Jump to content

Transgender Characters on Soaps


Recommended Posts

  • Members

Let’s get it out of the way: soaps have been poorly written for years, and they don’t write their heterosexual cis characters very well, much less the LGB end of the spectrum. I wouldn’t expect any of the current teams to do a story like this justice, not in this TV environment.

 

But I was thinking about the few trans characters we’ve seen on American soaps: Zoe on AMC, Maya on B&B, Terry on GH. I might be missing someone, but none of them were legacy characters. (All of them were trans women as well. Trans men apparently don’t exist.)

 

As open-ended serial storytelling, soaps missed an opportunity to follow the longterm journeys of trans characters and how they might wrestle with coming to terms with their identity, especially within the intimate context of a family and community.

 

It would have been so enlightening to see an Abbott teen or Brady scion navigate gender presentation and grapple with important decisions (hormones, gender confirmation surgery) over years. 

 

Longterm storytelling is tough, especially with writer turnover and new teams abandoning the stories of their predecessors in a quest for better ratings.

 

Perhaps what could work in theory is a well-known character who has been long off the canvas returning at some relatively advanced stage of transition and we’d observe the impact on them and other characters. 

 

But I dunno: in a perfect world, where good writers are allowed to write interesting, character-based stories, how would you imagine daytime could integrate trans characters into the fabric of their shows?

 

At the end of the day, they should just be “typical soap characters” with scandals and romances and sibling rivalries, but the specificities of their experience should also be honored.

 

And I wouldn’t want these stories to be mere PSA fodder or publicity stunts (à la Maya Avant) or a way to prove woke bonafides.

 

What are some examples perhaps from foreign soaps or primetime series that could be models? 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 15
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

Yeah, I agree: today's soaps cannot be trusted to tell meaningful stories about transgendered characters.  AMC, in particular, hipped me to that when Zarf announced to everyone in Pine Valley that he had a penis.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Germany's "Lindenstraße" introduced Marek Zöllig played by Martin Walde in May 2016. He was the brother of regular character Nina Zöllig and was married with a child. A while later, Marek was revealed to be transsexual and gradually changed his appearance to eventually become a woman. The character is now known as "Sunny Zöllig" and is still a regular character as of today. Sunny has been in a relationship with bisexual Tanja Schildknecht for quite a while.

 

Here's a gallery highlighting all the important moments in Sunny's life on Lindenstraße: https://www1.wdr.de/daserste/lindenstrasse/personen/aktive/rolle-marek-zoellig-100.html

 

Sunny has just started her hormone treatment:

 

Please register in order to view this content

 

Sunny is fighting for unisex bathrooms at the show's main restaurant:

 

 

Sunny is worried about Tanja:

 

 

Sunny receives a visit from her son:

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • I have no idea why Gio would go to Sonny first since he told Emma he thought Sonny knew about him all along. Maybe to clarify if Sonny knew?  Considering Sonny didn't know Dante was his son back then it doesn't really matter. I am sure Sonny will make some wise parallel about his father leaving and his mother dying or being lied to by Olivia and Gio will see the light.
    • I know I have heard Orpheus mention it, at least in passing.  I still don't know why exactly he hates John though.  It seems Orpheus was heavily leaning into a Stefano moment of Marlena obsession, but then he always wanted to murder her a bunch so it's unclear.
    • I always thought that whoever pitched his return story in 2016 just didn't do their homework, and didn't know that the real Roman was the one who killed Orpheus' wife.
    • Xander is Victor's son, but thought he was his nephew until Victor's will.  His mom is an alcoholic who ran Sarah down then left town.  He's got a kid with Sarah and then is related to the rest of the Kiriakis brood. I would argue Orpheus lost his purpose years ago.  I lost the plot with Orpheus when his entire beef was with John and not Roman.  The person who actually killed his wife. Too be kind I'll just say it looks like Chandler was a bit out of practice at the old acting game.  He's never stopped smirking.
    • He is Victor's son so Bo and Philip are his brothers and Brady and Shawn are his nephews. Justin has remained his first cousin 
    • Please register in order to view this content

       
    • -- I didn't want to be the first person to mention it, because I've complained so much about Chandler Massey's smirking and grinning in the past. He just cannot get through a scene without breaking -- that grin broke through every time he ran into another character today. He looks young -- and good -- but I am not a fan of this acting. He's not trying. -- I agree with others here about this goodbye. The bandaged John is a throwback and a full circle moment, but it's gone on too many days already. I especially hate the "He's getting better" stuff. That doesn't work since we all know how this ends. -- I'm glad to see the return of all these characters and I love the flashbacks, but I think DAYS could have done all that without the bandaged exit.
    • That's the one thing I really dislike about all this. Orpheus should not be alive.  If anything, I hope he's erased from existence from here on. He has no purpose now that John is dead. 
    • Yeah, it's so undignified. And looked it! But man, you can tell Stephen Nichols, etc. are not acting. They should've canned the fake voice guy at the very least. Great, now I have to try to remember who the fúck Xander is related to.
    • I am the first to say I don't have the perfect scenario for John's death in my head.  I think it would have had something to do with saving the world from Orpheus and killing Orpheus once and for all, but losing his own life in the effort. I am actually sad Orpheus is still alive and well doing dastardly deeds.  I GET the saving Bo idea.  I just am not sure I want to say, "Oh, yeah, John died in a meth lab.  Some kid attacked him and he burned to death" I love all the actors coming back to pay tribute.  It's lovely.  I think it would have been smarter for Marlena, Kayla, etc to say this is grave for John-it's time to say goodbye.  Not add in all the "he's doing great and on the road to recovery".  I assume it's a nod to Drake about always fighting, but, man, if you didn't know Drake had passed the rug would be pulled out from under you next week as an audience member.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy