Editorial: Jeffrey Tambor’s Emmy speech shows need for transgender representation

While accepting his Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series Sunday night, Jeffrey Tambor — who plays a transgender woman in the Amazon series “Transparent” — decided to take a stand for the community he represents on television.

“To you people out there, you producers and network owners, and agents and you creative sparks: please give transgender talent a chance,” Tambor said. “Give them auditions. Give them their story. Do that. And also, one more thing: I would not be unhappy were I the last cisgender male to play a female transgender [person] on television.”

Tambor’s demand for greater representation follows years of debate surrounding presentation of transgendered people by cisgendered actors. But, as Tambor notes, this is more a problem with the people behind cameras than the ones in front of them.

Jared Leto’s 2013 Oscar-winning performance as a trans woman with HIV in “Dallas Buyers Club” and Eddie Redmayne’s role as Lili Elbe in last year’s “The Danish Girl,” while drawing critical praise from Hollywood, earned sharp critiques from the LGBTQ+ community for their casting decisions. Their ability to perform was not in question, but why they starred instead of actual trans women went unanswered.

Not every role needs to be portrayed by a person fitting the character’s exact description — that would somewhat diminish the task of acting. At the same time, shows focused on the perspectives of marginalized communities have an obvious interest in involving genuine perspectives. “Transparent,” despite its cis lead, at least has a writing staff filled with trans people. While the character may be in the hands of someone who has described the role as a continual learning experience, the people behind his character are educated by self-experience.

Most other projects attempting to present trans characters probably can’t say the same.

If the message of films and television series portraying trans experiences is to support the larger community, it’s a bit odd that producers don’t start by giving members of that community actual on-screen, money-making opportunities. If the intent of creating narratives that break stigmas is to validate the existence of the trans community without tokenizing them, then spotlighting actual members of that community should be an obvious decision.

Television, as opposed to film, has made small leaps in the past ten years making casts more representative of marginalized communities. Producer and writer Shonda Rhimes, best known for “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal,” has long been known for her diversity in casting.

Other producers and writers, including Ryan Murphy of “Glee” and “American Horror Story,” have included disabled and non-cisgender actors in their casts, but the mainstream movie industry has been slow to follow suit.

Benedict Cumberbatch’s trainwreck portrayal of an androgynous supermodel in “Zoolander 2,” and other roles that position men dressed in women’s clothing as a point of humor are embarrassing steps back for any progressive strides made in the film industry.

And let’s not forget that trans people don’t even need to just portray transgender characters — producers can cast them as any role they please.

It takes more than a wig and makeup to accurately present the lives of trans women. Tambor has succeeded with a nuanced and emotionally substantive portrayal of one experience, and his being honored at the Emmys shows people are willing and interested in trans stories. Now, it’s up to Hollywood to provide them, authenticity included.

Now that we’ve seen what meaningful cis portrayals of trans identities look like, it’s time to get out of the way. Let’s move beyond artistic messages supporting trans rights and start actually including them on the silver screen.