Isis King recalls the dark ages of transgender representation 15 years ago in Hollywood. Getting her start as the first trans woman to compete on “America’s Next Top Model” transitioning to acting as an openly trans woman was difficult. She and fellow transgender actor Laverne Cox would show up to the few auditions they could find.

"Street walker, No. 1" and "Street walker, No. 2" would be written on their scripts. “We barely even had character names at that point,” says King.

Depictions of trans people in film and television relied on stereotypes and mockery of gender. Movies and television shows such as “Psycho” and CBS’ “CSI” displayed harmful stereotypes of transgender people, starring a cross-dresser turned serial killer and detectives laughing over sex workers' dead bodies. A cross-dresser is not to be confused with a transgender woman although some conflate both identities within the spectrum of gender.

“Top model came out in 2008 and at that time, literally, it was me and Laverne. Any little thing that came out, they probably directly looked for us because there was literally no one else out,” says King. Roles for trans people evolved since her first role as Cassandra, frenemy of Bella in the 2010 short film “Bella Maddo.” The short film consists of an all trans cast that plays cisgender characters and tells the story of Bella who has severe body image issues as she is pregnant.

Before television shows and films such as “Pose” in 2018, transgender stories on screen were limited. Historically cisgender people, those whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth, played the role of transgender characters. Some examples include Chris Sarandon in “Dog Day Afternoon,” Felicity Huffman in “Trans-America,” and Hillary Swank in “Boys Don’t Cry.”

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This made it difficult for openly transgender actors to find work in Hollywood up until 2013, when Laverne Cox broke down barriers by being casted as Sophia Burset in “Orange is the New Black.”

Openly transgender actors such as Trace Lysette and Brian Michael Smith earned roles that allowed them to tell narratives of transgender life in a refreshing light in 2020 and 2022. Lysette recently played the lead role in "Monica," a film showing a trans woman returning home to care for her sick mother after not speaking to her for years due to her transition.

Smith plays Paul Strickland on “9-1-1 Lone Star,” a Black openly transgender firefighter navigating day-to-day life. While they have managed to achieve mainstream notoriety for their roles in film and television, up-and-coming trans actors such as Nicky Cutler and Sarah Parlow seek growth in their careers.

According to GLAAD’s Victims or Villains: Examining Ten Years of Transgender Images on Television, shows such as Nip/Tuck(FX) and The Cleveland Show use destructive imagery that sets back transgender representation in the media. The report focused on transgender representation over the past 10 years, shedding light on the negative tropes within transgender characters and stories.

In “Nip/Tuck (FX)”, story lines consisted of tropes such as a transgender sexual predator who slept with her child, a transgender woman who deeply regretted transitioning and a transgender sex worker who experienced physical violence. A trans character in “The Cleveland Show,” Auntie Mama, stood up to urinate and is made fun of by family members on the show. The character Cleveland Brown, says things such as, “She’s a handsome woman” and “Everyone go around the table and share something weird about themselves,” suggesting that Auntie Mama should disclose her transgender identity.

What is the state of transgender representation today? Has it improved? Is visibility a double-edged sword if only a few transgender actors are finding work in an industry that poses challenges for everyone? The 2022 and 2023 UCLA Hollywood Diversity reports show despite current trans visibility, more transgender and non-binary representation is still an urgent need in television and film.

The 2022 television report showed that only 1.4 percent of transgender people received scripted roles while 50.6 percent men and 48 percent of women had scripted roles. There was only one lead nonbinary actor in the streaming film category, while there were no transgender or non-binary film directors counted. Despite this researchers say, “new evidence from 2022 continues to support findings from earlier reports in this series suggesting that America’s increasingly diverse audiences prefer diverse film content in both theatrical and streaming releases." GLAAD also reports a 25 percent decrease of transgender characters in media.

Though transgender visibility is rising, on-screen and off-screen puns and jokes about the transgender community are still common. How are the obstacles to transgender representation being addressed?

Combating Microaggressions Behind the Scenes

Non-binary producer, writer and director, O’Shea Myles created Eagle Peak Entertainment in 2016 to counteract the microaggressions and difficulties transgender and non-binary actors face. She uses all pronouns, he/she/they, to identify herself and shared that trans storytelling misses the mark in allowing full characters to be shown.

