Tag Archives: film

November 2020 Trans Talk on 90.1 FM KKFI

Hello everyone! Welcome to the November edition of Trans Talk! Today we are going to start out with the transgender news of the month, then we will have a celebration of the life of author, historian, travel writer, and transgender pioneer Jan Morris! Leading the retrospective will be celebrity biographer and historian Eve Golden, who will speak about Morris’ work and life, as well as the personal and professional friendship they shared.

After that we will continue our transgender film review series with the Trans Talk Krewe discussing the brand new film “Born to Be,” a documentary about gender confirmation surgeon Jess Ting, and about the state of the art in surgery to help our community. Finally, we will finish out the show with our community calendar update.

We do hope you will be able to join us this Saturday, November 28th at 1:00 pm on 90.1 KKFI, Kansas City Community Radio! You can also stream the program live on kkfi.org, or via various apps on your phone.

July 2020 Trans Talk on 90.1 FM KKFI

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Hello everyone! Welcome to July’s edition of Trans Talk! We’re kicking off the show with the transgender news of the month as usual, then we’re going to speak with Wick Thomas, a longtime queer, gender-variant activist who is also running for the Missouri House in District 19. We will then continue our special series of transgender film discussion in honor of all those who are stuck inside and wanting films to binge watch. Today we will be discussing the groundbreaking, controversial, and in your face film “Tangerine,” which is notable for featuring an actual transgender persons playing – wait for it – transgender characters. Rachael Cady is joining us by phone today to review this film with us.

We do hope you will be able to join us this Saturday, July 25th at 1:00 pm on 90.1 KKFI, Kansas City Community Radio! You can also stream the program live on kkfi.org, or via various apps on your phone.

April 2020 Trans Talk and Community Calendar for April – May 2020

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Hello everyone! Welcome to April’s edition of Trans Talk! We’re kicking off the show with the transgender news of the month as usual, and then we are going to be talking with three special guests – first we are going to talk with Ceri Anne, a frequent guest on Trans Talk for at least the last 6 years, who is going to give us an update on her life, along with a very special friend of hers, Emily – who has never been on the program. Then we are going to have a special edition for folks who are trapped inside by the lockdowns, Rachael Cady, the chair of the IT committee for the Kansas City Center for Inclusion, is going to talk about some transgender films you can binge-watch while you’re stuck at home, in what we hope may be a regular feature here on the program.

We do hope you will be able to join us this Saturday, April 25th at 1:00 pm on 90.1 KKFI, Kansas City Community Radio! You can also stream the program live on kkfi.org, or via various apps on your phone.

Monthly Community Calendar – by Fiona

Every month, I lead the Kansas City SOFFA group for Significant Others, Friends, Family, and Allies of Transgender and nonbinary persons. Due to the Coronavirus emergency we are having virtual meetings. For more information, you can visit http://transascity.org/SOFFA or https://www.facebook.com/SOFFA.KC/ or you can always reach me by email at soffakc@yahoo.com

Every third Thursday, the Equal Trans Support Group meets at 5:00 PM. They are having virtual meetings during the Coronavirus emergency, so please join their Facebook group to get more details if you are interested. https://www.facebook.com/groups/EQUALTransSupport/ There is also a second group for friends of EQUAL at https://www.facebook.com/Friends-and-Allies-of-the-EQUAL-Trans-Support-Group-2043657289193085/

JoCo Q-Space is a youth group for LGBTQ youth. They are doing some online activities during this, so for more information, go to https://www.facebook.com/jocoqspace/

Gender Spectrum is also doing online groups for teens and pre-teens – you can find more information on them at https://www.genderspectrum.org/groups/

Passages, the LGBTQIA youth group in Kansas City, Missouri, has suspended their meetings but they can still be reached for resources via their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/kcpassages/ where you can also find details about free sack lunches.

In compliance with the current ‘Shelter-in-place’ orders, the Trans Women’s support group that normally meets at the Transgender Institute is going on-line. The meetings are on Tuesdays at 6:00 PM & will be hosted via Zoom and Discord. You can join from a computer, or a phone and have a video conference option, or an audio only option. Please reach out to Kate.redman@boltfiber.net for the login information or for any questions you have.

There is an MTF support group at the Kansas City Center for Inclusion on the first and third Tuesday of the month at 6pm – they are suspended but the center is looking into online options during the emergency. There is an FTM support group elsewhere, both for adults and for youth, so if you are interested & want to find out options during the coronavirus emergency, please text or call Gus at 816-785-8686 and get updates on options during the virus lockdowns.

