The Jared Leto Question

[Stavros]

Today's Independent produces a round-up of mostly hostile comment on Jared Leto acting the role of Rayon in Dallas Buyer's Club, for which he won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. The simple argument raised is whether or not transgendered roles ought to be played by transgendered actors -who do exist- or whether or not it matters at all. In addition there is criticism of the character as reinforcing stereotypes of transgendered people as being prostitutes, involved with drugs, etc, and that in Rayon's case Jared Leto is little more than a transvestite anyway. One also thinks it was mean of Leto not to mention the transgender 'community' in his acceptance speech.

The argument is weak on one level because any number of actors play roles they could not possibly be in real life, be it Adolf Hitler, serial killers, alcoholics, or happy people. Alec Guinness, one of the UK's most distinguished actors, performed as a man, a woman, an Indian, an Arab, a soldier, a spy -and did it all well. In Leto's case, it seems to me, the issue is, was he a reasonable example of the Dallas transgendered people whom the original Ron Woodroof would have known, and is it so far fetched to believe they made a living in the sex trade? I thought his performance was outstanding, it was not hysterical, the climax happened off-screen and I was moved by it. And in his speech -censored in Russia because of his remark about the Ukraine -did mention people who have died from AIDS or been the victims of discrimination. So, below is his acceptance speech, followed by the Independent article.






Jared Leto’s Best Supporting Actor Oscars win sparks backlash from transgender community



The actor's award credentials came under fire from some groups who criticised his portrayal of Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club
Jenn Selby Tuesday 04 March 2014


The actor, who was honoured with the Academy Award for his portrayal as Rayon – an HIV-positive transgender woman living in Texas in the 1980s – in Dallas Buyers Club, faced a backlash from some members of the transgender community.
Outraged groups questioned why a straight, male actor had been chosen for the role and why he had neglected to thank the transgender community during his acceptance speech.
“I have no interest in watching a cis [non-transgender] man in drag play a trans woman ever again,” Jos Truitt of Feministing wrote.
“No matter what Dallas Buyers Club does as a film, the narrative around this movie, the fact that a man in drag is playing a trans woman, perpetuates the stereotype that we are men in drag.”
Some pointed out that the media coverage of the role had been far from informed:
Others protested his stereotypical treatment of the character which, Time writer Steve Friess claims, marks “another moment when liberals in Hollywood, both in the industry and in the media, showed how little they understood or empathized with the lives of a minority they imagine they and Leto are honoring[sic].”
“Not long from now — it surely won’t take decades, given the brisk pace of progress on matters of identity and sexuality these days — Leto’s award-winning performance as the sassy, tragic-yet-silly Rayon will belong in the dishonorable pantheon along with McDaniel’s Mammy,” he wrote, referencing Hattie McDaniel’s 1940 Best Supporting Actress win for her portrayal as Mammy in Gone with the Wind. Her award marked the first honour the Academy had ever given a black person.
Katie Glover, the founder of The Gender Society and the editor of Frock, the most widely read transgender and drag magazine in the world, explained the key points of the debate to The Independent:
"When we first heard about Dallas Buyer's Club, we were quite pleased because the character Rayon, could be one of the first transgender protagonists. Transgender people need more visibility so this is a good move. The more we are seen, the more normal we appear and the easier it will be for transgender people to fit into the world.
"However, within the transgender community there is also much controversy surrounding that character. Firstly there's the fact that she seems to reinforce the stereotypical idea that all trans people must be gay and/or sex workers and/or drug users. That has angered many trans people who have seen this movie.
"Okay, some are gay but apparently, no more than within the wider population and maybe some trans people use drugs but being transgender does not make you want to take drugs or make you gay. Don't get me wrong here - there's nothing wrong with being gay - it's just that most transgender people are not gay.
"Most non-TG people think being transgender is about sexuality but we know it's about gender identity, which is a completely different thing.
"As well as that there is some anger about the casting of Jared Leto in a transgender role. Why couldn't they have cast a real transgender actor? Some say it's akin to casting a white actor in a black role and asking him to black up for it. If that happened today, it would be deeply offensive to the black community and likewise, the use of Jared Leto as Rayon is viewed by many in much the same way.
"Having said that, I also know of many other transgender people who are very happy with Jared Leto's portrayal of Rayon, so not everybody is cross about this."
Similarly, Mara Keisling, the executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, told the Huffington Post USA: “Leto’s portrayal was of a particular fictional transgender person at a particular time. But we can’t forget that transgender people like Rayon did exist and do exist.
“To the film's credit, I think it accurately showed what the life of this brave person must have been and how she was treated. Our job is to make life better for transgender people like Rayon in the real world, and it really helps to have these lives told by Hollywood.”
And, as Rolling Stone reminded, he wasn’t the first actor to win an award for portraying a transgender individual:
The first was actually Hilary Swank, who won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 1999 for her portrayal as transman Brandon Teena in Boys Don’t Cry.
Of course, this isn’t the first time his role as Rayon has come under criticism.
The actor was heckled by two women at a Q&A session with Fandango's Dave Karger during the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Virtuosos Awards.
“Trans-misogyny does not deserve an award,” one of the women shouted from the audience.
Leto asked the woman what she meant by her comment. She answered: “You don't deserve to play a trans-woman.”
“Because I'm a man, I don't deserve to play that part?” he said. “So you want to hold a role against someone who happened to be gay or lesbian – they can't play a straight part?”
The woman went on to complain that “historically straight-gender people always play transgender people, and all of them received awards and credit for it.”
“Then you make sure that people that are gay, people that aren’t straight, people like the Rayons of the world, would never have the opportunity to turn the tables and explore parts of that art,” he responded.
Leto apparently met the two women backstage to continue the discussion.
The news comes after reports emerged that Leto’s acceptance speech had been censored in Russia because he mentioned the Ukraine.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/jared-letos-best-supporting-actor-oscars-win-sparks-backlash-from-transgender-community-9168770.html

