Trans Actors Talk to Hollywood About the Importance and Benefits of Casting and Hiring Trans

When we ask for inclusivity in Hollywood, we’re not asking because it’s a nice thing to do. We’re asking because it’s the right thing to do. Because not doing so is actively harmful, and because being inclusive is the thing that will make the stories that come out of Hollywood better. Better stories attract a better audience, which is better for profit margins. A group of some of the top trans and gender non-conforming talent working today made a video talking about just that.

Written by actress/writer Jen Richards (who is also in the video), the above video features Alexandra Billings (Transparent), D’Lo (Sense8), Elliot Fletcher (The Fosters), Alexandra Grey (Transparent), Ian Harvie (Transparent), Jazzmun (When We Rise), Trace Lysette (Transparent), and Rain Valdez (Lopez), cutting between them to speak Richards’ eloquent plea for Hollywood to make more of an effort.

It’s especially poignant to hear them remind Hollywood that it is both a privilege and a huge responsibility to be able to tell stories that impact the world, and that what they do with that power has a real impact on actual human lives. What comes out of Hollywood matters, because of the size of the platform. It isn’t just fluff.

“You have the power to educate,” they say. “To change minds, shape public opinion, and open hearts so we need you to show us, as we really are. Tell our stories with the creativity, dignity, humor and depth that make us real people. Let us help you tell those stories or better yet, help us tell them ourselves and then put us in them. And in everything else. In all kinds of parts. Yes, you’ll be giving us a job, and thank you for that, but you’ll also be making the world a little bit safer for an intensely maligned, under-represented, and vulnerable population.”

Hollywood, are you listening?

(via Deadline Hollywood, image: screenshot)

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