Representations in Popular Culture

Popular culture and media representations are cultural narrators through which social norms are disseminated. As a result, media have the profound ability to shape the way we see and navigate the world and how others engage with us. Given this impact, it is important to consider how media have represented binary and nonbinary trans people. This entry will examine “looking relations” and how these produce the cisgender gaze. This gaze will be used to discuss early representations (e.g., gender code, proxy-representation, dominant tropes) and contemporary applications and issues, such as the transition narrative, oppression narratives, and transface. The entry concludes by discussing the importance of community-driven media.