How we're portrayed in movies & tv shows

[LelaK]

Are there any in which crossdressers have been portrayed realistically?

Since we cover a very broad spectrum, I suppose no single work can portray us thoroughly, but are there some that have done a good job nonetheless?

I've heard a little about Transparent and saw a brief video clip. Does it continue to be realistic? Does it give helpful insights? Who created that series?

CDs seem to have mostly been portrayed in the earlier years for humor and novelty. Then there was Geraldine. Flip Wilson created Geraldine as what? a man's impression of a strong woman? Was Flip a CD offstage?

Some shows used crossdressing to show some of the differences between male and female culture, I think. Maybe that shows that a lot of people have some curiosity about what's it's like to be the other sex. I'm guessing that's more true of men, but maybe women have that curiosity just as much.

This is trivial, but I happened to discover that George Hamilton crossdressed for a scene in Zorro, the Gay Blade. I hadn't realized that before. Here's an image:
http://thebacklot.mtvnimages.com/uploads/2012/01/blade1.jpg?quality=0.7. I only remembered before that he played the gay and straight Zorro.

[ReluctantDebutant]

I would say the brother from the Drew Carey Show. He would just cross-dress now and again and was just a regular guy.

[Alice Torn]

A lot of comedy shows have had episodes, where one of the stars, puts on women's clothes, in an episode, from early comedy teams in the 1930's, to the present, but always in a poke fun at, comical way. I can't think of any that were not, other than the movies everyone knows about. RD, Oh, i never saw that Drew Carey episode. Chalk up one! Here is the Mr Ed episode, with Wilbur, (Alan Young) toward the end of the show, dressing up, as a lady, in order to infiltrate a college sorority, to rescue his horse. On Youtube, "Sorority House." http"//goo.gl/67QGK5 I hope the address works this time! He looked pretty convincing! Sometimes, when i seldom get out, i feel a little like an undercover agent! Oh, the late John Ritter, in the 1970's show "Three's Company" occasionally dressed up, for various reason, but, he was not portraying a regular dresser.

[BillieJoEllen]

There was one movie that came out in the early seventies; I Want What I Want. Not the best written or acted but I thought the story line was very much what could happen in real life.

[Lorileah]

The show "Transparent" stays with the TS theme pretty well but the whole show has become disjointed and hard to keep up with. But i need to ask a question

Are there any in which crossdressers have been portrayed realistically? Transparent is about a transsexual. So was Crying Games and TransAmerica. If you want something that shows a crossdresser in a real setting I would be hard pressed to find an example. I think Billy Crystal in SOAP was.

[ReluctantDebutant]

The roll was Steve Carey according to IMDB he was in 72 episodes. He appeared cross-dressed in a lot of the episodes. Again he just played Drew's older brother and he just happen to cross-dress. Haven't seen any roll like it since.

[LelaK]

Transparent is about a transsexual. So was Crying Games and TransAmerica. If you want something that shows a crossdresser in a real setting I would be hard pressed to find an example. I think Billy Crystal in SOAP was.
An online dictionary says a transsexual is "a person who strongly identifies with the opposite sex and may seek to live as a member of this sex especially by undergoing surgery and hormone therapy to obtain the necessary physical appearance (as by changing the external sex organs)"
In that case I'm transsexual and so are many other CDs who haven't taken hormones or had surgery.

[Alicia S]

Realistic in bits...
Just Like A Woman -a 1992 movie starring Julie Walters and Adrian Pasdar

How good is it??? It scores 6.4/10 on IMDB from 276 ratings.

[Billie Jean]

No one mentioned Dallas Buyer's Club or Sons of Anarchy. Both had trans women. Billie Jean

[Kate T]

The problem I think is what role does a CD character play in the storytelling? If they are an incidental character then it takes too long to really establish motivation and back story and if they are a central character then the CD'ing is likely to come across as either inconsequential to the story or it will undermine trust in the character.

That being said there is stuff out there, it just isn't mainstream western society. The closest you will get is probably Pedro Almodovar's films (spanish film make probably most famous for being the driving force behind Penelope Cruz and Antonia Banderas' careers). Recently there was the 2nd Sydney Transgender International Film Festival (yes, the pun is deliberate :)) and also in australia there was a long running comedy show know as "The Aunty Jack show" in which the main character was a moustached crossdressing pantomime performing truck driver. At least it's better than a serial killer aka Silence of the Lambs :p

[Julogden]

As others have said, crossdressers aren't often portrayed in media. It's usually drag queens and/or transexuals.

The character of Drew Carey's brother is the only example that I know of where a crossdresser is represented pretty accurately as well as in a positive manner, at least concerning American shows.

The British film that's been mentioned, Just Like a Woman, is also very good, although it gets a bit unrealistic with the plot twist toward the end, IMO.

Carol

[justmetoo]

Yeah, Drew Carey's brother, as portrayed in the Drew Carey Show, is the best example I know of. He was a normal (in fact pretty much the most normal character on the whole show! :lol: ) hetero guy who crossdressed, nicely and classic, not in drag, and not for laughs. I don't recall it even being all that much of a plot point. Seemed like it was mostly just part of who the character was, like lots of character traits of many characters in various media. Mostly just another trait, maybe sometimes part of a plot or subplot or some such. All in all, a positive and realistic portrayal.

