Disclosure is an eye-opening film I have never felt so deeply about a film. This documentary opened gave me a clearer insight to the life of trans people throughout the years. And to be honest it made me dislike the entertainment industry a bit. Why have trans people been depicted as comedy it is go degrading. I truly felt so heart broken for all the little kids that watched shows with misrepresentation of trans people. Imagine how they much of felt and think. What really upset me was the way they made trans people seem like liars. They never lied they are who they say they are regardless of the genitalia they were born with. The Construct of gender really is a toxic thing that truly is causes a lot of issues for Queer individuals. It also brings into question how humans really love because if you try to kill or beat someone just because they don’t have the genitalia you associated with their physical representation, you are not only abusing that person mentally and physically, but you are dehumanizing them. This misrepresentation of trans people is not benefiting anyone. One it makes it seem like all trans people are nothing more than their physical appearance with I find is the lease important it is how they feel inside those counts. Second it gives of the wrong reaction to finding out a person is trans, trans people are human and do not deserve to be represented in a way that degrades them and sees them as revolting. They representation of men dresses in movies as women to represent trans women affects both the cis men and the trans women because it gives the message that without their makeup, they are a man and that could not be further from the truth. Trans women ARE WOMEN and that is that! With makeup without make they are women. Gender goes way beyond gender. And brings up the question of homophobia because why is the idea of kissing a man so revolting. Finally, this dramatically effects young children and other people in general who have not come out to their family and society because they think they will not be accepted and well be beaten for being them. Pose and Naomi from Sense 8 was the first time I saw beautiful representation of a trans person on film. Naomi in sense 8 is true to herself and her relationship with her girlfriend is beautiful. Sense 8 is one the best shows I have ever seen when it comes to representation of sexuality outside of heterosexuality. I have never watch Boys Don’t Cry but I have so much empathy for the real person and people that go through that. I tried so made to hold back my tears when they showed the scene of the demon teen boys bullying him and exposing his to his girlfriend. It was too painful to watch I would have to work up a lot of courage to watch that film because I know I will be heart broken after. I don’t understand why some humans are so cruel. It really baffles my mind because humans find it so are to realize that we are all the same from the trees to the animals to the smallest being. Who are we to beside who’s existence is valid and who’s is not? This film has made me more conscience of how I look at people and how people view others. It took me a long time to realize that I was pansexual and know that I know I would not want someone to take that away from me. And I will fight for the rights and pure representation and happiness and well being of all trans people.

The film “Disclosure” was emotional and eye opening for me to watch. Before watching this film I did not know much about trans. I only thing I knew was that someone would go from the biological sex they are to the opposite sex. The way the media showed the meaning of trans along the years was a negative way. In the media trans was shown as something to laugh at or something to fear. The way the documentary starts is the best way I believe to describe how trans people are feeling at something and you just don’t get it?” Do you know that feeling when you’re sitting in the movie theater and everyone is laughing  . Now what the media does is for it to become more difficult for them to come out and be who they are comfortable with being with no eyes around them to judge. Trans people are everywhere, you just have to pay attention. Not everyone is accepting of trans people, the more eyes they have on them the more at risk they are at. 

Nick Adams says the way people are being taught to react to a transgender is fear, they are either dangerous serial killer, perverts etc. because the one questions lies Why are they wearing a dress when they are a men? It’s sad because the way media portrays transgender, people cannot have their own opion on how they really feel. Many people are open minded along with transphobic people out there but the media does not allow for one to have their own opinion on it. There are many TV shows out there that bring tansgender down, they are the laughing topic. Many interviews where transgender people were asked questions that were insulting. TV hosts didn’t care how their questions were asked and didn’t see how it might have affected their guests. The celebrities speaking in this documentary seemed hurt when they were talking about the different TV shows. 

Zackary Ducker talks about Dog Day Afternoon, it was a movie where they wanted to cast Elizabeth Coffey Williams but she looked too much like a woman. It is sad that you can never be enough, something is always wrong with the person you are. She also talks about trans women playing a role where they do not have to be a man in a disguise. Once a trans woman plays a woman in a movie and outside of their role they are still a woman it becomes easier for them. 