“The situations that trans characters find themselves in are always wrapped up in the [medical] transition,” Myles says. “It’s always wrapped up, sometimes in trauma.“ Myles supports the urgent need for broad and adequate trans representation in mainstream media.

One of her projects, “Amelia's Closet,” earned her a student Oscar. She produced and directed a short film called “Danny’s Tale,” which details a love story between a lesbian and a transgender man [Danny] who started off as platonic roommates.

“It was very different. It was very loving and open about how people express themselves and the ‘package’ that people come in is not always a deterrent, “ says Myles. “The ‘person’ is the reason and that’s how they fell in love.”

Myles is also the Film Festival and Industry Events Coordinator at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. She advocates for proper trans representation in the media and at university events. She earned a Master of Fine Arts at USC in 2016. The creative spoke about the importance of proper funding, marketing and access behind the camera to assist with the difficulties trans actors face with access to adequate work and representation.

“It all comes from the business side. They really do have to make an effort because I don't know how many times you can market “Spider Man,” or the 17th “Avenger” movie, mind you watch them both, right? But how could I not?” says Myles. “It was [in] every commercial every five seconds! This industry promotes what it wants to make money and does not promote that, which it does not.”

Myles lamented how studio heads initially dismissed trans specific shows such as “Pose” as not marketable.

“They said "Pose” wasn't going to do well,” Myles says “There was no audience for it. There was quite the audience for it, outside of the trans community, it was an audience everywhere, why? Everybody loves that show because that show was great.”

According to TV Series Finale’s website, season 1 of “Pose” had 6.45 million total viewers, season 2 had 5.41 million viewers, and season 3 had 4.34 million viewers. The FX show shifted popular culture and catapulted trans visibility in a way that mainstream media did not expect and critics did not expect from a predominantly trans cast.

“It was super specific, in a time, a place, and an era, but incredibly varied in the personalities and the stories that were told within it, which also gives us an idea of what we can do and what people want to see.”

Myles hopes to use their expertise to help combat the difficulties both on and off screen to LGBTQ talent, specifically transgender, navigate a shaky industry.

The transition from reality tv to professional acting

Isis King transitioned into acting after her appearance as a cast member on “America’s Next Top Model.” King faced ups and downs in her 15-year career. She is most known for her role as Marci Wise in Ava Duvernay's “When They See Us” and Sol on Amazon Prime’s “With Love.”

Photo courtesy of Isis King

As a Black trans woman in the entertainment industry, King began her acting career in 2010. Acting roles came slowly for King. She’s dealt with rejection, causing bouts of depression and imposter syndrome. She reflected on the recent canceling of “WIth Love'' and how she has handled cancellation as it was her first series regular role.

“I really love that show. I'm so sad that we didn't get to at least wrap up the story. Honestly, most shows got canceled during the strike,” said King. “It sucks because I found out the day before Thanksgiving. That's what happens as an actor, that's a gamble you take in this industry.”

King played a non-binary trans femme character named Sol who was a medical doctor and had a budding love life with a cisgender male doctor. She values the importance of visibility as one of the few notable Black trans female actors in entertainment. “Every day, I have to go above and beyond for the color of my skin, but also because I'm trans,” says King.

She is full of humility as she reflected on her time on the set of “With Love” and how much she enjoyed the opportunity. She relished in the moments because she has to work harder to be given opportunities in the entertainment industry.

“Being trans and coming from reality TV, I always just go into spaces thinking ‘I want them to take me seriously’,” says King.

Despite her struggles and promising acting opportunities thus far, King says that "being held in high regard" as a transgender activist has offered several opportunities for public speaking, networking, and media exposure.

Non-binary microaggressions behind the camera

Maze Felix, a Chinese American adoptee of white parents from Cleveland, Ohio, occasionally faces stereotypes about their racial identity. Growing up with adoptive parents who don’t share their racial identity, they’ve always felt a social and cultural disconnect

Photo courtesy of Maze Felix

“Growing up in midwest, white suburban Ohio that had mostly cisgender white folks, and as a closeted queer trans kid of color, who was also adopted internationally, there weren't a lot of spaces that I actually saw myself in,” says Felix. “So I often tried to perform or fit in because that was the only way or the only option for me to survive there.

