music video for "Sexy Dreams" has the artist Spoonboy playing a trans Batman.[15]

See also

• List of media portrayals of bisexuality
• List of American television episodes with LGBT themes
• List of television shows with LGBT characters
• Media and sexual orientation
• Media portrayals of bisexuality
• Media portrayal of lesbianism

References

1. Kane, Matt (April 10, 2013). "'Batgirl' Comic Introduces Transgender Character". GLAAD.
2. https://www.outfrontmagazine.com/culture/batgirl-features-major-comics-first-transgender-wedding/ ‘BATGIRL’ FEATURES MAJOR COMICS’ FIRST TRANSGENDER WEDDING
3. Armitage, Hugh (October 24, 2013). "Al Ewing will explore Loki's fluid sexuality, gender in new comic". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
4. Aoki, Deb (March 11, 2010). "Gary Groth Talks: Fantagraphics' New Manga, Moto Hagio at Comic-Con". About.com. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
5. "WCCA Awards". Retrieved September 13, 2008.
6. Jacques, Jeph. "Hubbert's Peak".
7. Simpson, Ellen. "Carmilla FAQ". anamatics. Archived from the original on January 2, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
8. Hetrick, Adam (August 15, 2012). ""It Ain't No Thing": Bring It On: The Musical Cheers On Broadway's First Transgender Teen Character". Playbill. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
9. Alanna, Eloise (August 24, 2017). "The Egyptian girl who became a Scottish man". BBC. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
10. Super Mario Bros. 2 manual. Nintendo. 1988. p. 27. He thinks he's a girl and he spits eggs from his mouth. He'd rather be called Birdetta
11. Sheff, David (1999). Game Over. Cyberactive Media Group Inc. p. 225. ISBN 0-9669617-0-6. With Capcom USA, Phillips's team edited some of the grislier games that came in from its Japanese parent company, although Capcom's own censors weeded out the most offensive touches...When a Capcom USA representative suggested that it was tasteless to have the game's hero beat up a woman, a Japanese designer responded that there were no women in the game. 'What about the blonde named Roxy?' the American asked. The designer responded, 'Oh, you mean the transvestite!' Roxy was given a haircut and new clothes.
12. Valens, Ana (June 3, 2019). "Hardcoded Has the Trans Representation We Need in Adult Games". Fanbyte. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
13. Ehrlich, Brenna (July 2, 2013). "Against Me! Frontwoman Laura Jane Grace Announces Solo Shows". MTV. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
14. Martins, Chris (November 5, 2012). "Against Me! Promise 'Transgender Dysphoria Blues' Will 'Absolutely Destroy'". Spin. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
15. http://spoonboy-sexydreams.tumblr.com/