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'All My Children' to Have 6 Transgender People Share Stories
By Aysha Hussain
March 02, 2007
The presence of gays and lesbians
has become more frequent in mainstream TV. But are audiences really ready for
transgender characters?
While
Rebecca Romijn is portraying a male-to-female transgender character on the hit
show "Ugly Betty," the soap opera "All My Children" is taking the biggest leap.
In November, the show launched its first transgender character, Zoe, who
received so much positive viewer response that the show has decided to feature a
scene where Zoe attends a support-group gathering of six other transgender
people sharing their personal stories in a rare, unscripted format. The episode
is expected to air March 9.
"I feel really privileged to be
part of this project because I think it's extremely powerful because so many
people watch it," said David Harrison, an actor who is expected to be part of
the support group. "The potential is enormous to help not only trans people
coming out, but their families," he said in a statement.
Executive producer Julie Hanan
Carruthers said the episode will represent an important moment. "The audience
will be given the rare opportunity, along with Zoe, to experience the real,
unscripted stories and issues experienced by real transgender men and women
playing themselves. We are very proud to showcase their compelling stories," he
said in a statement.
Since Zoe's introduction,
other TV networks have embraced transgender-character roles, including "Ugly
Betty" and "The L Word," and FX recently announced the new series "4
oz.," about a male sportscaster's transition. Outside of the small
screen, film-production companies have successfully tackled transgender issues
with films such as the Oscar-nominated "Transamerica" featuring Felicity
Huffman, star of "Desperate Housewives," where she steps out of her character as the
practical, supportive and overworked mom and into another as a
pre-operative male-to-female transsexual.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance
Against Defamation (GLAAD)'s Entertainment media director, Damon Romine, said in
a statement, "There will never be acceptance of an issue without visibility, and
it's these kinds of representations of the transgender community that will
ultimately make the unfamiliar familiar."
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