Casting a woman as a transwoman

[Hazchem]

So there is a show about to air on the Australian ABC about Carlotta who is an incredibly well known and important entertainer in Australia. She Les Girls, was the first transexual in an Australian soap opera. An icon, someone whose very being has made changes to the Australian cultural landscape. She was original born male and very early on had surgery

So the person they have picked to play her is a ciswomen. Surely there was a trans actor who could have taken the role. My feeling is that a women has been cast because she can be sexy in the Les Girls numbers without making people feel uncomfortable about seeing her as sexy.

Am I over thinking this? Is it gender equality to have a ciswomen plan a transwomen?

No, white people should have less media representation. White dominated countries, particularlythe USA, control most media globally. It skews global culture, politics and economics. That is a privilege they should lose. That means white dominated countries would have far less tv shows made because most of the global export market that finances them would be gone, as it would be democratic and fairly controlled by other nations with their own shows to produce and export.

But they would have their fair share? It would more fairly represent the world they live in? This doesn't seam like a huge lose to me rather a gain. Just as I think that many men would also gain from a dismantling of the patriarchal system.

But I guess with the Carlotta casting my point is more is having a cis women play a tran women providing the best representation for transwomen.

Yes, they would have their fair share, but it would be a massive loss of economic, cultural and political power and influence. It would radically change the world. It is a privilege.

Being able to get pregnant is not. Being able to access essential services is not.

What priviliges do women have as a consequence of being assigned into the subordinate gender at birth?

Do you get that I understand that women are subordinate? At the same time I that other people suffer more. That is the sort of privilege I'm talking about. Not having to fight to have your gender recognized is one pretty huge one I would think. Actually being able to access essential services is a privileged, being able to walk into a shop and not be stared at, or whispered about is privilege, being able to access education in a way that you feel safe is privileged, being able to marry without fuss who you choose is a privilege.

I am also aware not all of those rights are given to all women but as I'm talking about a TV show made and shown in Australia we can be pretty safe to assume that almost all the privileges I've listed almost all women will have access to without much hassle unless you know you are black, or remote or trans or gay. So yes I think women can have privileges over other women but I don't think acknowledging that takes away from women's over all struggle to reach equality what it says is the situation is complex and needs to be more flexible then ridge current gender lines allow.

spork as notagain said! it is the potential or expectation of child bearing that is at the root of women's oppression. Your family members were expected to bear children to fulfill their role under patriarchy and did not meet society's expectation nor fulfil this role. Compliance with patriarchal requirements can bring rewards but this is not privilege.

I can see privilege from being in a higher class, being white or straight but there is no class privilege from being female. The fact that there are men who are harmed by expectations on men or who don't benefit from male privilege as much as other men does not diminish male privilege.

No I don't think there is non-trans privilege because that means there is female privilege and I don't accept that. Absent all other factors of class, race etc, there is no privilege from being a woman. The reports of horrific violence against low caste women in India are indicative of the fact that in any hierarchy, women are at the bottom of every stratum. Upper class women are lower than upper class men, working class women are lower than working class men, white women are lower than white men etc.

The fact that there are men in a low or the lowest stratum of male privilege does not mean that women have privilege by virtue of being women.

Being non trans is not a privilege. Privilege is a way over used word. It does not mean, "something bad didn't happen to me that happened to someone else".

Oppression is about systematic systems of oppression. It is not about individuals being mean to each other, it is about structural oppression. So area where the law, culture, media, and institutions, discriminate against you.

Even then, privilege is not about an absence of this happening to you. Privilege is where you gain some clear advantage from the oppression of others.

Women do not gain clear addvantage because Trans people are sometimes treated badly or discriminated against. So they do not have non Trans privilege.

In some places, the Trans person.

Of course, as I said, there is class privilege, white privilege, straight privilege and able privilege. There is no non trans privilege just as I believe there is no thin or femme privilege. Those are aspects of reward for conforming with your expected subordinated role, just like so-called cis-privilege.

I'm not sure if you need to oppress others to gain advantage of your prividlge. For example I can easily obtain a passport. That is not as easy if your biological sex doesn't match your gender. It is advantageous to remain the sex you are born for lots of things.

I'm naively surprised that feminism doesn't recognize that.

Nobody is saying Trans people don't experience discrimination. That is very different from saying non Trans women gain privilege.

Kim if I am honest your comment makes me quite angry filled as it is with assumptiosn about me. I was harassed out of a job as lesbian working with kids, at a time when there was no legal protection. Many lesbians have experienced what you describe, and much much worse.

No Het women do not get privilege over lesbians. It is not a privilege for example, to live with a man who abuses you.