[Rabbiteyes]

Consider what it would have meant to the trans community / society had a trans woman won the oscar.

It would have meant a trans actresses career would be pushed forward like none other. Appearing in bigger movies, roles specifically created for that actress, and more and more trans visibility (not just in every interview she has for the movie...but every time she is seen, mentioned, constantly fighting for trans rights in the public eye).

Instead....

We have a cis straight white guy who won an oscar (given because he played a rather harmful stereotype of "poor trannies").

During interviews, he tends to ignore trans issues....even in the acceptance of the award, he ignores trans issues (the very reason he got the award).

What was the end result of the movie? A step backwards for trans acceptance and rights with the perpetuation of many harmful stereotypes. And yet, Hollywood is celebrating it...as if they have achieved something great.

[Tina Francis]

I think Stavros' points are valid. It is quite reasonable to regard the character in the context of her times, when transwomen were not nearly as accepted or as well developed physically as they are today.

[Prospero]

Time magazine weighed in the subject as well.

http://ideas.time.com/2014/02/28/don...sgender-mammy/

[GroobySteven]

He's an actor. He's playing a part.

Best person for the job? Possibly - possibly not, I've yet to see it but as long as trans-women were able to audition and Jared played the role more convincingly, then it's a non-issue. This "outrage" is getting kinda boring.

[mrtrebus]

No. Transgender should ONLY do porn!

[bluesoul]

Consider what it would have meant to the trans community / society had a trans woman won the oscar.

It would have meant a trans actresses career would be pushed forward like none other. Appearing in bigger movies, roles specifically created for that actress, and more and more trans visibility (not just in every interview she has for the movie...but every time she is seen, mentioned, constantly fighting for trans rights in the public eye).

Instead....

We have a cis straight white guy who won an oscar (given because he played a rather harmful stereotype of "poor trannies").

During interviews, he tends to ignore trans issues....even in the acceptance of the award, he ignores trans issues (the very reason he got the award).

