Looking at Real Trans Media in Her Story Episode One
Trans stars, trans co-writer & producer = trans media.
Her Story is something a little different, and it comes highly recommended. It’s a story that’s not just created for cisgender people but for transgender viewers, too, and that’s not something I can say for Transparent or I Am Cait—or most media with trans people in it. Jen Richards co-wrote and co-produced Her Story and stars as one of two main protagonists. It’s great to have something where trans creators are behind the scenes and in front of the cameras. I was pretty excited; I binge-watched Her Story twice, in fact: First when it came out and then again a week or so later so I could write about it.
My experience of transgender life is different than a lot of what’s depicted in Her Story, and so will be everyone else’s, for the most part. Although some common threads may exist, each person’s transition is unique to them. The miniseries contains deep emotions, desire, and struggle to love and be loved that almost everyone will be able to relate to, even though Her Story is American and very L.A.
Her Story is six episodes long, about 10 minutes each, and you can find them here and on YouTube. I’ll be providing an overview of each episode for The Mary Sue and talking about how my experiences as a trans woman relate (or don’t). Originally the show was crowdfunded, which included a contribution from Lana Wachowski of The Matrix, Sense 8, and Jupiter Ascending fame. Lana is also trans, and it was great to see her help support this project. If you haven’t seen Her Story and don’t want spoilers, leave now. Go watch it—it takes under an hour—then come back.
Two women have given up on finding love in L.A. Then out of the blue, each of them meets someone new, and their lives begin true (I couldn’t resist the rhyme; I’m so sorry). Violet, played by Jen Richards, is intrigued by Allie (Laura Zak, who is the other co-writer and producer). Allie’s a reporter who wants to write a story on transgender life and dating. Paige (Angelica Ross) is a lawyer for Lambda legal and meets James, whose endearing qualities entice her to lower her defenses. The story shows the extra complicated interpersonal choices that transgender people face in a very human and relatable way.
The show tackles a few subjects that might be upsetting, especially to transgender people but for others, too. One character is a TERF and outs someone, the word “tra**y” is thrown about as an insult, trans women are called men, gaslighting happens, and there’s domestic physical abuse. All of these are tackled in such a way that the offending character is rebutted, and the abuse is depicted as being abusive, not as a convenient plot point in order to quickly move on to the next scene. I’ve been abused; I could deal with it, but it made me uncomfortable. Her Story could be triggering, so watch with self care in mind.
Now on to Episode One:
A long time ago in a galaxy far—wait, no, not that episode one. The acting here is way better. Her Story opens not on a long scroll of yellow text but in a cantina, where we see Violet serving drinks. Sitting at the bar are Allie and her friend Lisa (Caroline Whitney Smith). Allie discusses how she wants to do an article about dating within the transgender community, and Lisa immediately reacts badly: “Oh come on, Jerry Springer’s been doing that for, like, decades.” I flinch on hearing that line. Anyone bringing up transgender people and Jerry Springer is no friend of mine.
On his awful TV show, Springer painted transgender people as insane, untrustworthy, and an extreme element of society. We were shown to be tricksters, trapping men or women into relationships or sex, all for the glory of a howling studio audience or a sanctimonious grin from Springer. Lisa’s line makes me dislike her at once, which is, of course, the intention. They underline the subtle line with a full-on TERF screed from Lisa when Allie asks if she should speak to Violet: “Worst case, you piss him off, and then there’s one more pissed off tranny in the world. They’re all pissed off.” We’re not always pissed off of course, but when we are it’s In part because of people like Lisa’s character!
What makes me not switch Her Story off at this point is Allie’s response, “You’re a terrible person. You know that, right?” Allie means it, and I have to wonder why she’s friends with Lisa. We then see Violet at home searching for a date online. All she can find on craigslist are “tra**y-chasers.” These are men looking for sex from a transgender woman. Usually, they’re not respectful or nice, let alone actually understanding of how hard it is to be transgender and date. Dating is tough; we all know that, and dating when trans is so much worse.
Allie and Violet run into each other at a cafe, and Allie asks about the possibility of interviewing Violet. Here, we see the first intersection of lesbian and transgender politics. This becomes a big feature throughout Her Story. We get a quick snippit of Paige, the other co-star, being a badass lawyer. You’re going to love Paige. We’re then back to Violet, who is shown with her … boyfriend … who she basically mothers, organizing and preparing him for his business travel and meetings. In response to her help, he won’t leave her car keys and doesn’t ask before he throws away the card with Allie’s contact details on it. From this first scene, you realize this isn’t a good relationship, and there’s more to it than it first seems.
Welcome to transgender dating in L.A., a place where it’s near impossible for trans people to date yet also easier than almost everywhere else. In Her Story, we a have a more semi-realistic portrayal of transgender life than we’ve ever seen in media before, even if it’s entertainment and not a documentary. This is exactly why independent production and YouTube can be so powerful, and not just for hours of cat videos or Russian dash-cams.
Modern media—social networks, cheap cameras, and YouTube—are giving people a voice they’ve never had before. Her Story shows that off wonderfully. It’s really worth seeing, and I hope you take a look at episode one, which is really an introduction to the topics we’ll cover later. Join me next time as The Mary Sue delves into episode two! (More rhyming. I’m so sorry.)
Marcy (@marcyjcook) is an immigrant trans woman and writer. This includes Transcanuck.com, a website dedicated to informing and helping trans Canadians. She also has a nerd job, too many cats, is a part time volunteer sex educator and has an ongoing sordid love affair with Lego. Those last two are not related… probably.
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