The Future

"Trans youth.....[have created] a new symbolic language for activism through DIY vlogs, cat gifs, fan mashups and unicorns farting rainbows in the face of homo- and transphobia" (Jenzen)

Where do we go from here?

Clearly there are many problems with the way the media portrays trans folks but as mentioned earlier, we are starting to see more accurate and positive representation of the trans community. Much of this representation has been because of trans people advocating for proper portrayals in media.

Influence of the Internet

Progress in the mainstream media is usually slow-moving and so historically, subcultures have taken it upon themselves to put themselves in the spotlight. This is even more prevalent with the power of the Internet to push politcal movements, as seen by the Black Lives Matter movement especially in the wake of George Floyd's murder. Thus, we can reasonably conclude that social media will be the new direction of trans representation.

We are already seeing this taking place, with many young trans people using the Internet to explore their identities, play with gender, and find a community of other youth like them. Olu Jenzen studied how trans youth use social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Tumblr to take control of their own stories and experiences. Jenzen found that among trans youth aged 16-26, social media is their primary way of connecting with each other and how they learn more about topics like coming out, transitioning, and changing their legal name.

The idea that trans people are using the digital space to share their stories and experiences is very exciting since it opens up the opportunities for more people to have platforms to speak their truth.

What Needs to Change

As we have discussed throughout this section, there are issues with who is and isn't portrayed in the current trans representation. Most of the trans characters and celebrities in the mainstream are skinny, white, able-bodied, and cis-passing; even then, a lot of trans characters are played by cis actors. Trans people are incredibly diverse and traditional media is doing the trans community a huge disservice by not reflecting this diversity in their work.

We need to see more trans people of color, plus sized trans people, Two Spirit Indigenous people, non-cis-passing trans people, disabled trans people and many more members of the trans community on full display. Cis people must stand with trans people as allies in order to further the push towards better inclusion of trans people in the media. We must also hold individuals and groups accountable for perpetuating anti-trans rhetoric which has been shown to negatively impact trans people in real life in very harmful ways.

Hopes for the Future

We must not become jaded by the negativity we see in the news or in movies or on social media, but instead use those feelings of hurt and anger to exact change in society. We are seeing a positive shift in attitudes regarding trans identities and people so we should try to use the media to further this progress. Ideally, we will keep seeing figures like Laverne Cox, Hunter Schafer, and Eliot Page and shows like Pose, The L Word: Generation Q, and Transparent rise to prominence but let's not forget to also uplift trans folks who are not celebrities with the same energy.

We'll leave you with this: Challenge yourself to find a small trans or GNC creator online or watch a movie/TV show that accurately depicts the trans community. Educate yourself so that you can challenge the system that perpetuates constant transphobia and hate towards trans people. Don't be part of the problem, be part of the solution.

Works Cited

Jenzen, Olu. “Trans Youth and Social Media: Moving between Counterpublics and the Wider Web.” A Journal of Feminist Geography, vol. 24, no. 11, 13 Nov. 2017, pp. 1626–1641. Taylor & Francis Online, doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2017.1396204.

Header image credit: Nightshade on Pinterest (https://i.pinimg.com/236x/7f/de/49/7fde49e217ae54a817d24f8744292b89.jpg)