From Queer Coding to Queer Comedy: Why Trans Representation Needs Comedy
By Mya Tran
Having been around for the peak eras of queer coding and queer baiting, I feel that I have the authority to say that as a society, queer media is getting better. Queer representation is not only growing, but growing better as queer movies are expanding into all genres. Queer comedies such as Bottoms (2023) and Drive Away Dolls (2024) and queer horror movies like Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) have stayed within the zeitgeist as films that are enjoyable for all audiences and stable representation.
But, what about gender queer representation?
I can count the number of gender queer media pieces within recent years on one hand. With the recent release of I Saw the TV Glow (2024), trans media is on the forefront of many people’s minds. I believe it’s the next step for representation in the media. The question is, what direction do we take it in? After the past few years, I feel as though many can agree that we’re collectively sick of the endless coming out stories and stories of bigotry and acceptance. Not to say those stories are unimportant, but they’re tired and common at this point. I doubt what the trans community needs is cookie cutter dramas about discovering that maybe you like to wear dresses more than you thought you would.
My pitch? Comedies. Queer comedies are starting to take the world by storm. Comedies give minorities the platform to both be themselves and not to have their entire character boiled down to the thing society rejects them for. Comedies, when done well, have the ability to honor the true aspects of what it is to be trans. Jokes and humor are the fastest way to normalize all cultures. Everyone likes to laugh. If we put trans creators at the forefront of comedy we can take the chance to let them tell us how we can better be of assistance, and to force society to accept us as human. As normal.
Normalization of those that are persecuted begins with showing those that choose hatred that there is nothing to fear. We can begin to create stories about trans characters without reducing them to the things that make their lives difficult. Such as we’ve started to create black characters who are realistically black without the harmful stereotypes and as we’ve begun to write women who are more than skirts and shoes, we can create trans characters who are more than their gender identities, but who do not ignore that they are transgender.
I want to see a movie with a joke about how a character has a difficult time fighting or running because they’ve been wearing a binder for too long. I want to see stories of trans women being candid about the recovery processes of gender affirming surgeries and I want to see people who use multiple sets of pronouns messing with bigots. Things I see from the people I surround myself with. Things real trans people do, everyday.
About the Author
Mya Tran is an incoming junior at Butler University, in Indianapolis, IN. They are currently studying English on the creative writing track and German. Growing up in a small college town with limited queer role models, Tran has spent her life with her nose in the books, looking for someone to relate to.