Felix is a 28 year-old trans/non-binary actor who identifies with they/them pronouns. Most known for their work in short films such as “Give Me An A” (2022) and “Not Us” (2023), they audition for queer roles that are written by queer writers. They often “play roles that parallel my real life”.

When it comes to auditioning for roles, Felix shed light on how most roles are typically for characters that are either male or female and not people who are nonbinary.

“The roles are very ‘binaried’” says Felix. Choosing roles is a case by case basis, especially when their identity is taken into account as Hollywood still lacks representation of Asian Americans in western films.

Felix says that the microaggressions they have experienced are due to the intersections of their gender presentation and ethnicity. Their trans identity has been questioned due to their voice not being deep enough although they have been on hormones for two years. Felix experienced an audition where casting directors kept asking them to make their voice crack.

“I definitely felt very uncomfortable because my voice [did] not squeak at that point. It felt very violating for my voice to be put on the spot.”Felix did not book that job and aims for acting opportunities that allow them to express who they are.

During their auditions, Hollywood professionals made racialized assumptions about them, assuming that because they were Asian, they were "more intelligent and stoic.”

Felix wishes to see an increased acceptance of transgender and non-bianry actors, producers, authors, and storytellers.

“I hope that it becomes a norm where we're no longer the minority and that it's not something that we have to fight so hard to get to a place where it becomes the news. It just is.”

It's about the talent

Nicky Cutler is a 50-year-old white trans male actor. Cutler typically portrays cisgender male characters that aren't transgender. He’s open to transgender roles and says his gender identity doesn’t inhibit his ability to do films. Cutler’s credits include three short films so far: “Last First Kiss” (2023), “Not Us” (2023), and “Rally Caps” (2023). He calls himself “a budding new actor.”

Photo courtesy of Nicky Cutler

Cutler says that actors such as Rain Valdez, the creator of ActNOW, and Jonathan Andre Culliton are helping shift the spaces for transgender talent. ActNOW was created to provide a safe space for transgender and non-binary actors seeking to advance their skillset as trained talent.

“These are all people that are working really hard to get our voices out and usually it's more independent type low budget projects that end up in festivals like Outfest or maybe a subset of Sundance.

As with cisgender people, Cutler believes transgender people should be free to play any role they want. However, according to him, mainstream audiences are not yet prepared to accept those stories entirely. Talent is what matters most to him, regardless of a person's gender identity.

“I believe that with [proper] training that trans people can and will play trans roles, just like cis people have done in the past that are very well trained.”

He also feels that if Hollywood allows trans stories to be told through TV or film it is often coming of age stories and then setbacks occur after those stories are given light.

“I think there was probably a time period that they began to be ready and it's always like one step forward two steps back,” Cutler says “ I think Hollywood is ready for like one [trans] character per major series.”

Cutler says Hollywood higher ups usually do not take a chance on creating more roles for older trans male actors. With hopes of having a series regular role someday, Cutler thinks that Hollywood should embrace more trans male lead roles.

First openly Black trans male firefighter

Photo courtesy of Brian Michael Smith

The 41-year-old, a native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, has also portrayed characters like Antoine in "Queen Sugar." Despite his visibility and success, Brian Michael Smith sees that right-wing supporters plant opinion pieces in large publications, setting back transgender visibility and ushering in the over 400 anti-trans legislative bills across the U.S.

“They're able to propose this legislation, people are now feeling like it's all they keep hearing on the news,” says Smith. “It's like ‘trans people are everywhere, and it's a problem.”

He sees a connection between television shows, political news and voting; Smith is advocating for transgender representation more than ever.

“That's the purpose of art. We have to speak about what's happening at this moment,” says Smith. “We have seen enough examples of cis actors playing trans roles and trans characters [while] getting rewarded for it, but we haven't seen as many trans actors being able to tell and live trans stories in the same way.”

The opportunity for a trans actor to be a series regular comes far and few in between. For Smith, the character of Paul Strickland allowed him the ability to portray a full trans story. He provided a glimpse into remnants of his life experience and opened the world up to a trans male character’s story beyond typical sensationalism.

Without the chance to view the world through a perspective that isn't typically seen, what is the purpose of a character? These transgender actors share a common goal: to pursue their profession despite obstacles posed by societal norms, with the objective of performing and storytelling through acting.