The Power of Trans Storytelling in Pose and Euphoria
Trans excellence is finally holding water on mainstream television. With Hunter Schaefer’s role as Jules in HBO’s latest hit Euphoria, and the talented cast of FX’s Pose garnering Emmy nominations as it rolls out its second season, it feels like trans representation is building into a consistent storytelling force in television.
Euphoria and Pose offer two very different trans experiences on the small screen. On Euphoria, we seeHunter Schafer as Jules in a modern take on the high school drama, accentuated by the show’s scintillating camera and make-up work. Jules faces discrimination at school, but her character arc is also buoyed by her fierce determination to live life the way she wants to and her proclivity to self-advocacy. Rather than let a trans storyline devolve into a commiserating view of the hardships that trans youth face in America, Euphoria has built a dynamic character out of Jules. We see the tribulations of a teenager who happens to be trans, letting her character and voice shine through.
Meanwhile, Pose, which in its first season set a record for the most trans actors cast in a scripted TV series, is building a TV dynasty of its own. Set in New York City’s subversive ballroom scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Pose tells the stories of a largely queer and trans community that thrived in an urban underground despite facing the jeering glare of the American public in most any other space. Marked by the AIDS epidemic, this isn’t just another gay storyline focused on cis gay white men; this is a story about Black queer people whose culture, community, artistry and ambition were trampled on by American dominant culture and made an afterthought. Pose is about the tireless work of Black queer folks to just survive, highlight their ingenuity, reslience and community-based power. The show centers Black queer stories while balancing the plotline with the very real abuse, murder, hatred and other evils lobbed at them by well-to-do urban whites.
We’re seeing shows that prioritize trans stories discussed in culture publications and regularly sparking Twitter chatter and trending hashtags. Hunter Schafer is getting booked on shows like Late Night with Seth Meyers to talk about the show and her life. Angelica Ross of Pose has been lauded for her involvement with the show, and she’s part of Ryan Murphy’s highly anticipated next rendition of the American Horror Story anthology. These stories build on those told before (like Laverne Cox’s role in Orange is the New Black) and continue to normalize trans visibility on screen. As queer and trans people, but especially queer and trans POC, face murder and rampant transphobia, it’s heartening to see their stories to not only be told but told honestly and powerfully.
