Hollywood Representing Transgender: What's the solution?

In 2013, Jared Leto's performance is Dallas Buyer's Club netted him an Oscar for his portrayal of Rayon, a trans woman who suffers from AIDS and drug addiction. Despite awards and acclaim, some have called out the portrayal as a "Trans 'Mammy'" that will age poorly and a 'prop' that at least could have been played by a real trans woman. Of course, the backlash got its own backlash, with tons of people defending Leto and the filmmakers for the role and character of Rayon.

Despite some harsh criticism, Hollywood certainly didn't learn. Eddie Redmayne stars in this year's upcoming The Danish Girl, and has received the same backlash as Leto for playing transgender pioneer Lili Elbe. The Danish Girl isn't in theaters yet, so I can't speak about its portrayal of a transwoman and transgender topics. However, the casting of a cisgender actor again raises a lot of questions.

First, the criticism of Leto and Redmayne isn't exactly fair. They're playing a role, and they're doing it very well. Sure, the script has problems, but that isn't there fault. Leto is very good as Rayon, although I can see the insensitivity of some of his lines and character details. That's more of the script's issue than Leto's. But to be honest, Rayon *should* have been played by a trans woman. It's a role, but there needs to be some sort of authenticity. Blackface obviously isn't acceptable anymore, and I don't think a cis actor playing a trans character will be acceptable in the future.

However, look at this list of trans actors that could have played Leto's role. Obviously, none of them are as big as Jared Leto. I only heard of a very select few of the listed actors. Not a lot of people are going to see a movie because Laverne Cox is in it. Hollywood, point blank, is about making money. I could see a studio taking a risk on a role like Rayon in DBC- it's a supporting role, and Leto is already backed by stars like Matthew McConaughey. However, casting a relative unknown is a big risk, and Hollywood doesn't like to take risks of that nature. Movies like Dallas Buyers Club always struggle to make money, and independent producers can't take many risks when trying to make a profit.

So what's the problem? Is it Hollywood? Is it the public? It's a bit of both. Hollywood won't take a risk, because people want familiarity. They like seeing famous actors in roles like Rayon. If Eddie Redmayne was replaced by an unknown, I doubt many people would care about The Danish Girl. However, despite the gridlock between the public and Hollywood, something needs to change. Trans actors need to get more work and let their own artistic voices influence the depictions of trans people in media.

I think it will happen, but the process will be slow, and rooted in independent film. My favorite film of the year so far, Tangerine depicts trans women with humor, sensitivity, and above all, honesty. The film uses non-actors to great success, and quite frankly just would not work if cis actors were used. There are several other independent films that use transgender actors that catch on with niche audiences. Eventually, the jump will be made to mainstream film, and I doubt that Hollywood, and the public, will look back.