Transgender character on soap opera

[Sherrie Z]

Transgender character on the soap opera "All My Children"

For several months All My Children has had a running storyline about a M2F transgender character, coming out and beginning transition ... and she is getting very close (possibly romantically) with a long-standing lesbian character on the program ... AMC is doing what I feel is a great job of educating and exploring the issues ... including an episode where Zoe (the transgender character) attended a transgender support group meeting. The support group scenes were filmed with actual transgender persons, and were improvised, not scripted ... very thoughtful and moving.

I was wondering if anyone else here is following this storyline?

[BruceChris]

But isn't this, in a sense, preserving the facade of heterosexuality, by pairing a charactor who is nominally female, with one who was originally male?

I support the general idea of getting education out there, but probably 95% of the viewers are women, most of whom are light years ahead of most guys.

(I can't wait until this charactor makes his>her appearance on "The Sopranos")

Just what message(s) are being sent here?

P&L, BC

[Sherrie Z]

But isn't this, in a sense, preserving the facade of heterosexuality, by pairing a charactor who is nominally female, with one who was originally male?

Just what message(s) are being sent here?


Very good questions, BC!

Here's my take so far, having followed the story closely ... and not that I need to defend every decision AMC has made with this storyline ... but they have addressed that issue too in various scenes ... by the way, AMC has a history of pioneering on many social issues, usually doing a pretty good job, and in this case, they worked closely with GLAAD in the interests of portraying the transgender experience accurately and with sensitivity.

The transgender character makes it clear that she was never actually "originally male" ... but was female all along, and had known so since she was very young ... it was only her body that was male ... when she comes out, she makes very clear that she, like the lesbian character, is a female attracted to other females. There have been many scenes directly addressing and confronting the issue of the potential couple being seen, in a way, as a hetero couple ... some serious scenes, and some with humor ... very clearly making those distinctions, and thankfully, showing the viewers that this is very much NOT a boy-girl relationship. Over the years, AMC has also shown this lesbian character in relationships with several non-trans female characters. (You might have seen press coverage several years ago of the famous "first lesbian kiss" on this soap opera ... that involved the same actress discussed here.)

The lesbian character ("Bianca") is a long-standing and very well liked character ... she is often the voice of reason and sensitivity in the crazy world of a soap opera setting ... and pairing her with the "controversial new character" actually lends something positive ... the transgender character ("Zoe") is, at least for now, fully integrated into the program, taken seriously, and is associated with one of the most loved characters on the program.

Of course, this is still a soap opera ... and there are always some over-the-top unrealistic elements ... and this storyline is no different in that sense ... but overall, I feel that AMC has done a good job of portraying the issues faced by transgender persons ... not that I'm an expert ... I'm hoping to hear from more Soulforce people on this ... especially any transgender persons here who may also be watching AMC ...

Meanwhile, I've been in touch with one of the participants from the support group scenes, and she gives a very positive report ... and I also checked a popular transgender website's discussion of AMC, and though there were some mixed comments, especially as the storyline first began, it seemed the overall feeling was quite positive about the storyline and Zoe's portrayal.

AMC also hired an actor (Jeffrey Carlson) who would have the sensitivity and skills to do a great job. The actor portraying Zoe is a graduate of Juilliard (he was featured in a PBS "American Masters" episode), and a very successful Broadway actor/singer, recently co-starring with Sally Field ... he's also an experienced Shakespearean actor, he's done stage work in London ... and he'll be taking a break from AMC this summer to star in Hamlet with the Shakespeare Theater Company in Washington DC.

[BruceChris]

Actually, I am FAR more conversant with trans people, than with soap operas. I never seem to get ANYTHING out of soaps, while I have lived with a some m2f women myself, and one of our local churches now has a f2m associate pastor.

I even once met an m2f lesbian, accepted into the local lesbian community, who had a faster motorcycle than I did, AND was a better mechanic. Fortunately, living in contact with the gay community does help one shed gender stereotypes, and besides, A. was one hell of a woman.

I like your careful, and thorough explanation and update. I wish we could get it out to many rednecks and homophobes out there, but they would be the LAST people to watch, which is why I suggested the Sopranos, lol.

Pablo, on an other thread, nailed it, when he said:

We guys do not mature more slowly. Some of us never mature at all. :D

I guess I might suggest that AMC tries to do with a storyline pretty much the same thing that Oprah does with interviews.

P&L, BC

[Sherrie Z]

Thanks very much for the kind words, and thoughtful response ... what's really funny here is my speaking in public about a soap opera ... sort of like "true confessions" that I even watch one ... I'm fine discussing controversial political and spiritual issues, but I'm self-conscious about saying that I watch a soap opera, LOL ...

I'm familiar with this one in particular because I started watching AMC when I was in high school ... and then, only because a very intelligent and sensitive friend of mine kept talking about it ... I was avoiding it because I did not have a positive impression of soap operas, but she made it sound like fun to watch, so finally, sometime during it's first year (1970), I started watching ... at the time it was considered to be sort of the top-of-the-line soap opera, attracting kind of a not-typical soap opera audience, whatever that means ... I've followed it off and on all these years, and was somewhat losing interest lately until the transgender character came along. It's one of the best storylines they've ever run, with one of the best actors, in my opinion at least ...

At any rate, I appreciate your support for transpeople ... and LGBT people in general ... I saw on another thread that according to Zerbie, you especially identify with lesbians, while she especially identifies with gay men ... I'm like Zerbie, identifying with gay men ... for that matter, I identify with anyone who appreciates differences, and human variations, and knows that this is something to honor and celebrate!

And I like your suggestion about the Sopranos, LOL ... : )

Thanks again,

Sherrie

PS There's another soap opera that I watch ... it's on weekly on a local PBS station here ... it's called "Eastenders" ... I watch it mostly so I can listen to the working class British accents ... I'm such an Anglophile ... : )