What was the end result of the movie? A step backwards for trans acceptance and rights with the perpetuation of many harmful stereotypes. And yet, Hollywood is celebrating it...as if they have achieved something great.

don't you think for these kind of issues you should expect people who are not actors to push them forward?

i mean- you're putting so much emphasis on someone who is simply an actor to do interviews and make comments about a community which he is not a part of and push their issues? would that even be right? can he honestly be the spokesperson for the trans-community?

also, i'm one of those people who doesn't believe you have to be gay to play a gay character, or straight to play one. just be a good actor because that's what it's all about: acting. if this was a documentary, then we'd have a valid topic

btw: jared leto's mom is super hot. she can be in my movie anyday

[Stavros]

Consider what it would have meant to the trans community / society had a trans woman won the oscar.

It would have meant a trans actresses career would be pushed forward like none other. Appearing in bigger movies, roles specifically created for that actress, and more and more trans visibility (not just in every interview she has for the movie...but every time she is seen, mentioned, constantly fighting for trans rights in the public eye).

Instead....

We have a cis straight white guy who won an oscar (given because he played a rather harmful stereotype of "poor trannies").

During interviews, he tends to ignore trans issues....even in the acceptance of the award, he ignores trans issues (the very reason he got the award).

What was the end result of the movie? A step backwards for trans acceptance and rights with the perpetuation of many harmful stereotypes. And yet, Hollywood is celebrating it...as if they have achieved something great.

I find myself agreeing with some of the sentiments of your post because I am sure there are some talented transgendered actors out there (Harmony Santana would be one example), but I disagree with your argument that Dallas Buyer's Club is a 'step backwards' for trans acceptance'. The core issue has more to do with acting in a film rather than being transgendered.

I find it hard to believe that as a result of a transexual appearing in a film as a transexual, this would 'break the mould' and that more and more films would feature transexual characters. That is probably a challenge too far for Hollywood. And surely, the mark of success for a transexual actor (using the word as gender neutral) would be that they play a role not because of their gender, but because of their ability to act, rather than "bigger movies, roles specifically created for that actress, and more and more trans visibility". This sounds to me like a ghetto in the making. Acceptance, surely, dissolves the boundaries of gender, as acceptance of black actors dissolves the boundaries of colour -?

It is now counter-factual, but in what way would a transgendered actor have played the role differently from Jared Leto? To begin with, there was a script, so I am assuming that a transgendered actor who did not want to depict Rayon as a 'stereotypical poor trannie' would have asked for changes to the script -to show what? Rayon in the film is not actually depicted as a prostitute, as I recall, we never see her hustling or disappearing in a cab with a john. She is not shown taking drugs outside the anti-viral medicines the members of the Club are buying, yet I would surmise 50% or more of 18-35 year old transexuals in Dallas in the 1980s would be at least casual consumers of recreational drugs -Texas might be conservative by reputation, but we all know strange things happen after dark.

On the other hand, by playing a direct role in the Dallas Club, Rayon is shown as a socially responsible person who is doing something that is mutually beneficial for her and the local community -hardly a negative stereotype.

I wonder if it is a case of transexuals being critical in this sense: I don't talk like that; I don't dress like that during the day. I wouldn't do that, I wouldn't wave my hands around like that. I don't know if Jared Leto did any research, my guess is that if he is into bands, LA, clubs, and so on, he has encountered transexuals; if he did not want to acknowledge the fact that is his choice.

[broncofan]

I agree with most of the comments. It would have been very meaningful for a trans woman to win the Oscar but winning it was not a foregone conclusion for anyone. I also don't understand the argument that if someone plays a character who has some stereotypical features, they are then the mere embodiment of those stereotypes. Sometimes certain character traits are derived from actual biographical data where the character is based on a real person, and sometimes stereotypes are touched upon incidentally without an implied message that these characteristics are typical of a member of that class.

[clonmult]

No. Transgender should ONLY do porn!

Hmmmm, not sure if serious.

We've had a couple of transgender women at work, thats a fairly normal working environment (central southern UK).

People, regardless of gender, should be allowed to perform any job that they want as long as they can do the job.