With the rising prevalence and exposure of transgender issues, media portrayals of gender dysphoric characters are becoming common. I found a book and TV show that I chose to analyze. These two examples include characters that share almost no similarities except their diagnosis of gender dysphoria. The first is the character Sophia Burset (formally Marcus Burset) on the show Orange is the New Black. The particular episode I evaluated dealt with how Sophia began her transition as an adult; however, a multitude of transgender topics exist throughout all of the show’s episodes. The book I chose is “Being Emily” by Rachel Gold, which details the life of high school student Christopher as he tries to transition into life as Emily.
The etiology …show more content…
The first person she tells is her girlfriend, Claire. Claire attempts to be supportive and understanding, but struggles through this acceptance in the same manner Sophia’s wife. As teenagers, a large issue for Claire is sex. Emily has intimacy issues because of her disgust with her male genitalia. Claire also experiences problems with acceptance due to her traditional Christian values. She struggles to reconcile the beliefs and assumptions made by those who share her faith with her personal experiences with Emily. She attempts to aid Emily by helping her apply makeup, buy women’s clothes, and find hormones in order start hormone replacement therapy without her family finding out. Overall, Claire is an example of a positive reaction to Emily’s diagnosis of gender dysphoria disorder. However, Emily’s conversation with her parents regarding her diagnosis is not smooth. When she finally works up the courage to tell her family that she was born in the wrong body, her mother calls her an abomination. She is grounded and sent to a therapist who tells her that what she is experiencing is merely a phase and that they can “fix” the problem through masculinity training. This “therapy” is another form of transphobia that is common in real life. Real world examples such as Leelah Alcorn show the dangers of “conversion therapy”, and the fact that the book chose to highlight the negative effects of this type of treatment is significant. It adds a layer of reality to the story since people who choose to transition often receive mixed reactions from their friends and family
The etiology …show more content…
The first person she tells is her girlfriend, Claire. Claire attempts to be supportive and understanding, but struggles through this acceptance in the same manner Sophia’s wife. As teenagers, a large issue for Claire is sex. Emily has intimacy issues because of her disgust with her male genitalia. Claire also experiences problems with acceptance due to her traditional Christian values. She struggles to reconcile the beliefs and assumptions made by those who share her faith with her personal experiences with Emily. She attempts to aid Emily by helping her apply makeup, buy women’s clothes, and find hormones in order start hormone replacement therapy without her family finding out. Overall, Claire is an example of a positive reaction to Emily’s diagnosis of gender dysphoria disorder. However, Emily’s conversation with her parents regarding her diagnosis is not smooth. When she finally works up the courage to tell her family that she was born in the wrong body, her mother calls her an abomination. She is grounded and sent to a therapist who tells her that what she is experiencing is merely a phase and that they can “fix” the problem through masculinity training. This “therapy” is another form of transphobia that is common in real life. Real world examples such as Leelah Alcorn show the dangers of “conversion therapy”, and the fact that the book chose to highlight the negative effects of this type of treatment is significant. It adds a layer of reality to the story since people who choose to transition often receive mixed reactions from their friends and family