The Kansas City PFLAG chapter, which is Parents, Families, Friends, and Allies of LGBT people has a Facebook page where you can get more details on current activities – they are not meeting in person, but you can reach out to them for support at https://www.facebook.com/PFLAGKC

Film Review: The Triple Echo (1972)

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On its face, The Triple Echo could be seen as a straightforward WW2 drama involving a crossdressing soldier who is attempting to escape the horrors of service. However, after viewing it twice I have come to the conclusion that the film touches on more than mere situational crossdressing or forced feminization, but actually includes a portrayal of gender transition from two standpoints – that of the soldier, and of his lover. The film is reviewed in full at the link below, and part of a series of early transgender film reviews I’ve been working on.

Film Review: The Triple Echo (1972)

OBITUARY: Transgender Actress Holly Woodlawn (1946 – 2015)

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My friend Eve Golden, an author, actress, and New York socialite who writes celebrity obituaries, has sent me information on the passing of transgender actress Holly Woodlawn, and I’ve added some bits from research I’ve done.

Holly Woodlawn died of cancer today (December 6) in Los Angeles. Born in Puerto Rico, Woodlawn hit New York in the 1960’s and soon fell in with the crowd of admirers and protégés surrounding artist Andy Warhol. She, Candy Darling, and Jackie Curtis were among the first openly transgender actresses in the New York stage and film world (and all of them were named in Lou Reed’s hit, “Walk on the Wild Side.” Woodlawn appeared in the films Trash and Women in Revolt, and in low-budget films such as Night Owl and Heaven Wants Out. She also had roles in the somewhat more well-known Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss and several cameo appearances on the award-winning Amazon series Transparent. In 1982, Holly was hired by the producers of Tootsie to coach Dustin Hoffman in his role. In recent years, Woodlawn worked in West Hollywood as a cabaret artist.

In 1991 she published a memoir titled A Low Life in High Heels, and in an interview in 2014 was quoted as saying “Aging is the best thing that could have happened to me…I have calmed down a gazillion compared to what I was younger. It is nice seeing all the kids around and thinking, ‘Oh God, if only they knew what is ahead of them!’ I hope they’re prepared! At least with me, it was never dull or boring.”

New Zoolander Film Called “Transphobic”

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A somewhat odd controversy has erupted over the trailer for the film Zoolander 2. In the trailer, actor Benedict Cumberbatch plays a androgynous model named “All,” and in one brief scene from the trailer, the two stars question whether All is a “male or female model” and if All has “a hot dog or a bun.”

Several petitions have been started calling for a boycott of the film for mocking transgender, androgyne, and gender fluid individuals. While other petitions demand to know why a transgender, androgyne, or gender fluid individual was not cast in the campy role, as opposed to a cisgender actor. Just proving that some days, you simply cannot win.

Having viewed the trailer my strongest urge was neither to start nor sign a petition, but rather to consider watching Mad Max: Fury Road for the 9th time instead.

You can see the trailer at the link below

“Tangerine”: A Stunning and Unusual Film About Transgender Prostitutes

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Shot on tricked out iPhone 5s’s along the streets of L.A., Sean Baker’s no-budget revenge odyssey ‘Tangerine’ is not only a staggering achievement, but a brilliant film.

The plight of transgender prostitutes is one I know very well, having served for a time on the board of directors of a charity which provided needed assistance to prostitutes on the streets of Kansas City, a very large number of which were transgender women of color. And there really isn’t anything positive at all about the conditions in which transgender prostitutes must work and live, the violence and degradation they endure, drug and alcohol addiction, the lack of basic services – let alone health care. In short, there really isn’t anything humorous at all about the world of sexual exploitation.

But art finds humor even where it seems impossibly irreverent. And so long as the characters are treated with respect and allowed their own dignity, even a portrayal of transgender prostitution could have artistic merit without being offensive.

Enter the indie film Tangerine, scripted by Sean Baker and Chris Bergoch and turning heads after a splash debut at the Sundance film festival. Set in the strip of Santa Monica Boulevard, a common venue for transgender prostitutes bordered by the trendy gay mecca of WeHo and the working-class ethnic enclaves of East Hollywood, the story of Tangerine revolves around Sin-Dee (Kitana “Kiki” Rodriguez) and her quest to punish her man (James Ransone) who was unfaithful with one of his cisgender prostitutes while she was serving a month in jail. This naturally sets Sin-Dee’s into a furious rampage across Hollywood one Christmas Eve, with her best friend, fellow prostitute Alexandra (Mya Taylor) accompanying her.

