The History of Trans Representation in American Television and Film Genres

Due to the increase in transgender characters in scripted television and film in the 2010s, trans visibility has been presented as a relatively new phenomenon that has positively shifted the cis society's acceptance of the trans community. This book counters this claim to assert that such representations actually present limited and harmful characterizations, as they have for decades. To do so, this book analyzes transgender narratives in scripted visual media from the 1960s to 2010s across a variety of genres, including independent and mainstream films and television dramatic series and sitcoms, judging not the veracity of such representations per se but dissecting their transphobia as a constant despite relevant shifts that have improved their veracity and variety. Already ingrained with their own ideological expectations, genres shift the framing of the trans character, particularly the relevance of their gender difference for cisgender characters and society. The popularity of trans characters within certain genres also provides a historical lineage that is examined against the progression of transgender rights activism and corresponding transphobic falsehoods, concluding that this popular medium continues to offer a limited and narrow conception of gender, the variability of the transgender experience, and the range of transgender identities. Introduction.- Chapter 1: Bodies Under Scrutiny.- Chapter 2: Trans Identity as a Cis Problem or the "Cis Surprise.- Chapter 3: Comedic Romance: Trans Props and Pathetic Cis Partners.- Chapter 4: Dramatic Romance and the Value(s) of Tragedy.- Chapter 5: Trans Criminality: From Dangerous Sociopaths to Sassy Hookers.- Chapter 6: Trans Victims: Dead or Alive.- Appendix A: Glossary for Gender Identities and Characters.- Appendix B: Timeline of Trans Characters in Scripted American Film and Television, 1965-2018. Traci Abbott is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English and Media Studies at Bentley University, Waltham, MA, USA. Her research has focused on cultural representations of gender and sexuality in different periods of American history, from Emily Dickinson to 21st century novels and films. She has previously published articles in numerous journals, including The Journal of American Culture and International Journal of Communication, and a chapter in Beyond Binaries: Trans Identities in Contemporary Culture (2021).