Zeke Smith Talks about how his childhood favorite movie ended. He was one day feeling down as he was transitioning and wanted something to uplift him and so watched it in college. He gets to the end and sees that the actor vomits and wants to cleanse himself after having physical contact with a transgender person. He also exposes her to everyone, showing everyone that her genitals were tucked. It raises the question to them of who will love them for who they are like how Lilly Wachowski says.  

         The film “Disclosure” was an emotionally evoking and eye-opening film for me to watch. Trans representation in media throughout history is not something I knew much about prior to watching this documentary. The most upsetting part of watching this for me was the fact that trans identities have historically been represented as something to laugh at. Every human being deserves respect and recognition. We all want to be seen. It takes so much courage and strength for trans people to come out and transition. I can’t imagine how much it hurts to be invalidated no matter what you do. 

         Sadira Mohammed posted a snapshot this week that said “Be true to who you are”, featuring a picture of a trans man who had recently undergone top surgery. I love this snapshot because at the core of transness is a desire to be true to yourself and your own identity. Choosing to deny your truth in order to maintain the status quo is no way to live. To not accept a trans person’s identity is to deny someone their truth, and that is not a decision that anyone has the authority to make. 

         I don’t fully understand why our society is so transphobic. I assume that it all stems from the patriarchy and its golden standard of gender norms and gender values. I also assume that it stems from the tendency of people to minimize and erase experiences that aren’t their own. Just as some white people will do everything in their power to invalidate the experiences of people of color. Just like there are people out there who say the Holocaust didn’t happen. Sometimes it feels like we will never escape the invalidation and erasure of others. 

         In the LGBTQ+ community it feels as though getting the majority of people to accept the trans community is the next frontier. Although being gay is nowhere near being accepted in the way that being straight is, it’s still lightyears ahead in its social acceptability when compared to transness. I have been dating a trans man for a short period of time and the transphobic comments that people have made to me about it have been really eye opening. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be trans and have to deal with the transphobia of others. 

         I’ve realized that most people don’t “get” being trans. I don’t understand why people think that they must fully understand another’s experience before affording them respect and validation. I don’t understand why people who consider themselves to be accepting, loving and open-minded are unable to apply those traits to the way they think about trans people. Oftentimes trans people are either laughed at or hyper-sexualized by the media, and both are a form of dehumanization. Trans people are often written off as being confused about who they are. The truth is that trans people are so in touch with themselves that they have actually set an example for the rest of us in how to be true to yourself and confident in who you are no matter what others try to tell you or take away from you. 

This week we watched the documentary called “Disclosure” which I found insightful and moving. The documentary was about the transgender community and their lives where society makes it difficult. The documentary starts by showing many images moving fast, different types of people, from different backgrounds. I found this powerful because it is showing the audience how big the LGBTQ community is. The documentary showed the highs and the lows of the community. While the community is getting more representation in acting, modeling, government positions; there are still setbacks from our society. For example, when Oprah Winfrey asked the transgender model “how does she cover her penis so it’s not noticeable” I thought that was disgusting. I do not understand how that question was appropriate to ask! I can maybe understand what she tried meaning but the way it was said (in front of an audience) was inappropriate, rude, and embarrassing. Another time this happened in the documentary was when the transgender model was meeting with a talk-show host and she asked her something very private. The transgender model recently underwent surgury. I think the host was wrong and again the way it was said came out wrong. I am glad that after this incident the host learned from the situation and asked how should people in the future speak so it doesn’t sound disrespectful. I think this was a great step forward in helping society change its language. We discussed many times in this class language changes people’s interpretations. I am proud of the models for dealing with that situation with class, and maturity. In addition, my classmate Emely D. snapshot shows a moving image where a woman is crying because there are many fingers pointed at her and asking her private questions. The woman looks afraid and scared of these fingers. Like the fingers are going to hurt her physically or emotionally. I think this future shows how society makes an impact on the transgender community. Nobody should live in fear. I think they did something important, instead of getting upset and fighting they chose to raise awareness of the way society speaks to transgenders. As I continued to watch I also got the feeling of distress, these individuals did not look happy, their smiles looked forced. A lot of the individuals from the transgender community had the similarity of feeling neglected and hated by their society. They all spoke about the way their community was made fun of in media and films. The documentary showed many films and tv episodes where transgenders were made fun of or degraded. It was a lot of immature and what I call “dumb-funny” films. I can see the hurt they felt and their frustrations speaking about their opinion on these films. I’ll be honest I never realized films/tv shows used the transgender community as a joke till I saw this documentary. So I learned something new and I think it’s important because it showed the audience awareness. Many of the individuals giving their perspectives were close to tears. I became emotional as well because they do not deserve to go through that. I was also able to connect with them because I have always been a curvy woman, but back then it was just “fat” and media and films also make fat people-related jokes. It always hurt my feelings to know people see me as “fat” or “ugly.” So I definitely agree society is hurtful towards communities that are not fit to meet the “beauty” our society approves of. This documentary was very moving and it gave me more awareness of things I did not know before. I think this was a great last reading for Gender Women’s studies.

