Panelists discuss transgender visibility in todays’ entertainment industry


Throughout most of her acting career, Trace Lysette never told anyone she was transgender. Her acting coach encouraged her to keep it a secret, but when she heard about Laverne Cox landing a role in Orange is the New Black, she realized it was possible to be open with her gender identity while still doing what she loved. This led her to take on a role in Transparent, a TV show that tackles the challenges transgender people face when coming out to their family, their friends and society.

Lysette and several other panelists spoke at USC Wednesday night during “The Trans/Gender Tipping Point?”, a discussion on transgender visibility in today’s entertainment industry hosted by Visions and Voices and the USC LGBT Resource Center. Other panelists included actress Mya Taylor, Museum of Transgender History and Art Executive Director Chris E. Vargas, filmmaker Sam Feder, Transparent director Silas Howard and Transparent co-producers Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst. The event was moderated by USC English and gender studies professor Karen Tongson and gender studies, comparative literature and American studies and ethnicity professor Jack Halberstam.

In the first panel, Taylor discussed her experience starring in Tangerine, a film about transgender street workers set in Hollywood. While working on Tangerine, Taylor and her co-star Kitana Kiki Rodriguez wanted to tell the truth about the life of transgender individuals working the streets as hustlers. She went into the role making her objective clear to the director, Sean S. Baker. Taylor said that because Tangerine is a sad story, she wanted to bring comedy into it because that is truly how she would react to the events that unfolded.

“For me, I don’t like to complain about the less fortunate things that happen to me because there are people that are worse off, so I just make fun of it,” Taylor said.

The panelists also stressed the importance of friendship in the transgender community. Feder’s new film Kate Bornstein is a Queer and Unpleasant Danger depicts Bornstein’s relationship with her partner Barbara Carellas. The film tells a new story about transgender people that isn’t shown that much in the media: a story of domestic intimacy.

“I didn’t want to just interview Barbara and be like, ‘Tell me about your relationship,’” Feder said. “I wanted to show their relationship.”

Similarly, Vargas said that he created the Museum of Transgender History and Art to keep transgender voices alive. Vargas said that many transgender people lived in “stealth,” without others knowing their true identity, and his mission is to create a resource for transgender history. He wanted the future of transgender people to not be forgotten or hidden like it has been in the past. Vargas explained that the increased visibility of transgender people today initiated the creation of the museum and led Vargas to take part in the growing movement.

Drucker and Ernst, meanwhile, said they set out to create Transparent in order to bring visibility to an issue that they felt wasn’t getting enough attention.

“I think that we may be the most visible generation of trans people because many of the trans folk that came before us were not as visible and perhaps many of the trans people ahead of us will be less visible,” Ernst said. “It’s a crucial and pivotal time in which things are shifting rapidly.”

Transparent covers issues of class, sexuality and gender, which Ernst and Drucker said creates authenticity. At Wednesday’s event, the two co-producers showed a clip where Lysette’s character discloses her HIV-positive status to her boyfriend. They elaborated on the topic of HIV through a transgender character and used it to develop the character and storyline that connects to people who may be in the same situation.

“I felt really honored to deliver that message because it’s pretty accurate to what a lot of us go through,” Lysette said. “Dating while trans is rough and, of course, having to disclose your status makes it even harder.”

The panelists stressed that despite the constant struggle in the transgender community, many people are optimistic that the future will be inclusive and bring visibility to the community. However, this doesn’t mean that all of the problems will go away. There are still issues, especially in the entertainment industry, that some panelists stressed.

“We need more,” Ernst said. “What we need is more shows, more web series, and more short films. I feel like this is the time to make stuff — for students, for younger film makers, for established filmmakers. Whatever your queerest, transest, weirdest, most out there, most unique idea is, this is a great time to make that.”