Trans woman in Riot Women! WTF?

For some people on here, I think, and certainly for me, the issue is not that we 'can’t bear to set eyes on a trans person on [your] TV' – which is quite an accusation – it's is there a trans woman playing a role where the other characters and we the viewer are expected to believe/accept that they are a woman. For me the issue is that if that's the case, then a woman has been denied the chance to play that role because a man has been given it instead.

Also a bit disappointed that you didn't answer my question on why you seem to suggest that I think this character is the ‘devil’, ‘bogeyman’ etc.

'so very concerned'?
Or 'asking a question on a forum in a moment of spare time'?

It's a TV show that's supposed to be about a specifically female experience, which has shoe-horned in a male character, who were expected to pretend has a legitimately female pov.

If you can't see the issue with that then 🤦‍♀️

However I'm not watching it because it looks shite, not because of that particular character specifically.

I agree. There was no 'back story' for Miranda, in the same way that there was no back story for Kam, Nisha's sister who was the other backing singer. They are both very minor roles.

Lots of GC women will say that they don't hate trans people, they are just concerned about women's safety, but refusing to watch a TV programme because a trans woman has a tiny role seems quite extreme to me.

I think the poster is referring to the amount of violence women receive physically and verbally from Trans identifying males.

And what might that reason be?

Exactly. Ironic that televisikn TW never seem to want to spend their time wearing zilch make up, hair scraped back and running errands in an old sweatshirt, plain leggings and a pair of Skechers (you know, how millions of actual women do, every day). Nope, they have to festishize it, dressing like a bloody Stepford Wife in dresses, heels, swishy hair and elaborate make up. For shopping in Asda on a wet Tuesday afternoon.

As I said in my last post, if they wanted to shoehorn in trans it would have been better to have someone female, who identified as a man, and the effect the menopause would have had on that person, considering they would have to go through it, pesky biology being what it is.

But - they didn't have to shoehorn in trans at all. I've not watched it but from what I understand it's not a major character. It made no difference to the program, so why do it? And why a man? They don't shoehorn in someone trans in every bbc drama going, so why a trans identified man in a programme specifically about women going through the menopause, a uniquely female experience that no man ever in the whole world will go through?

Women aren't stupid, we know why. A little reminder from Auntie beeb that we aren't allowed to have a program about women and the female experience without including a man who has womanly feelings, whatever the hell that means.

If there's a season 2 I'm taking odds there will be an episode where he gets misgendered, or a nasty woman will get him removed from a single sex space. He'll be massively distraught, the rest of the cast will wipe away his tears (in the ladies, natch), he'll be inspired to write a song and will get to perform it. In the spotlight, centre of attention, where he'll be super validated by all the fawning ladies calling him their sister or the like, and will therefore feel like the most womanly woman who ever womaned; even more womanly than the menopausal ones. Maybe the nasty bitter bigot lady will be seen leaving in a defeated strop, who knows!

Genuinely curious on where we stand with Pantomime now… is a Pantomime Dame also an insult to my womanhood?

We don’t know if Sally Wainwright was obliged to write in a trans character or if that was something she wanted to do. We don’t know if that character was even written as trans or not.

but Trans people exist in the world, so why wouldn’t they be included as part of the world these characters are in? It didn’t make a huge difference to the story.

And it’s not just a show about menopause, there is so much more to it. Don’t do SW a disservice by trivialising the content.

I get the concerns over women’s sport, changing rooms and so on but when you can’t bear to set eyes on a trans person on your TV, I think that’s something else.

No not BBC.

Taking women's identies as your own is not OK

See, I'm a woman (not trans) and this is just complete nonsense to me. My identity is mine. I'm me. Someone else's identity is nothing to do with me, they're not taking my identity. I'm me.

Well no, I don't think doing womanface for any reason is appropriate. Taking women's identies as your own is not OK. It demonstrates a complete shallowness of comprehension of what makes women women. It's deeply misogynistic to believe growing your hair and whacking in some silicon tits is effectively enough to make you a woman.

I don't think blackface should be on TV either. I don't care how much someone might believe they are meant to be black, artificially trying to achieve it is wrong.

It's the BBC. Of course there's a man cos playing a woman in it.

"the warning" 🙄😂

Never heard of it but thanks for the warning. BBC I assume?

There’s a trans woman in Frauds. Also a great show. Oh no, what can a mumsnetter watch these days!

I just feel it must have been obvious to everyone on set and backing this that putting a man in a cast where they all have life experience of being a woman as being relevant to the plot was going to turn into a discussion about why they did that? It's the whole point of having a show about women, that it doesn't turn into one about men. For once. So why put a man in it in a dress and expect no one to bring it up? Has anyone asked Sally?

I thought it was great. The trans character played a very minor part anyway but so what!

In this day and age though, people could say they are women but mean "women" - so I assume you mean they are bio women. I guess I thought someone called Ben Foster had taken credit for them all.