Cisgender man to act Transgender in Mark Ruffalo film

[SKANK 14,288]

7 minutes ago, Bebe said:

When a story like this comes out people get pissed off that Trans people are being pushed out of the media and out of the conversation. I do think there are points to be made about how depictions of trans women as cis men in wigs delegitimizes trans identities and contributes to violence against trans women, but I don't think that's an argument I am going to win with you.

You have been quoting me, disputing my opinions on the issue though, so you can't really disagree with my points by pointing out arguments I'm not making.

"Lets not pretend activists are focused solely or even primarily on the lack of job opportunities for the handful of trans actors who exist in the world."

Err they are absolutely doing that. I mean this story is specifically about how another cis man is going to be playing a trans women, so of course conversation is going to get more specific, but trans activists are constantly talking about how trans women and trans men should be better represented in the media.

 

The only reason I quoted you was to correct a factually incorrect statement you made. "trans people are not being cast as cisgendered people." Lavern Cox being cast as a cis-gender male in Rocky Horror Picture show makes that statement incorrect.

I haven't really even been disputing your opinions, I just have a different perspective on the issue and how to solve it.

But I'm going to tap out at this point, nothing productive is going to come from this. Have a good day Bebe.

 

[Runway 27,876]

If there was a trans actress as relevant as Matt Bomer they would probably cast her. This is hollywood, they want people to buy as many tickets as possible

[Kulture Kiari 3,433]

It's acting; make me believe. It's like saying you have to be a real life witch to play the witch role in the wizard of oz, or you have to be a real life murderer to play the role of skinface from the texas chainsaw massacre. If they want a real life transgender role, then I suggest you to watch documentaries, where there is no acting involved, it's the real thing! 

[REALITY 76,890]

It's acting, personally, I'm not offended or oppose to a cisgender man/woman playing a transgender man/woman because it's a character, it's not really who they are, it's their art, their work. I'm not transgender, so I can't speak for whether or not this is really hurting the community, but if there was a straight man/woman playing a gay man/woman, I wouldn't be offended either. It's acting, like I said, it's their job.

I would, however, be offended if they portrayed the transgender community in a very negative and stereotypical way, though. If you're going to have to be a transgender man or woman, you need to do some research, look at the history of being transgender in America/across the world, etc. etc. Don't just put a man in a dress and call him transgender. There's much more to them.

[AyaKara 2,281]

A cisgender man playing a transgender woman is amazing, imo. It will expand the roles that people can play, and it will help break down type-casting in media -- for instance, when a gay person is always forced to play gay characters.

Also, nobody complains about Jeffrey Tambor, a cisgender straight man, playing a transgender woman in Transparent. Why is Matt Bomer, a cisgender gay man, an issue?

[BornAsUnic0rn 2,098]

1 hour ago, AyaKara said:

A cisgender man playing a transgender woman is amazing, imo. It will expand the roles that people can play, and it will help break down type-casting in media -- for instance, when a gay person is always forced to play gay characters.

Also, nobody complains about Jeffrey Tambor, a cisgender straight man, playing a transgender woman in Transparent. Why is Matt Bomer, a cisgender gay man, an issue?

WAIT! I love Matt Bomer, his acting is amazing. But HOW did his outing completely go over my head. I AM SHOOK. 

[Chic 20,830]

12 hours ago, Seeka said:

@Chic

How do you feel about this? I know you and the trans community don't go well together because of well your stealth game is, but I think you're the best person to ask.

Actors are actors. One side of me is like "This is horrible representation and it keeps happening, perpetuating the idea that trans women always just look like try hard men when really I look more like a woman than a lot of cis women do". The other side is a bit more selfish and is like "I'm glad society sees this view so that they're less likely to clock me as trans - i.e. if someone doesn't look stereotypically trans, people won't assume that they are".

I don't know how to feel, really. Having passable trans women portray trans people on screen isn't always accurate, as tons of trans women literally just look like men with wigs. There's plenty. And they're apparently fine with not passing. A cis man would probably be a more accurate visual presentation for that subsection of trans people.

