This film is set in a jail "reserved for homosexuals". So, upon seeing seeing trans-women in the jail too, I thought, "Oh, they're going to touch on how trans-women are misgendered in the prison system--wonderful!", but that was wishful thinking. I was really surprised to see that this movie was made in 2012, as all it would have taken to make it a wonderful movie would have been the consultation of one actual trans-person, or a Google search on what a trans-woman actually is. Since none of the other reviewers have touched on this yet(or seem to think the words "transsexual" and "transvestite" are interchangeable), I'll be the one to say it.
Transgendered women are women. This film blatantly implies that we're simply men who transition our bodies to look like women for the purpose of sexual deviance--not only in the premise, but in the dialog from trans and cis-gender characters alike. This is simply not true! Contrary to popular social belief, we were not born as men; we're born as women with a male body. We spend years correcting our bodies to fit who we are inside, and it is no easy process. Films like this only further serve to set back the leaps and bounds of progress we're making within society to achieve a sense of normality. To be clear, being trans-gender has absolutely nothing to with sexual orientation.
This film isn't overtly hateful towards trans-women, but it does further the many misconceptions we suffer from on a daily basis. As a trans-woman, I feel compelled to dispel them where I can.
Transgendered women are women. This film blatantly implies that we're simply men who transition our bodies to look like women for the purpose of sexual deviance--not only in the premise, but in the dialog from trans and cis-gender characters alike. This is simply not true! Contrary to popular social belief, we were not born as men; we're born as women with a male body. We spend years correcting our bodies to fit who we are inside, and it is no easy process. Films like this only further serve to set back the leaps and bounds of progress we're making within society to achieve a sense of normality. To be clear, being trans-gender has absolutely nothing to with sexual orientation.
This film isn't overtly hateful towards trans-women, but it does further the many misconceptions we suffer from on a daily basis. As a trans-woman, I feel compelled to dispel them where I can.