Trans actors can play cis but cis can't play trans. Why am I bothering to try and see the sense?

[Doyoumind]

A trans woman was due to play a woman in a play but declined when it turned out a trans woman would be played by a man. As far as I can tell, the trans character undergoes no medical or surgical transition so would have a wholly male physique anyway.

The casting decision could cause violence and death, apparently.

I'm sure the talent pool is limited just down the numbers. Would it have been acceptable for a woman to play the part?

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8098373/Transgender-actress-Kate-ODonnell-pulls-Breakfast-Pluto-musical-casting-row.html

The only good thing to come out of this sort of crap is that the trans activists are shooting themselves in the foot (feet?) as the whole rationale behind their campaign was to keep a low profile and eschew publicity thereby sneaking all the insanity through under the radar. That's going well isn't it?

There are a lot of people who already accept these arguments about things like race though. Any America progressive will think this is exactly the same thing.

They say it's an inner feeling.

So it's like saying only Catholics can play Catholics.

...And what about Jessie Buckley's accent in Wild Rose? She surely passes.

The terminology has taken years to change but now we see a father as a man who fits the role and not in a biological sense.

Do we? I don't think people do.

But leaving that aside, that still makes no sense. Can my husband decide that he is father to some random child then? He's very fond my my nephew, and my nephew looks up to him. Is he my nephew's father? Sounds like he fits your description.

The problem is how many trans roles can you think of.

Trans people represent a very small part of the population. I do not agree that they are dramatically underrepresented in the media. Even if that were so, I don't see the logic in saying a play which clearly isn't ignoring trans people can't cast who it wants.

The problem is how many trans roles can you think of

There are many roles in which the sex (and/or gender) of the character are immaterial to the story, and women have started making some headway on successfully making their case to play parts which would in the past have defaulted to men. I would suggest that talented transgender actors should endeavour to do likewise.

How many Zoroastrian parts are there?

Is Remi Malik a Zoroastrian?

To continue that thought, I've seen quite a lot of 'stage for screen' RSC productions in the last few years, pretty sure all of them had some swapping around - sometimes it might be making a point (Oberon and Titania swapping lines changed the dynamic and the former romping lustily with Bottom was fun) and sometimes it really didn't matter but resulted in a powerful performance (Kathryn Hunter as Timon of Athens for instance). I could do without the introduction where they always have to mention 'gender' in a special reverential sort of voice ... if you've heard this sort of thing I'm sure you'll know what I mean. But the productions were all fine.

Why can’t a male actor play someone with a male body who is a trans woman? Because actually how can we even tell how the character or actor feel inside? Except by what they do and say on stage.

Actors are cast for their physical looks or how their bodies can be made to look, so generally by age, height, physique, skin tone etc, and then the actor, wig, costume and make up department do the rest.

I do get that Trans Actors would feel frustrated, but really, if a Trans woman can get a role as The Mother, ‘a woman’ then there is work for trans actors.

Glenda Jackson played Lear, in Hamilton a black actor plays George Washington, and that’s before we get started on every panto in the land..,

What nonsense. Really.

I saw a live human play Frankenstein monster once, and another play Dracula. I’m shocked I tell you...

Producers are going to have problems come Christmas....

Dick Whittingtons cat! I’m on it...

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/12127067/woman-says-she-is-a-cat-trapped-in-the-wrong-body.html

I have no problem with actors of any description playing anyone so long as they are convincing, if it's meant to be a naturalistic performance. Or if it's not naturalistic, then whatever really.

I'm not a huge fan of swapping the sexes though, in cases where the roles are meant to be one sex or the other. In productions I've seen like that, it was interesting, intellectually, but I can't say I was really engaged much emotionally.

Oh hang on - transcat may now be identifying as a woman as I can’t see any news of purr since 2018.

Oddly enough I can accept a transwoman being played by a man in a dress much more readily than a transwoman playing a mother. Strange that.

There is a difference between a man in a dress and a Trans Woman. One is masculine-identifying, the other is feminine-identifying. Without this difference there would be no Trans.

However, I expect a great Trans actor to be able to play a non-Trans role as well as they play Trans and vice versa.

Do a trans woman was playing someone’s mum? That wasn’t part of the storyline though (Luke I am your father)? Why do they think it’s ok for them to play that part but protest the other actor (and get a bit over worked about the prospects of a civil war breaking out as a result).

There is no visual difference. Identifying makes zero outward difference. Or any difference at all, come to that.
And they’re actors, the whole point is to be able to play the part of someone you are not.

This news item is now in the guardian written by Mark Brown arts correspondent. My main complaint and it is a complaint, is the use of the word cis man several times in the article.
Haven't seen that before in a guardian article as in the way to describe a biological Male or "man"
Eg "O’Donnell told the Guardian how her excitement turned to disappointment when told a cis man was cast in the lead".

"transgender actor has spoken of her disappointment and tears after she felt forced to withdraw from a high-profile musical because the main role of a trans woman was given to a cisgender man"

I looked up the Guardian complaints page but I am not sure that they wouldn't just dismiss any complaint from me as trivial or not affected by it. .

The term makes my blood boil though. Not sure if anyone else or body is in a better place to complain?

www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/mar/11/actor-felt-forced-quit-musical-man-cast-trans-woman

"having an actor who was born male playing a trans woman"

Erm, hate to point out the obvious but......

Also you are assuming the actors gender. He may be non binary or a part time cross dresser like pips bunce, which according to stonewall would still make him trans.

Woman says she is a cat trapped in a human body

I'd suggest she was up a tree, but if she was, she wouldn't be able to get down.

MNHQ I am quoting the trans person in the article directly with that phrase, I can't see any way to make the point without using it; please don't strike me again for this one]

As an aside, always worth noting qualifiers like this as a reminder to those that think posters here don’t walk on egg shells with their language with concerns that the budding team of external TRA Monitors (note, not moderators) will vexatiously report.

Wellll... her cv is thin, so I am not sure the organisers have much to worry about.

I wonder how your average middle aged actress feels about a rare part they might get going to a male.