In case you missed it, hereâs the moment when three trans women, played by three out trans actresses, casually chatting over lunch, appeared on a prime-time drama on the single biggest television network in the U.S.
Doubt (CBS) was revolutionary in having a trans lead, played by Laverne Cox, but they also had a trans woman in the writerâs room (Imogen Binnie), and trans actors, like myself and Angelica Ross in the scene above, and Alexandra Grey in the following episode (who gives a devastating and powerful must-see performance).
This level of attentiveness was largely due to the creators/showrunners, Joan Rater & Tony Phelan, having a trans son, the actor Tom Phelan. For Joan & Tony, trans people werenât âotherâ, they werenât punchlines, they didnât exist just as metaphors, or props to trigger male anxieties. Theyâre real people, whole and complicated people with rich lives that canât be reduced to the single facet âtransâ.
Three friends having lunch and talking over boy trouble, in public, in daylight. This is how we come out of the shadows.
RIP Doubt;Â long live the team behind it.
