Regressing, Progressing, or Transgressing on the Small Screen? Transgender Characters on U.S. Scripted Television Series

Abstract

This study explored representation of lead and supporting transgender characters in nine U.S. scripted television dramas and comedies aired 2008–2014. Employing qualitative content analysis techniques, episodes were coded for casting, visibility, identity, embodiment, and social interaction. Findings suggested that scripted television has begun to evolve in a manner that relies less on a standardized narrative and one-dimensional characterization of transgender people. The formerly ubiquitous “wrong body” discourse seems to have ebbed in favor of more diverse and refined stories about transgender identity and subjectivity. However, increased visibility does not apply across the spectrum of transgender identity and expression. Transgender people as a population and a political community, trans men, and genderqueer characters remain largely invisible.

Keywords:

• Television
• Transexual/Transgender

Notes

[1] Throughout this article, following Spencer (2015), Miller (2015), and others, we invoke the term cisnormativity, “analogous with respect to gender identity to the relationship between heteronormativity and sexual orientation” (Spencer, 2015, p. xix).