Why The Umbrella Academy’s Viktor Hargreeves Matters: A Brief Analysis of Trans Representation in Television
With the new season of Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy being released June 22nd, Elliot Page has announced that his character in the TV show will be transitioning from Vanya to Viktor Hargreeves. In his Instagram post, Page re-introduces his character as Viktor Hargreeves. Upon Page’s announcement, the character’s new gender identity within the show was widely celebrated, both because the change helped to reflect Page’s own journey with gender identity, and also because of the historic moment it represented to let a character transition alongside their actor. In fact, the transgender community has a disheartening past of experiencing poor representation in television and media, so this comes as a welcomed joy. Current shows that represent the trans community have been working to undo these false narratives, focusing more on their personal journeys and their gender in more nuanced, meaningful ways. But progress doesn’t come without drawbacks, and there are still issues to be resolved within modern representation.
In this article, I plan to share a very compressed analysis of a very expansive identity and field of study, so prepare for a lot of explanation. I would also like to share a disclaimer. I am writing this article as a straight, cisgender woman. My article is not intended to reflect myself as an expert on the topic, or speak on behalf of the community.
According to Planned Parenthood, sex is the label you’re assigned at birth (male or female) by doctors based on a combination of hormonal, chromosomal, and biological factors. Those who do not fit the usual definitions of male or female anatomy can be described as intersex. Gender, on the other hand, is based on societal expectations about behavior, characteristics, and thoughts. Less about genitalia, gender is a set of binary (meaning composed of two different ways of being, man or woman) social and cultural standards for how individuals should conduct themselves, and this is also assigned to someone at birth in correlation to their sex. Gender identity has more to do with internal feelings of gender belongingness and an expression of that identity through appearance and behavior. Cisgender people are those whose gender identity align with the sex and gender they were assigned at birth. Transgender people are people who do not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. Transphobia refers to prejudice and discrimination against transgender individuals.
Now comes the problem of the gender binary, or the strict separation between societal expectations of what is considered “man” and “woman”. Cisnormativity is the normalization of the gender binary that dictates the majority of gender expression. This strict binary can be very damaging and limiting for those who do not identify within the gender binary of “man” or “woman,” as their personhood is called into question when they do not perform gender the way that society expects of them to.
The first time a transgender character was on a primetime television show was in 1977 (All That Glitters), and the first time a transgender person was made a daytime regular character was in 2006 (All My Children). Shows representing transgender people often made them caricatures to be mocked, relying on negative stereotypes to entice cisgender audiences. Television’s history of transphobia has resulted in an oversimplification of the characters’ gender identity that tends to overfocus on the procedural and biological aspects of gender, implying that certain gendered traits and body parts need to be changed for someone to fully transition into the “feminine” woman and “masculine” man. These portrayals imply transness is a problem to be solved; that one cannot exist in any in-between, fluid space; and the only resolution is to alter any trait of transness to exist as fully “man” or “woman” according to societal expectations. According to an analysis of transgender representation in U.S. scripted television programs, “this dominant narrative causes concern because it functions as a form of gender policing in which transgender characters exist only to support a…message about tolerance and inclusion rather than challenging cisnormativity or creating a space for genderqueer expression on television”. Up until the past ten years or so, this has been the norm for transgender characters, if they were represented at all.
Current shows representing the trans community have been working to undo these false narratives, focusing more on their personal journeys than their gender. A recent research study did a content analysis of transgender roles in the multiple television shows to demonstrate what negative stereotypes were included, as well as in what ways the series had done a successful job of representing the transgender individuals shown by looking at casting, visibility, identity, embodiment, and social interaction content of the shows. The end result found that the majority of the television shows analyzed had negative and simplistic stereotypes of transgender people across the different categories. However two newer shows, Orange is the New Black and The Fosters, stood out from the rest as both shows presented transgender characters in a more nuanced light and highlighted their development as people at the forefront ahead of their gender identity. However, the researchers stressed the “qualifications for being a subject must first be met before representation can be extended. Transgender people are politically fighting for their right to be subjects and therefore have more complex representations. Critically analyzing representations of (trans)gender representation is one way to help in this fight”. The increased awareness of harmful trans stereotypes as well as the steadily growing variety of transgender depictions in television made the researchers predict improved storylines and treatment of transgender characters in the future. Another study focusing on scripted shows found the quality of characterizations in shows reviewed between 2008-2014 improved greatly from previous iterations, where instances of trans ridicule and violence diminished, while instances that invited viewers to “sympathize with and respect the resiliency of transgender characters,” increased. These changes in characterization, although subtle, are an important step to positive representation and give rise to a cautious optimism about future television programming.
