I’m so loving all of the gender queer and cis people deciding what is and is not valid PR for trans women, but don’t know the difference between transsexual people and other transgender individuals. Transsexual people actually DO conform to the gender binary. We’ve just switched poles. Conflating that with other forms of gender expression along the spectrum in between is what confuses, rather than educates the general public. A transvestite is not a TS, for instance. It’s not semantics. There is an ENORMOUS difference in identity and gender presentation between TS and other TG people, such as TVs, and it needs to be respected.

The most important thing to remember is that, ostensibly, a TV is a male sexed, male gendered person who wears women’s clothes. Note that transvestitism in females is considered normal. A TS lives in the gender opposite that of which is expected of someone of their birth sex, transitioning their physical body to match. And since America is largely uneducated on the topic, the casting of a man to play a role of questionable gender identity is counterproductive to the cause of extending positive PR to trans people. Using an actual trans actor instead of playing a man off as a TS or being clear about the character being a TV would have cleared up the confusion pretty immediately.

That said, I think this movie is thriving off of this controversy and the public is being trolled for maximum media exposure. Yes, there are Rayons out there in the world, I’d be remiss not to admit that, but the continued representation of trans people as masculine, drugged-out prostitutes and the like while being just as multi-dimensional as everybody else isn’t helping anyone but Hollywood.

Hooray for Hollywood.