[AllieSF]

Follow this link to Wikipedia for a very long list of film and television characters have been depicted as crossdressers. I suspect a few may have been TS also. I would have copied the list and pasted it here, but it is way too long. There is not much detail for each instance. However, you probably can Google each one and find it all. As I expected a lot of the roles are humorous ones. Happy reading.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-dressing_in_film_and_television

PS: Here is another Wikipedia link for Transgender characters in film.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_transgender_characters_in_film_and_televis ion

[Sometimes Steffi]

What about Klinger on MASH?

[docrobbysherry]

I live near Hollywood. And, lerarned at an early age the way they exaggerate and twist everything to fit their story lines. It's NOT just us, it's everyone and everything! So, don't take it personal.

Speaking of that, did anyone see the CSI story about Rubber Dolls recently? They actually presented rubber dolls in a non-judgemental way. On the other hand, they had them living studio writer's imaginationed lives and doing things dolls don't do! Google CSI rubber dolls and watch what and who pops up!:D

[Bunty]

Realistic in bits...
Just Like A Woman -a 1992 movie starring Julie Walters and Adrian Pasdar

How good is it??? It scores 6.4/10 on IMDB from 276 ratings.


The British film that's been mentioned, Just Like a Woman, is also very good, although it gets a bit unrealistic with the plot twist toward the end, IMO.


Agreed.

The full movie may be viewed online (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9N6fG7OtWE).

Also on Youtube in full is another positive movie (albeit with a transgender rather than a cross-dressing theme) made in the UK around the same time: "Different for Girls" (1996) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHwiLR_NBjo).

"Ma vie en rose" (1997) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119590/combined) is not to be missed.

I have not seen it, but I believe "Breakfast on Pluto" (2005) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411195/combined) treats the subject with respect (It's been sitting for far too long in a mountain of DVDs to be viewed. I really must do something about that this weekend!)

Don't get me started on "Dressed to Kill" (1980), much as I admire Angie Dickinson's style! :daydreaming:

[JMO2]

I remember the strongest and most convincing movie I saw was one that I bought in video. I still have it hidden somewhere, kicking around up on the 3rd floor of my house. It was called "Glen or Glenda". It portrays crossdressers as crossdressers and doesn't put a different kind of label on them.
It also shows the attachment that crossdressers not only have to their clothes but to their "significant others" too.
The movie was put out in the 1950s and was more like a documentary in some respects. It is probably on youtube somewhere if you look for it.:D
JMO2

[Nadya]

Not to harp too much on the Drew Carey show topic but it seems like the only really good representation of crossdressers. They had one episode in which his brother wanted to work in the department store and but they portrayed him as a normal person. I guess when I saw the show originally, I didn't realize how fascinated I was by it. I guess the show was ahead of it's time.

[sometimes_miss]

I loved the Drew Carey show, realistic in so many ways. However, the crossdressing part of Steve's character was written out of the plots after a year or so; probably because it wasn't written as something funny. It was a comedy after all. Then they focused on Steve's relationship with Mimi, and I don't remember crossdressing ever mentioned again.

[Beverley Sims]

We are usually portrayed as someone that fits in with the show that is airing.
A comedy will portray us quite differently to a drama.

[Teresa]

Lelak,
Some twenty years ago UK tv featured a drama titled, " A little bit of lippy !" It portrayed on ordinary guy who was a CDer, going through the stages of his wife catching him, to being made to leave his home and finally a reconciliation and coming out to his family.
The storyline was so well written it convinced me that coming out to my wife was the right thing to do ! It didn't go according to the script but at least I still had a roof over my head ! It opened the flood gates to me but my wife didn't respond so it ended in a downward spiral after feeling rejected and unloved !
A recent conversation with my wife recently made it fairly clear that separation then may have been the best solution for both of us,but we hung in to our marriage for the sake of our children and business ! We have recently told both children that a separation could still happen for the sake of my wife's and my own happiness !

[SandraInHose]

I've never watched the Drew Carey show, but over the years the overwhelming majority of CD'ers in TV and film were mostly tranny hookers or that odd uncle/relative. In other words, never made to look as a positive thing. My wife, coming from a large family full of macho alpha males, would always utter something negative whenever a CD or TV appeared on screen, and that is one reason why I kept my dressing a secret as long as I did (was 17 yrs into our marriage when she found out...now 11 yrs later and still dealing with DA/DT for the most part).

Nowadays, she might ask if I like their outfit or if I would like to look like that. I'll answer her but I can't show my enthusiasm too much!

[Annaliese]

There would have to be a Hundred show to show all the sides to CDing And TS. Not one show can do Justus to all of us

[Karen62]

There were occasional references to the character of Jack crossdressing on Will & Grace, but it was sporadic and it didn't truly seem to be in character for him, instead just an occasional throwaway joke (about his wearing of pantyhose or of stretching out Grace's panties). However, in one of the early seasons they had a Halloween episode in which Jack convince Karen (love her!) to go with him on a Halloween evening gay bar hop. She became instantly popular on the street while Jack was ignored, but the plot twist was that she was mistaken for a perfect drag queen! Funny show.

[Krisi]

Anyone ever watched the "Family Guy" episode "Quagmire's Dad"? Quagmire's father comes to town, they all decide he seems gay, then he undergoes a sex change operation and Brian, being out of town and not knowing about these developments, meets her in a bar and ends up spending the night with her.

Do a google search for more information.

[Leah Lynn]

At least Kurt Sutter used a male to portray Venus, on Sons Of Anarchy. Not a true transsexual, but not a GG, for a change. In fact Venus became one of the best loved characters by fans.

For too many years, TG/TS women roles have been played by GG's.

And, I don't remember which series it was now, but Jeffery Tambor played a lawyer. In one episode he showed up in court dressed enfemme.

Leah