US - Television has never seen more gender variant characters...

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TV has never seen more transgender characters

Fri Apr 25, 2008

By P. Ryan Baber

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Although long known to the gay 

community, breakout star Candis Cayne became a household name this 

year with her recurring role as the male-to-female transgender 

character Carmelita on ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money."

She also made history as the first transgender actress to play a 

transgender character in primetime, and she even shared an onscreen 

kiss with William Baldwin.

"It just never would have occurred to me to cast a person that wasn't 

transgender," says creator and executive producer Craig Wright. "The 

minute Candis walked through the door, there wasn't a single ounce of 

opposition."

This was a bold step for a network at a time when most LGBT (lesbian, 

gay, bisexual, transgender) ground is broken on cable. With two cable 

networks -- Here! and Logo -- providing dedicated gay content, and 

numerous other cable networks featuring LGBT characters in original 

miniseries, documentaries and dramas, the LGBT experience is being 

portrayed with more complexity than ever.

According to Neil Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance 

Against Defamation, which is holding its 19th annual Media Awards on 

Saturday at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre (with additional ceremonies in 

New York, South Florida and San Francisco), "There are fewer gay 

characters on the broadcast networks than there have been in over a 

decade ... but the characters that do exist are more fully realized 

and authentic than characters we've seen in the past, so progress is 

being made."

While gay characters are enjoying fewer but meatier roles, transgender 

characters have never seen so much airtime. ABC has led the way, 

garnering 11 GLAAD nominations, three of which credit the depiction of 

transgender characters on "Dirty Sexy Money," "Ugly Betty" and "All My 

Children." However, even though Cayne has won enormous praise both for 

her performance and for what her inclusion means for the transgender 

community, the vast majority of transgender roles on television are 

still not played by transgender actors.

According to some producers, it is not studio opposition that makes it 

so difficult, but rather the challenge of casting roles from the 

relatively small talent pool of transgender actors. "We didn't know 

whether to go with a real transgender or whether to go with a woman," 

says "Ugly Betty" creator and executive producer Silvio Horta. "We saw 

some transgender actors, but it ended up being that the couple that we 

found just didn't have the chops."

So when the show revealed that editor Alex Meade had disappeared for 

two years to complete a transition from male to female, including full 

sexual reassignment surgery, creators turned to actress Rebecca Romijn 

to fill the high heels of the newly metamorphosed Alexis Meade.

Although gender identity is certainly a central facet of Alexis' 

character, her feud with her brother, her troubled past and her 

efforts to rebuild damaged relationships have taken centre stage. "The 

audience's response to the character is more about the character and 

less about the character being transgender," Horta emphasizes.

While the audience understands that shows like "Ugly Betty," with its 

playful melodrama and soap opera-style plot twists, are not to be 

taken too literally, portraying a transgender character is 

nevertheless a delicate operation. "The challenge is, while exploring 

the fun of it, also keeping it real -- knowing that this is something 

that people go through," Horta says.

ABC isn't the only network getting it right. Other GLAAD nominees 

touching upon the transgender experience include WE tv's documentary 

about transgender women in prison "Cruel and Unusual," MSNBC's special 

"Born in the Wrong Body: Girls Will Be Boys," a segment of CNN's 

"Paula Zahn Now," and episodes of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "The 

Tyra Banks Show."

Still, many producers believe that there is a great deal of progress 

left to be made. "Unfortunately, I don't think the industry itself has 

changed much," says Ilene Chaiken, the creator of Showtime's "The L 

Word." "I would like to see a procedural where, for instance, Dylan 

McDermott's character just happens to be gay."

In the world of crime dramas, LGBT characters are traditionally 

relegated to the role of victim or killer, but this still provides 

opportunity to showcase and develop them, if only for one episode. 

"(CBS') 'Cold Case' has been consistently representing gay and 

transgender characters since its inception," says executive producer 

Veena Sud. This year, the show was nominated for a GLAAD award for its 

"Boy Crazy" episode, which tells the story of the murder of a 

transgender woman in the 1950s.

Although it has been a banner year for transgender characters on 

television across the board, not all members of the LGBT community 

have received their share of the spotlight. As "The L Word" looks to 

wrap its sixth and final season, Chaiken worries that its departure 

will create something of a vacuum for lesbian characters. "I was 

hoping that by the time the show ended we would be able to pass the 

torch to another show," she says. "But sadly, if 'The L Word' went off 

the air right now, there would be no other major representations of 

lesbian characters on television."

Over its six seasons, "The L Word" has developed a diverse following. 

According to Chaiken, it appeals to women as a show that depicts their 

struggles and experiences regardless of sexual orientation. "And of 

course, I know of a lot of straight guys who got hooked on the show 

while watching it with their girlfriends," she adds.

It is just this kind of crossover appeal that gay networks like Here! 

and Logo hope to achieve. According to Here!, the LGBT market in 

America represents 15 million loyal customers and an estimated $610 

billion in buying power.

"The market is as diverse as any mainstream market," says Paul 

Colichman, founder and CEO of Here! Networks. "The LGBT community is 

made of people from all races, ages and socioeconomic backgrounds, so 

it is truly a melting pot."

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Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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