According to GLAAD, over 80% of Americans do not know someone who is transgender. They started to have an idea about trans people through the media.

“Disclosure” is a film that shows us who is Transgender and how they were struggling in the past and. In the documentary, In the past, we saw trans people being subject to rejection, mockery. They were marginalized even violent. We saw at the beginning of the documentary the man or woman was running and people were yelling at her, so he jumped on the river to save a life. People were surprised to see someone with a man’s body and wearing a woman’s dress, or having female sex. In “ How I Met Your Mother (2011)”, the young man was surprised to see a woman in the men’s bathroom. He said” this is a men’s bathroom” and she replied “I know I am dude” and he took off his penis and started to pit as a man. He was so surprised because he has never seen that before. Bianca Leigh, Actress, the writer said “as trans people we know if you laugh with us or if you laugh at us”. Laverne Cox, the actress, said when she was little in her school, she was bullied. Also when she came to New York on the bus, when people looked at her, automatically they started to laugh. I can say that transgender life was not easy before because they were faced harassment, be fired, or denied from their job. They faced abuse and violence like in “Boys don’t cry” he has a man body, but he is biologically female. When his girlfriend’s brother discovers that, he ripped him. 

In the past, trans people were being denied access to critical medical care because they are transgender. Many Transgender people have to deal with physical and mental health problems because of discrimination and stigma. People or society where they live tends to tell them that their identity is wrong or deviant. These experiences can be challenging for them. It is not easy for them like  Lavern Cox said:” it is so hard to talk about I want to cry talking about it, it just horrible” Also, TiQ Milan, a media maker who is transgender and black he said it is difficult for him to deal with both at the same time because being a transgender is not easy and being a black man is terrible because of the racism. He said”  it is so frustrating when people ask you if you are a man or woman? “ Moreover transgender people are so afraid of what their friends will think or say if they know that they have a woman body, but with a penis. Transgender has to deal with all of those problems. However trans people especially transgender people who are accepted in their communities have a good life, good health because they know that people around them accept them as they are. They do not have to worry. 

Today because of the movie, TV, many people started to know much about trans people. In the media, we can see and understand trans people. Now they can live without fear of discrimination and violence. They are supporting and they can affirm who they are. They can express themselves because they do not want to be others. Now transgender people are people celebrating we have so many trans people in the government, the media, I can name, Alexandra Billings, actress, education, Susan Stryker, Historian, and Nick Adams, Glaad Director of Trans Media and representation. They are everywhere in the world.

I think this documentary is a good eye-opener for me because I learned a lot. Before I was so confused about booty transgender people. Sometimes I asked myself did they change their sex why? what is going wrong? Many questions passed through my mind. Today I see and understand trans people, they are just like others, but because of misinformation by the media people think that they are less than human, bad people, killers as  The TV shows us.

The title of the documentary” Disclosure” means that transgender wants to be seen by people, the world like they want to break the secret. They want to publish who they are, like the revelation of their identity. 

