REEL GENDER: EXAMINING THE POLITICS OF TRANS IMAGES IN FILM AND MEDIA Joelle Ruby Ryan A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2009 Committee: Susana Peña, Advisor Rekha Mirchandani Graduate Faculty Representative Bill Albertini Vikki Krane © 2009 Joelle Ruby Ryan All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Dr. Susana Peña, Advisor This dissertation examines transgender images in film, television and media from the 1950s through the present, with an emphasis on images from the 1980s through today. The primary goal of the dissertation is to interrogate the various gender and sexual ideologies contained within the representations to determine the social status of trans people in American society. How do these images function to both encourage and stymie the liberation of transgender people in the United States? The dissertation deploys trans, queer and feminist theories to critically analyze the cultural work performed by these mass-media texts. What are the trends within the trans media canon, and how do they relate to the treatment of real-world gender-nonconforming people? In order to answer these questions, I separate the trans images into four different stereotypes. For each of these stereotypes, I analyze three to four films to compare and contrast the way the films deal with the issues of gender and sexual variation. The first stereotype I examine is the Transgender Deceiver. The Transgender Deceiver utilizes drag and gender transformation to obtain something they want from society. While the films analyzed are comedies (Tootsie, Just One of the Guys, Sorority Boys, and Juwanna Mann), I argue that they are not as innocuous as they appear due to the way they stereotype gender-variant people as duplicitous, selfish and conniving. Next, I examine the trope of the Transgender Mammy. Through turning my analytical lens on To Wong Foo, Holiday Heart and Flawless, I look at the stereotype of iv the fabulous, servile and palatable trans-feminine subject. In these films, the characters exist to fix the problems of gender-normative people, add color and spice to their broken lives, and become worthy through their devoted service to the hegemonic class. The Transgender Monster describes the use of gender-transgressive killers in horror and slasher films. While films such as Psycho and Silence of the Lambs are more well-known for this disturbing representation, I examine three teen horror “B-Movies” to examine this trend: Terror Train, Sleepaway Camp and Cherry Falls. While trans people are frequently murdered in vicious hate crimes, these films perform a reversal of reality by presenting transgender folks as killers. By doing so, they cement fear of gender variance and perpetuate the continued demonization of transgender women. I end the dissertation by examining the Transgender Revolutionary. I look at four documentaries (Fenced Out, Toilet Training, Cruel and Unusual, and Screaming Queens) to demonstrate how this “new wave” of documentary film diverges from traditional representations of transpeople in documentaries by focusing on trans political agency. The final chapter summarizes the findings of the dissertation, explores theoretical tensions in the work and contemplates new directions for transgender media. I assert new paradigms for gender and sexuality through a discussion of “degendering.” Media can play a powerful role in documenting the emergence of exciting new transformations in the ongoing movement for gender freedom. v This dissertation is dedicated to all transgender activists, past and present that have fought against oppression, injustice and intolerance. I thank you for your contributions to the building of a radically different world. This is a fight that’s worth it, and this is a fight we will win. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to start by thanking my advisor for this project, Dr. Susana Peña. Susana has been a tremendous assistance to me throughout all levels of this project. Her professionalism, encouragement and helpful suggestions made this a much better piece of writing. I also appreciate her accessibility and willingness to spend many long hours meeting with me, answering emails and commenting on drafts of the manuscript. I would also like to express my gratitude to Susana for her assistance in issues of professional development. Susana always allowed me to ask many questions and gave excellent advice on preparing for the job market. I look forward to our continued professional relationship once I leave BGSU. I would like to thank my other readers: Vikki Krane and Bill Albertini. Both Bill and Vikki gave a very careful and detailed reading of this manuscript and offered many helpful suggestions. In addition, their questions during the defense helped to push me to ask new and important questions about the writing. Thanks also to my Graduate College Representative Dr. Rekha Mirchandani, who also asked wonderful questions and contributed to my analysis of this topic. I would also like to thank my copyeditor Bill Engelke for all the helpful feedback and suggestions that improved this dissertation. I would like to thank my family: my parents, James and Nancy Ryan, my sister Allison Ryan and my brother John Ryan for their encouragement and for listening when I struggled. I would particularly like to thank my parents for their financial assistance and for seeing me through what has been a very long educational career. There are several friends I have had here at Bowling Green State University that have been wonderful sources of support over the past six years: Errol and Faye Lam, vii Amanda Monyak, Jade Green, Joe Aufenthie, James Ross, Marlene Bomer, Marnie Pratt, Jamie Stuart, Jeannie Ludlow, Isabella Dana Beaulieu, Tony Paine, Dan Samson, Stefan Rafferty, Carlos Adams, Amy Vonderembse, Kate Devlin, Don Osgood, Maria Kitsinis, Courtney Anderson, Peter Welch, Rachel Crandall, Shrijnana Sering, and Sile Singleton. Tess Domini, Jose Ortega, Becky Conrad-Davenport and Cathy Kocarek, BGSU staff, have been wonderful to work with and I thank you for your compassionate care. Thanks also to the staff of American Culture Studies, Dr. Don MacQuarie and Gloria Pizana, for running such a wonderful and cutting-edge program. Thanks to my “trans mom” Janice Josephine Carney, who inspires me with her commitment to social change and her passionate writing. I would also like to thank the Point Foundation, who supported my work as a scholar from 2007-2009. In addition, Point assigned me the wonderful mentor Professor Lynn Conway. I am thankful to Lynn for her time, for our wonderful meals together and for the work we have accomplished to advance the cause of transgender rights. I look forward to becoming a Point Foundation Alum and to continuing a fruitful relationship with Lynn. Finally, I would be remiss without thanking my five pets (two dogs and three cats) while here in Bowling Green: Simon, Jamaica, Moshie, Berry and Octavia. Whenever I felt overwhelmed by this project or down in general, you were there to lift me up. Thank you for your sweetness, your unconditional love and your warm cuddles. You never gave a single care what gender I was (or wasn’t). I will forever be grateful for your loyal companionship. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER ONE. FROM THE REEL TO THE REAL: FRAMING TRANSGENDERISM ON SCREEN ......................................................................................................................... 1 Becoming a Trans Media Critic .................................................................................. 1 Background and History ............................................................................................. 5 The Trans Media Archives ......................................................................................... 10 Contributions of Study ............................................................................................... 19 Literature Review ...................................................................................................... 23 Opening the Theoretical Toolbox .............................................................................. 26 Postmodernism and Media Culture ............................................................................ 31 Social Location .......................................................................................................... 37 An Activist Scholar .................................................................................................... 39 Cultural Codes and Master Texts .............................................................................. 40 Bogle and Russo ........................................................................................................ 42 Limitations of Study .................................................................................................. 45 Methodology……………………………………………………………………….. 46 Chapter Breakdowns………………………………………………………………… 50 Chapter One Endnotes ............................................................................................... 57 CHAPTER TWO. TRANSGENDER DECEIVERS: BEING WHAT YOU ARE NOT TO GET WHAT YOU WANT ............................................................................................................ 62 Tootsie ........................................................................................................................ 78 Just One of the Guys .................................................................................................