Transgender Characters Find Fame and Fortune On Television

by Allison Steinberg · 2008-12-08 11:14:00 UTC
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An extraordinary trend has taken off with regard to LGBT characters on television. No longer are we the laughing stock of television sitcoms. Better yet, not only are we no longer finding the only representation in the form of one-dimensional stock characters, but new roles emerging for queers are even more representational than even the "Will and Grace" asexual characters. Yes, we now appear with increased frequency as regular characters on network television, kissing, loving, dating, discussing identity politics and portraying sexual nuances.

Transgender characters, however, are just starting to emerge on primetime television. There are, in fact, two male-to-female (MTF) transgender women on network television currently. One is Candace Cayne, who plays Carmelita, William Baldwin's girlfriend on ABC's Dirty, Sexy Money . Perhaps even more representational in ways than, Max, the female-to-male (FTM) on Showtime's The L Word, Cayne plays a post-op MTF who is both bold and beautiful. The show even portrayed an on-screen kiss between Baldwin and Cayne, a first in television history. Of course, cable television has taken more risks when it comes to LGBT characters and networks like LOGO are devoted to diverse and representational content about transgender folks, but primetime network television is a trickier environment. The networks are no doubt taking some risks when they include fair representations of transgender actors and characters on their shows.

The other notable transgender character on network television is Isis King, a 22-year old male-to-female contestant on Tyra Bank's America's Next Top Model on CW TV. Though King was voted off the show, she was allegedly originally selected because her look was captivating in the same way the other female models were, not because she was sensationalistic or something to gawk at. We still have a long way to go until transgender folk are fully represented on television, but we sure are off to a good start.

Allison Steinberg
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