The snapshot of Patience Ocran gives a good example of the word “Disclosure” “For the First time trans people are taking the center of their own storytelling” by Jen Richards.

I think that people are people no matter what.  We should all respect and care for each other black, white, yellow, and trans people. 

Watching this documentary shows how inhumane the real world can be. For years and decades, Transgenders have been mocked and judged unfairly. Their sexuality degraded, displayed, and wounded. The media played and continues to play a major role in the disrespecting of trans people. There has been a continuation of over-simplified and distorted image of trans people, which continues to harm them in every way possible. In the film, “disclosure”, we can see how hurt these trans people are, to have their sexuality insulted and not been able to do much about it. It is truly annoyingly fascinating the numerous movies produced that all give of the same story and view of trans people. In these Hollywood movies showcased in the documentary, trans people are angry, psychotic, and impatient. Its either that or they turn out to be murderers who always end up dying, they are portrayed to have psychological issues. They hire real transgenders and have them play roles sex workers who end up dying. Talking of sex working, many trans people in the real world (according to the documentary) must result to that kind of work, because no one wants to hire them. And one way or the other they must fend for themselves. Transgenders are also people with dignity and emotions, and rather than treating them like comics, they would like to be celebrated. They want to be seen and appreciated, validated just it is done for the men in society. Why can’t it be so? In the film, we notice that once a transgender was discovered by a partner, friend, neighbor, or any person who is close to them, they have a very disturbing reaction to the trans. They would vomit, take a shower, in a way cleansing themselves of being in any kind of association with them. They then go out of their way to further humiliate them. You would see in a movie that, “Oh! They are finally having a good presentation of trans people”, then the next scene comes, and you see that it is the same pattern. The comics, discrimination, vomiting, humiliation, you would think it would get better in the 21^st century, but no. With regards to all the false representation of trans people in the documentary, and how they are shown to be “aggressive”, research shows that about eighty percent of the US population are in no close relation to a transgender. Christine Jorgensen was globally famous successful transwoman; she was not the first, but she was very well known. On uncountable occasions, different trans people have been interviewed, and during those sessions have been undoubtedly disrespected with the very unnecessary and rude questions like, “where did you hide your penis, how do you have sex, how is the surgery and so many others”. They are basically getting harassed on television. They go to the streets and the treatments are way worse and more brutal. Many trans people get beaten up for no good reason, they are stripped naked, some even get killed. 

This week we looked into pop culture, and we watched the video “Disclosure” which is a documentary that talks about the history of Transgender and Cis-gender representation on screen. When we look at how things stand, there is a really great representation of Trans-gender people on TV and film in the past few years than ever before. The film provides a path along with the presentations of Trans, non-binary, and gender-fluid people on screen, starting from the film of D.W Griffith “The birth of the nation” right up to New York’s queer ballroom culture in “Pose” which featured some notable number of Trans people both in front of and behind the camera. The documentary also gives us multiple points of view when it comes to letting us know what it means to be Trans, what forms both the opinion of Trans people and Cis-gendered, the past history of Trans people being portrayed on TV, and many other dozens of media. When we look at the early 1900s, Trans people’s visibility was seen as toxic and complex as Black visibility. A lot of Trans people were seen as comedy, “seen as some kind of freaks,” and people thought that “they were just playing dress up in order to make other people laugh.” 

From my personal experience, I never really had much idea about this topic on Transgender people except for when it is talked about in some of my classes. This video was a good eye-opener, and I really learned a lot from it. The media has always made us believe that there are only two types of gender people can belong to which are either male or female and any other type are not recognized as a gender rather they are being used as jokes and mocked. When Trans people are portrayed on TV, a lot of people see it as misleading and sometimes seen as less human which to me is not right. We as humans have the right to be whatever we want, and society has no right to dispute that choice. 

