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The Problem with Media Representation of Trans People: De-centering of Dysphoria
The Problem with Media Representation of Trans People: De-centering of Dysphoria
Overall, I think that the current media representation of trans people is very superficial, and somewhat self-serving. It's almost like a few select trans people are put there as 'fashion of the day' accessories, or to give a feel of performative wokeness to shows. The trouble is this doesn't go far enough to allow the public to understand and empathize with trans people, while still being enough to generate a backlash.
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Firstly, while the story lines do illustrate some typical trans experiences and struggles, like financial problems, hormone therapy, family issues, and the like, they often don't do enough justice to the dysphoria. Maybe it's hard to insert that stuff into a TV series. Maybe it's more suitable for more in-depth formats, like talk shows. Like what we're doing here. But you don't often seen trans people on talk shows, at least not often enough to let us explain the dysphoria experience properly. You know what would be great? A trans talk show host, who can integrate the trans narrative with their other talk, and maybe discuss this a bit with their guests too. A trans version of Oprah or Ellen, if you like. It would go a long way to achieve public understanding.
The problem with having only superficial representation is that there is still going to be a lot of misunderstandings. As I said, it doesn't go far enough to generate empathy, but it
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does go far enough to generate plenty of backlash. It's almost like the worst of both worlds. Furthermore, the lack of focus on dysphoria allows the ideologically driven ideas of the 'two unholy alliances' to insert themselves into the debate, which would only generate more confusion and backlash among the general public. If the media wants to be as trans friendly as its claims to be, then it really needs to improve its game. We need to tell them, we aren't happy with your token gestures of performative wokeness, that could indeed do more harm than good for trans people in real life.
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