Trans Fetishization in Entertainment Pt. 1

I recently had a discussion with a close friend that began when my friend mentioned the character Alysia Yeoh, who is a transgender character within the Batgirl stand-alone comic series. This character, created by Gail Simone, is Batgirl/Barbara Gordon's roommate - and her unveiling as transgender was met with a wide array of acclaim and criticism. I personally was happy, because Alysia was presented as a "normal" character, that is, one without super-human abilities or magical powers: she did not "become a woman" through magical intervention, and she was a down-to-earth character who was not hyper-sexualized consistently. When sharing this with my friend, we began to discuss other trans characters in popular culture (particularly Poison from the video game Final Fight), and the pros/cons of the concept "positive discrimination."

Before delving too deeply, we have to look at popular tropes. In television, film, comics, and video games, trans characters are becoming increasingly-popular, which is a direct result of transgender identities and bodies becoming more accepted and normalized within our culture. However, this kind of progress has both positive and negative qualities that become more apparent as time goes on.

What is important to note when we are looking at something like a comic book, a video game, or an anime/manga that contains a transgender character is the source material's method of handling the trans character, both in terms of their physicality and their identity. With internet fads like "Rule 34" and "The Third Law of Gender Bending," people often mistake the swapping of genders in certain roles for sexual exploitation as equatable to transness, which is far from the case. In fact, when a trans character appears in something, my first reaction is excitement at my marginalized community being recognized at all - but, more often than not, I am let down because I consistently see trans characters placed in hypersexual roles, catering specifically to the desires of fan-service, or being implemented as coy air-heads that candidly display wanton sexual content for cheap peeks at gendered bodies; they are rarely independent, intelligent characters of substance that do not fulfill painful gender norms/stereotypes, or beg to be gawked at by hormonal teen boys. This representation ranges from androgynous characters, to gender non-conforming, and up through the spectrum to those who are fully-transitioned. In many cases, the character's body is made a spectacle - an object for the audience to stare at in awe and mystery, wondering "what could be under that skirt?" and "How do we know if that's a real girl?" In several instances, the character is openly transgender, with terminology being used that facilitates invalidation of trans identity: "she was born a boy," "he wants to be a girl," etc.

It is largely recognized that this fetishization and exoticizing of trans bodies feeds into the harmful belief that all and all non-hetero and non-cis activities, experiences, bodies, or identities must inherently be sexual. For instance, take the video game Final Fight - in it, the cisgender fighter (in this case, Rose's) attack moves are boring, and painfully repetitious: "Soul Reflect," "Soul Spiral," "Soul Spark," "Soul Satellite." Juxtapose these attacks against the transgender character, Poison's, attack names: "Whip of Love," "Kissed by a Goddess," "Love Me Tender," "Aeolus Edge," "Poison Kiss." The trans character's attacks are sexualized, focusing highly on the desire and urges that she evokes within others. Likewise, the character sprites are drastically different, with Rose generally covered up (at least a little), and Poison largely in a state of undress or skimpy attire that reveals her highly-commodified female form.

This treatment of trans bodies is exploitative, and often implemented entirely for shock value and fetishism that appeals to audience members who have incorrect preconceived notions of what it means to be transgender. This often involves the transwomen being highly-stylized, exaggeratedly-femme - but with their penises intact. Now, I know that surgery and hormones are not necessary for someone's trans identity to be "valid," but the general public may not be aware of that, and therefore views these "chicks with dicks" as fantasy sex objects - a sickening trope that the porn industry facilitates through terminology such as "shemale," "ladyboy," "trap," and "tranny," which all invalidate transwomen as actual women and instead hold them as being men masquerading as women, cross-dressers, transvestites, drag queens, or gay men in disguise to lure unsuspecting men for sex (see also: the Japanese "new-half" porn market that sprang up in the 1980s and focused on transwomen in the process of transition).

These are of course stereotypes that the trans community has been fending off for decades. By doing this, the creators objectify transwomen the same way that they objectify ciswomen - but there is the added humiliation of genital disparities thrown into the mix. In the USA, this trope is almost always played for laughs, albeit very harmful ones: the transwomen are often the object of the male characters' lust or desire, until a "big reveal" that exposes the genitalia or assigned sex of the trans character in question. This quickly turns the trans character into an object of revulsion and disgust, and often leaves her as the brunt of cruel jokes and barbs that reinforce transphobic sentiments and the misconception that transwomen are not "authentic" women. In foreign markets, such as Japan, transwomen are flagrantly fetishized, almost always depicted as hyper-femmes with penises. They are also generally depicted as being nymphomaniacs, yandere villains (that is to say, lovestruck and infatuated women who become violent when their advances are spurned or discovered to be unrequited), or as in relationships exclusively with other LGBTQ characters.

To the average person, the inclusion of transgender characters may seem revolutionary and like a sure sign of progress - and, don't get me wrong - in many ways, it is. This new exposure allows creators in the entertainment industry to explore the gender spectrum, push boundaries with new and innovative characters, and expose the audience to new concepts of what it means to be a woman, and the many ways that one can -be- a woman. When done with sensitivity, it helps to dispel harmful myths that transgender women are sex objects created for male pleasure, and helps to erase stigmas about gendered bodies.

And yet, this positive discrimination is certainly two-sided: while managing to expand the freedoms of creators and the possibilities for characters, the representation of transwomen as sex objects and fetishized fantasy figures only creates exposure, with non-malicious intent, that nonetheless reinforces transphobic stereotypes, stigmas, and attitudes. It seems that, even with such progressive exposure, the video game and comic industry - which are largely dominated by male staff members - masquerades their inherent sexism behind smoke and mirrors geared to make their inclusion of trans characters seem helpful, justified, and positive. In reality, it largely is only helping to legitimize the male gaze in the entertainment industry - that is, women (both trans and cis) as the voyueristic and fetishistic image that is created only to be looked at, without serving a conceivable purpose or role that matches the importance of the surrounding males.

However, as more women take charge, such as Gail Simone, we can expect, and hope, to see a revolution in the entertainment industry that provides us with trans characters that are not only dynamic and realistic, but also entertaining and representative of the various ways that femininity can be expressed.

If you liked this, consider reading the second section, in which I unpack trans representation specifically in video games and comics, and give a comprehensive list of some of the most important trans figures in games and comics! Coming soon.