To the Trans community. I hear you. It’s wrenching to you see you in this pain. I am glad we are having this conversation. It’s time.
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) August 31, 2016
In all honesty I suggested Matt for the role after the profound experience I had with him while making “The Normal Heart”.
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) August 31, 2016
@Vodstok The movie is already shot and Matt poured his heart and soul into this part. Please have a little compassion. We are all learning.
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) August 31, 2016
I auditioned for this. I told them they shouldn’t have a cis man play a trans woman. They didn’t care. https://t.co/T7YFe6OeX9
— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016
Eddie Redmayne, Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto, etc., are great actors, but we, and those who know us, see the difference between them & us.
— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016
Cis audiences reward them because they see being trans itself as a performance. Trans actors rather perform THE STORY, not our gender.
— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016
But all of this pales to the main reason not to have cis men play trans women. This is the reason that is making me cry as I type this…
— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016
It will result in violence against trans women. And that is not hyperbole, I mean it literally. Cis men playing trans women leads to death.
— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016
Here’s why. I’ve spent years looking at violence against trans women, particularly who does it & why. I talk to survivors. There’s a pattern
— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016
Straight men are attracted to trans women. They always have been, always will be. We are some of the most popular sex workers. It’s a fact.
— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016
BUT they are afraid that being with trans women makes them gay/less masculine. They seek us out, enjoy us, then punish us for their anxiety.
— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016
Let’s be more direct: They have sex with us, worry that makes them gay, then reassert their masculinity through violence aimed at us.
— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016
Back to the point. WHY do men, who aren’t attracted to men, who only date women, think being with trans women makes them gay/less masculine?
— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016
Because culture as a whole still thinks trans women are “really” men. Decades of showing us that way in shows. It’s been internalized.
— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016
Again & again cis men play trans women in media with the furthest reach, are rewarded for it, & tell the world trans women are “really” men.
— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016
When Jared Leto plays Rayon and accepts his Oscar with a full beard, the world see’s that being a trans women is just a man performing.
— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016
When @MattBomer plays a trans sex worker, he is telling the world that underneath it all, trans women like me are still really just men.
— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016
And that is going to lead to violence. Not to me, likely, but to girls already most at risk. Any cis men who do this have bloody hands.
— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016
I’m not some screechy activist. I mean all this literally. It’s happening all the time. The stakes are life & death. Our women are dying.
— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016
Dear @MarkRuffalo & @MattBomer: if you release this movie, it will directly lead to violence against already at risk trans women.
— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016