April 8, 2005 9:13 PM BST
An article from THE BOSTON GLOBE 3/11/2001 called CROSSING OVER was about TG issues on televison and in movies.
http://www.innvestments.o[...]01.html
It discusses the increase in TG persons showing up in fiction.
My favorite portrayal was Cindy on ALLY MCBEAL. A TS MtF played, by a great actress, presented a very believable TS in a very human light with the comedy being related to the real-life issues that people have about TS folk. I saw it BW (Before Wendy) and it made me very sympathetic and even empathic toward TS persons. In fact I understood how someone could be attracted to and love a TS, even myself, as I saw MtF TS as women and not men for the first time after that show. I'm very grateful for this as it helped me quickly accept Wendy when I discovered her lurking in "the attic" in my head. For me, the transition from hetero male, to hetero male understanding TS MtF as real people, to wanting to become a gender therapist, to being TG myself and then discovering that I had a strong feminine side and was perhaps "bisexual" was a blessing that allowed me to accept myself quickly. The right presentation can make a different world. Media is a powerful creator of images and emotion. If, just once, someone feels for a TG person as a real person, it has to change them. It is hard to hate what you understand and all too easy to hate what you do not understand. Some would say my acceptance and understanding of TS were due to being inherently TG myself,all the time, but if I can learn to pick up a spider in the bathtub and gently move it to safety, as I would a kitten, people can learn to accept other people.
April 9, 2005 12:46 AM BST
well put shan. there is probably a lot i could add if my brain was in thinking mode, but since it isn't, one film springs to mind - Different For Girls, i really enjoyed it. it's about a post-op ts who meets an old schoolfriend and well i won't tell you the rest. the guy who played the ts was very good.
xx