Silence of the Lambs etc - are TRAs fighting historic battles?

I think there was a lack of understanding about trans people up until the 1990's although I think society had moved on toward being more accepting, ie. Nadia won Big Brother in 2004 and the trans character Hayler Cropper was in Corrie from 1998. The 'born in the wrong body' narrative has been a staple of morning chat shows for years and the narrative was sympathetic.
I think the 50-year-old men who transition are motivated more by misogyny and opportunism, taking over roles and opportunities that are meant for women.

And let’s not talk about drag shows and the referencing to ‘fish’ that is so very misogynistic and still being filmed even as we speak!

And women complaining about these references are called names and ignored.

Also Trainspotting. Bit more recent.

In the book of Silence of the Lambs (not sure about the movie) the point is made that Buffalo Bill would have applied for sex change surgery and been turned down as not a true "trans sexual". But these days it would obvs be "acceptance with no exception".

Books too...

I was watching some duff film from the 80s (a mad max type thing) and the women there were only on screen to flash their huge boobs (before being raped/murdered) or be slaves to the men. I was 😳😳😳 - I couldn’t believe how shitty the female parts were.

What about films where the murderers are just massacring women?

That's every other TV drama too, isn't it?

What about films where the murderers are just massacring women? Should be airbrush these too because not all men are mass murderers? Just watch virtually any film from the 70s and the women are either eye candy, love interest or victims.

I think the OP is trying very hard.

I forgot the reference to Silence of The Lambs in the title and was replying to the Crocodile Dundee reference

I recall that Jodie Foster's character at some point also explicitly says that the killer is "not a transsexual" as transsexual people tended to be "gentle". It's the psychology of serial killers that's the subject of the film, and that's clear to anyone who has watched it.

Making fun of people getting murdered in gruesome ways is a bit too edgy in my book but I'm a sensitive soul. (I suppose you're referring to the recent clip by a trans comedian who was talking about Silence of the Lambs.)

I’ll bet that that “shocking transphobia” consisted more of gentle ridicule than visceral hatred and that the mockers were male, yet it is women who bear the brunt of death and rape threats from the 50+ late-transitioners you refer to.

A more plausible connection is that the vast majority of violence is perpetrated by males and that those particular males target women because they hate that they cannot be us and are they are archetypal bullies.

The character in Silence of the Lambs was based on Ed Gein who murdered and skinned women to make a suit.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Gein

So every Hollywood film needs to be looked at in this way?

Dear god - Mrs Doubtfire, some like it hot, psycho... (What umbrella are we talking about here?) do we really need to whitewash the entire back catalogue to say ‘of course such persons are only ever good and wholesome’?

It might explain the sense of “mission” and the clear feeling that the ends justify the means.

Do you want to unpack this a bit more OP? Are you referring to rape threats, "suck my ladydick" abuse, hounding women in their workplaces and daily murder memes like "die in a grease fire", or nailing a dead rat to a women's refuge, or assaulting a woman taking part in a perfectly legal protest? What has Silence of the Lambs got to do with the blatantly misogynistic targeting of women who believe that biological sex is the root of women's oppression and who reject gender stereotypes as the defining factor in what makes a woman or a man? What ends, what means are you referring to? Silence of the Women?

(NB both those films were written and made by men, just for reference)

The character in Silence of the Lambs wanted to wear actual women's skin. He wasn't Trans - wanted to identify as a woman. He wanted to wear other people's flesh. Most people are not idiotic enough to relate anything in that film to transgender women.