Clips: 2000, Trans teacher episode of POPULAR, a 1999-2001 teen dramedy series

TODAY IN QUEER TV HISTORY

POPULAR: "Ch-ch-changes" - 4/20/2000, The WB

In this episode of the 1999-2001 teen dramedy series, the school's wood-shop teacher (guest star Louis Mustillo) comes out as a trans woman, and a committee sets out to have her fired.

In a parallel story, lesbian regular character Robin (Alley Mills), the mother of a student named Harrison (Christopher Gorham), has been fired from her pharmacy job after coming out at work.

Compare the broad portrayal of the trans character's story against the more realistic handling of the cisgender lesbian character. Even with the script's clear opposition to discrimination, the trans character, Debbie, is "othered" in ways that Robin is not.

The episode is typical of pre-2007 television portrayals: the trans character is played by (as far as I can tell) a cisgender man in a dress and wig, and it's a one-off character seen only in this episode. Also, the main point of the script seems to be to develop and give depth to the character of Harrison.

Видео Clips: 2000, Trans teacher episode of POPULAR, a 1999-2001 teen dramedy series канала Steven Capsuto