Supplementary » June 27, 2007

Transsexuals in popular culture

Recent Hollywood portrayals and fictional dramatizations have boosted the national visibility and humanity of transsexuals

By John Ireland

Transsexuality has been on the American radar just over half a century. On December 1, 1952, the New York Daily News splashed the headline, “Ex-GI Becomes Blond Beauty.” Christine (née George) Jorgenson returned from Europe after serving in the U.S. Armed Forces and taking a detour to Denmark. Although the operation was heralded as the first sex-reassignment surgery, such operations had taken place since the ’20s. Jorgenson became an immediate sensation and was interviewed on radio and television, becoming a willing spokesperson for transsexual awareness. Before she died in 1989, Jorgenson said she had given the sexual revolution “a good swift kick in the pants.”

Hollywood’s recent portrayals of “transgender” characters have focused on the rejection and violence that is all-too-common in transexuals’ daily lives. In 1992, The Crying Game used artful camera work to elicit a shocking cinematic effect revolving around misperception and “passing” as the opposite sex. Boys Don’t Cry (1999), Soldier’s Girl (2003), and A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story depict real-life murders of transgender people.

Fictional dramatizations have boosted the national visibility and humanity of transsexuals. Tom Wilkinson plays a man who “comes out” as a male-to-female transsexual in Normal (2005) and Felicity Huffman portrays a transitioning male-to-female transsexual in Transamerica (2006). The cable television documentary series TransGeneration (2005) follows four college students in various stages of transitioning. Broadcast television’s ABC daytime drama All My Children introduced a transgender character, as well, in 2006. Moving from cinema to television movie, cable to broadcast television, transgender issues are permeating the American popular culture, bringing a message of tolerance and acceptance.

• Help In These Times publish more articles like this. Donate today!
• Subscribe today and save 46% off the newsstand price!

• subscribe to print magazine

• stay in touch with our email newsletter

  Subscribe to our regular weekly e-mail newsletter. It's packed with updates on recent and upcoming stories, events, campaigns and things every progressive should be informed about.

   

• email this article to a friend

  Your Name Your Email Recipient Email

  Personal message Thought you might be interested in this article from In These Times.

   

  Please help us prevent spam by verifying the word you see in the image above

  Send to multiple recipients. Just separate each email address with a comma.

• Reader Comments

  There are no comments on this article yet. Start the discussion below.

• register a new account »Posting Security

  To participate in our forums, please register for a free account.

  Username Password

    Remember me
  

  Retreive lost password »

Also featured He Shoots, She Scores
When College Ends, So Does Activism
Two Degrees From Devastation

Full contents
Previous issues
Subscribe and save!

Also by John Ireland

• Prop Hate and My Family
  Last Labor Day, my partner and I were legally married in California. Two… morePosted on January 6, 2009
• Marriage Equality in Peril
  'Prayer warriors' battle to pass state referendums banning gays and lesbians from marryingPosted on October 1, 2008
• He Shoots, She Scores
  When Mike became Christine, she gave Los Angeles sports fans a courtside view of gender politicsPosted on June 27, 2007
• Defining Hate in the United States
  Despite widespread public support, hate crime law across the country remains inconsistent and the crimes often go unpunished. Posted on May 9, 2007
• Outing is In Again
  Did Bill Maher break the Barney Frank Rule?Posted on December 6, 2006