The representation of a group of people in publicly accessible media may be the most important component in the way that group is viewed. This is especially true for transgender people. Because of the fact that the amount of trans people that exist is so small, roughly 0.5 percent of adults in the U.S. identify as transgender and about 1.4 percent of youth in the U.S. do, the representation that the average American sees on screen about trans people may be their only interaction with them.

The 1994 film, “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” starring Jim Carrey, features a scene at the end of the film where the main character scrubs his mouth out, vomits several times, and uses an entire tube of toothpaste to brush his teeth, all because he kissed a woman who he now thought was born male. While this movie received bad reviews from critics when it was released, that scene continues to be referenced in social media and has made an indelible mark on the minds of the public with its representation of how to react to being romantic with a transgender woman.

While there’s a long history of male comedians cross-dressing on-screen just for a joke, such humor has done more to marginalize trans people than promote acceptance. Some of the worst offenders to the perception of trans people are the films from the 1990s, like “Ace Ventura,” that reinforce stereotypes surrounding transgender people.

This is even more clear in one of the most popular movies of the ‘90s, “Silence of the Lambs,” which focuses on a serial killer who cross-dresses as a woman and whose entire goal is to steal a girl’s skin. “Silence of the Lambs” injected the idea that trans people are dangerous into the public conscience, an idea that heavily continues to linger and affects everything for trans people’s lives from bathroom spaces and sports to work and marriage. Perpetuating the idea that any specific group of people not only are dangerous but also murder young women is going to be incredibly harmful to the image of that group for an extremely long time.

Nearing the late ‘90s and early 2000s, the fight for LGBTQ+ rights was picking up major speed and this was very much reflected in the change in queer media at the time. Shows like “The L Word,” “Will and Grace,” and “Glee” started premiering in the late ‘90s and early to mid-2000s. The iconic Oscar-winning film, “Brokeback Mountain,” also came out in 2005, showcasing the fact that straight actors can play gay characters with empathy. These shows and films showcase queer characters front and center, not just side characters that are the butt of every joke.

The most noticeable progress was made in the 2010s with a sharp increase in the representation of trans women in TV shows like “Pose” in 2018, “Transparent” in 2014, and “Orange is the New Black” in 2013. While monumental for the acceptance of trans women in American society, there was a section of the trans community that was sorely lacking content, transgender men.

When you search up lists of media, tv shows or otherwise, with trans representation you’re most likely to see shows featuring trans women and not trans men. Wikipedia’s list of “transgender characters in television” contains 173 characters but only 37 of them are trans male or masculine characters. A devastating 21 percent. While Wikipedia can be not the most reliable source for academic or professional research, it is typically the first place people check for general information like lists of show recommendations. There are a handful of recent shows featuring and even starring trans male characters or actors but it’s not nearly to the level of representation given to trans women characters. With this comes negative effects, trans women are typically at the forefront of trans issues like the infamous “bathroom bills” and trans participation in sports.

With the current political climate of the U.S. trans people are fearing for their futures, how can trans representation help or hurt that future?

If there were to be an up-tick in the positive representation of trans people in media it would make a dent in the horribly negative stereotypes and misinformation that’s being pumped out by some news outlets on a regular basis. People underestimate the level of effect that negative portrayals in media can have on the public opinion on a minority group.

The future of trans representation seems to be trending toward higher levels of better quality representation but this is being interrupted by the current political climate.

Positive Trans Representation in Media:

Heartstopper (2022):
A wholesome show about two British teenage boys falling in love and growing alongside each other. This show has a trans secondary main character named Elle, who is a teen trans girl who is best friends with the main character Charlie. While her identity is an incredibly important part of who she is, it’s not her main storyline at all. When we’re introduced to her in the show her transition is over and she has other things to worry about, like finding friends at her new school.

The Umbrella Academy (2019):
A dramatic superhero TV show based on the comic series of the same name is about a family of adopted siblings who were all born on the same day by different mothers, and they all have their own set of powers. This show features a main character named Viktor who transitions to male in the third season of the show. This wasn’t a planned event but the actor Elliot Page came out as a trans man before filming for the third season began and started his own transition. Rather than continuing to pretend to be a woman on-screen the writers wrote his identity into the character. While it’s a plot point for Viktor’s character it doesn’t overtake the main storyline by any means and is not the focus of the show.

Tales of the City (2019):
This Netflix limited series is a continuation of the 1993 original series which focuses on a housing development owned by a lesbian woman and the unique, mostly queer, characters that live there. The 2019 version of the show features a nearly all-queer set of characters, including a trans male character named Jake Rodriguez. His transition happened before the show began and his character’s story mostly focuses on Jake’s interactions with his girlfriend, who is struggling with her boyfriend’s new identity as they used to be a lesbian couple. While this is heavily dependent on Jake’s transness, it’s extremely well-done and clearly well-informed on the interactions between LGBTQ+ people.

Negative Trans Representation in Media:
3 Generations (2015):
This film is about a young trans boy named Ray trying to explore his new identity as a trans guy and get his family to accept him. The concept is the best part of this film. The fact that the main trans male character is played by a cisgendered actress pretending to be trans is almost laughable at how terrible it is as representation. It’s a surprise to learn the year this film was released as it feels like it was released in the 80’s or 90’s based on how misguided it is.

Adam (2019):
This film follows the main character Adam, a young cis straight guy who ends up befriending a large group of queer people while trying to impress a girl he likes. He eventually finds out that the girl is a lesbian but she shows interest in him when she wrongfully thinks he’s a trans man. Everything about this movie is horrible representation, from Adam pretending to be trans and never really learning that it’s not okay to the lesbian main character dating a trans man because “you’re pretty much a girl.” It’s making every wrong point that it possibly could make.

Emilia Pérez (2024):
This movie-musical follows a Mexican cartel leader who transitions into a woman in order to not be found. This movie swept the 2024 Golden Globes winning four awards including Best Foreign Language Film and Best Song. This movie paints trans women as liars and cheats and reinforces the horrible idea that people who transition are doing it for nefarious reasons. While maybe in the future it won’t be as difficult to create a story similar to this one without fumbling the quality of representation, the film industry apparently isn’t quite there yet.