For trans people like me who are stealth, casting a cis woman or highly passable trans woman would be better.

You'll never satisfy this ****ed up community, so it's whatever. All I wish is that more trans women would get roles for their acting ability, not by some affirmative action law.

I guess in some way I am kind of tired of the stereotype that trans women are just old men with beard shadows and platinum blonde party city wigs. That's what causes these bathroom laws to happen. A lot of trans people embody that stereotype, unfortunately.

Transwomen are not men and I won't be treated as such.

[Omar Vela 2,744]

People who cries about this seriously need a hobbie 

also calling an actor "cisgender white man" instead of his actual name it's discrimination and very disrespectful 

[Born To Slay 10,996]

I don't really care. When it comes to movies, just pick the person that gave the best audition and move on. Transgender people make up like less .5% of Americans, of course the statistical chance of a trans person playing a part is slim. If 200 people audition for the part, one will be trans. 

If trans people were able to audition then that's fair enough imo. 

[Born To Slay 10,996]

I take back my initial comment after reading this thread an dreading some other articles about this, they should've tried to find a trans person to this film.

[everyonelovesme 15]

Do you want a white person to play a black person? Do you want a man to play a woman? Do you want a straight to play a gay? No. trans people should be playing those roles.

[Dayum 240]

Next thing you know, you need a true rape victim to play a rape victim. You need someone who has worked at McDonald's to play a worker at McDonald's. 

You don't hear the animals or the moon complaining because their roles have been taken over by the green screen? 

Anyway, to blow out of proportions trivial things like this just loses my respect. If it were a documentary instead it would be a different matter.

[Brooke Hoegan 1,018]

It's called ACTING.

If you think something's wrong about it, I guess you want gay people to only play gay characters, right ? If no, stop being a dumb SJW...

[StrawberryBlond 14,881]

I'm a bit on the fence about it. I thought it strange when Eddie Redmayne did it. Wouldn't it make more sense to have a woman (not necessarily a transgender one, though), be made to look like a man and then remove the pretence as the movie goes on? But then I wondered if it would work. I mean, a big part of the trans struggle is feeling unaccepting of your natural appearance because it isn't feminine/masculine enough and that you have to consider surgery to get the look you want. So, if a person who has already achieved that desired look through surgery (or hasn't had to worry about that because they already looked like that to begin with), how can they pull off playing the opposite gender at first? I think it's perhaps easier for a biological woman to pull off the look of a biological man (they say female-male transition is easier and you can pass for male so much better) but very hard for a biological man to pull off the look of a biological woman (certain features are just far too masculinised without the aid of surgery). It's all very well for a trans person who has completed their transition to play a trans character...but they should also be at the same stage. It would look (and feel) weird to see someone who is actually trans essentially regressing into a version of themselves that they used to hate. And you can't remove any surgery they had to make them look masculine/feminine again for the earlier section of the film.

It's a tricky business. But as long as the actor knows what they're getting into and studies and respects the whole process, I ultimately don't see the problem.

[MonsterPaws 2,731]

18 hours ago, Akarin said:

So no more women in films, men actors can act as women. "act is act". No more animais, no more plants, just actors. That's what you people are implying.

Actually that's true. If a director thinks a certain actor can portray a character better than another (with no prejudice towards ethnicity, gender or religion) then why not?

You could make the same argument for actors portraying war veterans, or rape victims. But it's not realistic. Acting IS acting; I'd rather watch a movie where I believe the characters than watch a half-assed performance from some amateur actor hired for their personal experiences.

Yes, there are transgender actors out there who are great--personally can't name any, but I'm 100% certain they exist--but if a director believes in the ability of a certain actor then he has the right to hire said person.

Acting isn't about recreating/reliving life experiences of the actors. It's about simulating and stimulating real-life emotions through film for the pleasure of an audience.