Today, the creators and cast of Transparent came together to condemn President Trump and his Twitter-announced decision to ban trans people from serving in the military. “To our trans community members serving in the military and to transgender veterans,” the crew wrote in the statement, “we work in solidarity with you and will continue fighting and creating art for our community’s well-being and future.” The words came paired with a new trailer for season four of the show, which will track Maura (Jeffrey Tambor) as she reconciles her Jewish faith and trans identity by embarking on a trip to Israel with her family.
While Maura is played by a cisgender male actor, Transparent — which explores the nuances of transitioning and the effects it has on trans individuals and their families — does a lot to increase trans representation. According to a GLAAD 2016 report, there are only three trans characters on broadcast television, six on cable, and seven on original streaming programs. Out of those 16 characters, only four are trans men. This dearth of representation exists despite the US trans population doubling to over 1.4 million in the past decade.
“Sharing this work amidst President Trump’s continued assault on the transgender community is painful,” the Transparent crew continued. “We are outraged that he announced in a tweet that transgender people would not be allowed to serve ‘in any capacity’ in the U.S. military. It is reprehensible to deny an estimated 15,000 current trans service members, and 134,000 trans veterans, the dignity, respect, and safety that they deserve.”
Season four of Transparent will premiere on Amazon Prime on September 22. You can read the full statement calling for action against Trump’s ban here.
Credits
Text André-Naquain Wheeler
Screenshot via YouTube