Transmedia and Public Representation

This book investigates how contemporary media represent transgender and gender non-conforming people. Authors in this edited collection analyze the most popular films and television shows of all times and find how much (and how little) media portrayals of trans folks have changed or remained stagnant in the past 20 years.

Is media changing the way we see transgender people or is it the other way around? In the past twenty to thirty years, transgender people have gradually appeared in films and television shows with more and more frequency. However, more visibility does not always translate to a higher degree of acceptance of trans people. Authors in this book studied the most popular programs and movies of all times to see how much (and how little) media portrayals have changed when it comes down to trans folks. Although in recent years openly transgender celebrities and fictional characters have broken into the mainstream to challenge hegemonic understandings of this population, productions such as Transparent and Orange Is the New Black fall victim to commonplace portrayals, repeating the negative tropes they were trying to resist. Nevertheless, nuanced interpretations and thorough analyses from this collection show evidence that movies and programs with transgender people make progress from total erasure or invisibility. Transmedia and Public Representation: Transgender People in Film and Television is as complex and diverse as the authors, productions, and characters in it. It is a must-have, must-read book for anyone who studies or works in areas related to media, social sciences, and LGBTQ studies and activism. But it is also an appealing invitation to understand the current media landscape through the eyes and voices of trans and queer people, their relatives, and their allies.

Autorentext

Magalí Daniela Pérez Riedel is a Doctor in Communication from the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina. Magalí is a lecturer and researcher who specializes in media and LGBTQ representations. Her first book, Género y diversidad sexual en el blog Boquitas pintadas, was published in 2014.

Inhalt

Acknowledgments - Magalí Daniela Pérez Riedel: Introduction: Rewind or Fast Forward? Transgender Representation on Screen - Sarah F. Price/Sim Butler/Richard Mocarski/Robyn Myers/Debra Hope: The Construction of Transnormativity: Whiteness, Wealth, and Deviance - Charles Goehring: "I'm Not Your Adventure": Trans Fetishism on Contemporary Television - Patricia Di Risio: Hollywood and the Pathologization of Trans Identities - Emma A. Jane: Beyond Tipping Points, Trauma, and Trailblazing: Adventure Time and the Transordinary - Erika M. Thomas: Performing as a Trans Reality Star: Chaz Bono and Isis King - Nathian Shae Rodriguez/Jennifer Huemmer/Mary E. Brooks: Trans, White, and Privileged: The Public Framing of Caitlyn Jenner on Twitter - Katerina Symes: Her Story, Educating a Mainstream Audience - List of Contributors - Index.