Elliot Hilden, managing editor

In a recent interview with GQ, Hunter Schafer talked about her experience as one of the most famous trans people in Hollywood right now. Schafer stepped into the spotlight at 17 years old when she was the youngest plaintiff in a case against North Carolina’s House Bill 2. This was a bill that would ban trans people from using bathrooms that don’t align with their assigned sex at birth. Activism pushed her into stardom, where she stepped into modeling and eventually her leading role in HBO’s drama series “Euphoria.” Her character, Jules Vaughn, is trans, a crucial part of her character. 

She was continuously offered trans roles, but realized that they weren’t the roles she wanted, and said that it was a “privilege” to be able to turn them down. In a quote to GQ, Schafer said, “I don’t want to be [reduced to] that, and I find it ultimately demeaning to me and what I want to do.” She said that she was “sick of talking about it.” She felt that after her high school activism, and playing Jules, it is a privilege for her to be able to “decenter” her trans identity. “I worked so hard to get to where I am, […] and now I just want to be a girl and finally move on.” 

The idea of being stuck in a box is nothing new to trans people and I think it is awesome that Hunter Schafer has the level of status to break out of that. It’s incredibly frustrating to see trans actors forced into the same stories time and time again. While I do believe that having trans people in mainstream media is SO important, I don’t want every trans character to be the cookie cutter “dysphoria-transphobia-depression” narrative that seems ever prevalent in media today. I don’t think it is necessary for every trans character to have an entire trans story arc. A character can just be trans without being the “trans character.”

Of course, this does open up the discussion of casting a role that is going to be the “trans character.” If you are creating a show and a character is going to, no matter what, have a trans arc, who would be cast in that role? I believe that it should always go to a trans actor. I have almost never seen a trans character played by a cisgender actor that was done well. There is a specific connection to the material that a trans actor has that a cis actor can’t replicate. While there have been a handful of trans characters played by cis actors that I have liked, it is nearly impossible to handle the intricacies of the character in a way that still feels authentic. 

I think it is really important to cast trans actors as trans characters, but don’t only cast them as trans characters. There is so much more to trans people than their gender, and mainstream media should represent that. There are so many characters being written and cast and created every day, so it’s not okay that trans actors, of which there are plenty, are fighting for the rare opportunity to play “token trans character #3.” It is harmful, reductive and makes the world a less inclusive place.