There is a preview of the film below; it is most definitely not work-safe, with a lot of profanity. What has many talking about Tangerine is not the subject matter, but the fact that the entire film was shot on a shoestring budget using three iPhone 5s smartphones. Yes, that’s right, filmed by smartphones.

There is more detail about the film at the two links below the YouTube video. It’s difficult to get a clear impression of the film from a 2-minute preview, I’m going to give the film a chance and see it or buy the DVD as soon as it is released. I confess that even though I tried not to, given the gravity of the overarching topic, I actually laughed out loud at the back-and-forth witty dialogue between Sin-Dee and Alexandra.

‘Tangerine’: How One of the Most Stunning Movies of the Year Was Shot on an iPhone – The Daily Beast

The Plight of the Transgender Prostitute – The Daily Beast

Caroline Cossey – Two Images from 1980-1981

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Caroline Cossey, who sometimes worked under the modeling name “Tula,” was born Barry Kenneth Cossey on 31 August 1954, in Brooke, Norfolk, England. After a very unhappy childhood filled with bullying over her obviously feminine appearance, she left school early and started a series of low-wage jobs. After learning the details about transgender life and possibilities from a friend who was a post-operative transsexual woman, Cossey started hormone therapy at 17 and later went on to complete her sex reassignment surgery (SRS) on New Year’s Eve, 1974.

Before her SRS she worked as a showgirl in a London nightclub, and after her final surgery she started circulating as a socialite and working as a model. She appeared in magazines such as the Australian Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, was a Page Three Girl for the Sun, and even played a part in a television game show. In 1981 she was cast as an extra in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only, and posed for Playboy magazine’s June, 1981 issue. She later appeared in numerous print and television advertisements.

I have two very high-resolution images of Cossey which I have decided to post here in this timeline article linked below. The first is a lovely and famous advertisement for Smirnoff Vodka from 1980. The second is her sole photograph from the June 1981 Playboy magazine, which is somewhat difficult to find.

Caroline Cossey, 1980-1981

An Essay: On Jared Leto’s Dallas Buyer’s Club Performance

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An essay from Playboy magazine, which overall is somewhat negative on Leto’s performance and the fact that no transwoman actress was chosen. I must say, at first blush the comments of Leto and Calpernia Addams sound reasonable:

“Do we need a molecular nano-biologist from Zaire to portray a molecular nano-biologist from Zaire?”

When applied on a general basis, this argument holds water, except in certain situations (it would be quite a stretch to have Drew Barrymore portray Memphis Minnie, for example). Unfortunately, due to the incredibly few transgender characters appearing in television, plays, and films, this general rule creates a chilling effect on the prospect of having any actual transgender actor or actress portray a transgender character. The same general arguments were used at one time to block Jews from portraying Jewish roles, and gays and lesbians from portraying those roles. So for now, we pretty much have Laverne Cox as the sole representative of a transperson portraying a trans character in a popular series. How unfortunate.

Should Jared Leto’s Dallas Buyer’s Club Performance Be Lauded or Loathed?.

Indie Film Winner “Bamboozled” Accused of Transphobia, Homophobia, etc.

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Tropfest is the world’s largest short film festival, and in this year’s contest the winner is a 7-minute short film by West Australian film maker Matt Hardie. The film, Bamboozled, is a “revenge sex” film where a gay cisgender man (Harry) pretends to be a transman who was once the girlfriend (Helen) of the protagonist, Pete. However, the entire thing is a set-up for a TV “gotcha” program, and thus the film portrays someone pretending to be a transsexual person for the purpose of tricking them into sex.

Setting off any alarm bells yet?

You can watch the entire film at the link below. I was not hugely offended by it, more just turned off. Nonetheless, it’s getting a lot of press and spurring a lot of commentary, and none of it is positive towards transgender persons.

Tropfest winner Bamboozled accused of transphobia, homophobia | Crikey.

Lana Wachowski’s Moving Speech About Growing Up Transgender

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This is somewhat old, being from October 2012, but Amanda Daniels shared it with me recently, and I found it touching, relevant, and timeless. Many of us know something of the story of how Larry Wachowski transitioned to Lana, but much of what we “know” is the result of hack-job pieces from years back, like one particularly bad piece Wired ran, which cast Lana as a sexual pervert who dressed for kinks as a BDSM submissive. There is a lengthy video at this link, but take some time, make some time, and give it a listen.

Lana Wachowski’s Moving Speech About Growing Up Transgender.