Just as ongoing as the battle for equality in show content, the lack of equality in show casting has been debated because of what it means to the transgender community. Cisgender actors have long been cast in transgender roles. Shows like Pretty Little Liars, Orphan Black, Penny Dreadful, Glee, and Degrassi (the list goes on) all portray cisgender actors as transgender characters, often reinforcing the same stereotypes they’re attempting to bring awareness to. While there’s an argument in Hollywood that actors can “tell any story” they choose, the real question is of whether they should. Transgender roles are already few and far between in the industry, making it hard for transgender actors to find work even with the increasing number of transgender characters being written. When high-profile cisgender actors are cast as transgender characters, this not only reduces the amount of available work for trans actors, but sends the wrong message about transgender people in general. When a cisgender man plays a trans woman, films tend to fetishize womanhood and feminine traits, leaning into the “sad man in drag” stereotype and completely missing the mark (see The Danish Girl). On his blog, transgender author Logan Kisner explains that when an obviously cisgender actor plays a transgender character, audiences aware of the actor’s real-life gender can wind up viewing the character as simply a costumed version of the trans gender they are portraying. This can be seen in Elle Fanning’s portrayal of a young trans man in the early stages of his transition in 3 Generations. Casting a cis woman in the role of a trans man implies trans men are merely women dressed up as men when, in reality, gender identity goes way beyond fashion choice. Although the character Fanning played was in the early stages of his transition and therefore may have looked more like a woman, to cast a ciswoman in a role that could’ve easily been played by a trans man implies one can only be transgender when they’ve fully surgically and biologically transitioned; “before transition, after starting transition, regardless of transition — a trans person is never more or less for their own specific path,” writes Kisner. In this way when, a cisgender woman, for example, is cast in the role of a transgender man, it implies a trans man is “really” a woman, and vice versa.
Recently, cisgender actors and producers have been attempting to remedy this by becoming more self-aware and actively seeking transgender actors to fill transgender roles. That is why having Elliot Page’s character in The Umbrella Academy transition alongside him is so significant, because it represents a real trans man’s experience, and isn’t just written up by a random cisgender screenwriter for “woke” points. Fans of Page and the show like myself can only hope the character’s transition is done well and respectfully.
Awareness is just the first step. Hollywood must take initiative to produce more shows featuring transgender characters to make space for transgender actors to have a prominent place in film and TV. Like I mentioned before, progress doesn’t come without drawbacks, and there are still issues to be resolved within modern depictions. Transmasculine characters still have much less visibility in television as compared to transfeminine characters. Non-binary and genderqueer characters remain even more invisible in television. Although there are many suggestions that the quality of transgender representation will improve over time, the number of shows involving or highlighting transgender characters still remains relatively small in comparison to Hollywood’s massive television industry. Many shows also fail to make any references to the transgender political movement and its significance to the lives and rights of so many. There seems to be a fine line between allowing the character to reflect their communities struggles without making the character’s identity solely about their gender. However, not including reference to the political movement seems to do more harm than good, as it can neglect to show the obstacles that accompany identifying with such a persecuted community.
Overall, the studies concluded that the best approach to navigate trans representation is simply more transgender visibility in general. More visibility equates to more nuance, variety, expression and development of a character throughout their screentime. No single character can encompass all the hardships and joys that come with being transgender, so the only natural conclusion is that there needs to be more transgender roles, so that multiple experiences and dynamics can be affirmed for viewers watching. In terms of transgender media and television portrayals, there is still much more growth and diversification to be done. Yet, shows like The Umbrella Academy are making important steps to show various storylines of transgender people. Moreover, by creating space for more transgender actors and characters, television corporations and streaming platforms can help to normalize and affirm more gender identities that defy the gender binary.
Written by: Mia Hernandez
Art by: Eve Larkin
Reviewed and co-edited by: Grace Wilson Fennema (Student Program Coordinator, Agencies and Allies & Safe Zones)
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Allies & Safe Zones is an LGBTQ+ Allyship Development program co-sponsored by FSU’s Representation, Inclusion, & Student Equity (RISE) Office and Student Government Association (SGA). Allies & Safe Zones is a tiered program aimed at reaching people of all levels of allyship, and is open to students, faculty, staff, and surrounding community members. Visit safezone.fsu.edu for more information.