The documentary also talks about the film of D.W Griffith “The birth of a nation” which is a film that revives the kkk. It was a racist movie and D.W Griffith was also very much aware and understands that he can turn gender-nonconforming people into the joke of his story which to me was not right because these are people’s identities, and by right should not be used as a joke. His film was also used to stereotype people. Also, another film “A Florida Enchantment (1914)” is a film that places questions on “Gender change” and the “Use of blackface”. Looking at the film, we see the lady eat a seed, and just like that she wakes up and turned out to be a man. This is an unbelievably bad way of representing Trans people on the screen because a lot of people watch these movies/films, and some end up believing what they see on the screen. When some of these films are shown in the wrong way, Transgender people are seen as illegal people and sometimes they get harassed and arrested. As Laverne Cox said, “When you think about the time, that time historically, cross-dressing was illegal so that someone who decided to transgress gender expectations in real life was often harassed and arrested.” It was believed that people who cross-dress “Was flirting and when they dress as women, they were taken in by heartless New York copper.” and “Girls who turned into a man was fined $12.45 for walking in street dressed in man’s garb”. This was able to happen due to society’s construct on gender. Gender is a social construct of what society considers to be female/male which means that our society believes in only two genders and that is the only one people are expected to belong in any other type of gender is not accepted and would not be considered as a type of gender. Society has taught us that whichever gender we belong to we need to act upon it. As women, we need to perform & do things that are meant for women same goes for men. Women are meant to put on garments or clothes that are for men and when people go against that rule which was placed by the society, they either get harassed or mocked. 

A lot of these Transgender/cross-dressers have been around for a very long time in this country, but the media has so much represented them in such a way that they are seen more like freaks than humans. I can relate this to my classmate Nazir O’s snapshot which quotes “I think for a long time, the way in which trans people have been represented on screen have suggested that we’re not real… that we don’t exist. And yet here I am. Yet here we are, and we’ve always been here”. Hollywood movies have taught people a lot of ways/how to react to Trans people. “And sometimes, they’re being taught that the way to react to Trans people is fear.” People were told that “Trans People were dangerous. That they must be deviants or perverts.” “Asking why else you would wear a dress if you’re a man.” Some of those images been seen on the screen make people ask questions and most times make people reject Transgender & Cis-gender people. Also, some of those images are so belittling towards all women. “And we see comedians dressing up as women in order to get a job or affordable housing.” It is also sad to see that most of the television shows where we see Transgender characters brought in on shows portray the profession of “sex workers” but in a real sense, some of these Transgender women who act as sex workers were pushed into it due to “employment discrimination that Transgender people face. The unemployment rate for transgender people is three times the national average, and four times the national average if you’re a Trans person of color.” I believe this film was made to make people understand that people of Transgender are humans like everyone else and the significance of the film “Disclosure” was to make known every secret information about Transgender people, so everyone can be aware of it and see them for who they are and what they represent. I also believe it is good for people to disclose about themselves to everyone they love so that they can be aware and be supportive of them. Being a Transgender person is obviously not a sin or a crime, they are also humans and need to be loved and accepted in society. 

In our modern era, it’s obvious we have more rights and freedoms granted in the states which had then granted vast acclamation to LGBTQ+ and everything it encompasses. This paper would center more on transgender which would have a wide range to scout in individuals who believe that they don’t fit into the range of social construct that recognizes gender on their own measure by sexes. This people believe there’s a need for everyone to have feeling or self control to choose freely and wisely where to fit in and belong to without any form of restrictions one way or the other. These people have a notion that being masculine and feminine has been improperly constructed by societies attributing it to sexes which in turn takes away any freedom and right of yours to make an informed decision which was popularly frowned upon sometime ago.

Especially with extreme religious factions, it’s an abomination to choose to change the way you’ve been made or created, you have no choice nor right to make any alterations to how you’ve been created while growing up. To others who advocate for transgender, they make a firm stance although they are few, have been cast aside and out of society for relatively a long period of time and even now with little forum given, they find it a little difficult to come out fully as society again would react indifferent in the long run. The depression and trauma that these folks go through simply because they want to make choices of gender themselves and not follow the normative laid out by the structures in our societies have led to them being outcasts among friends and family. They have been made to hide in the shadows and undertake or enjoy their choices in silence, some have managed to come out and stand firm to motivate others like them especially in the States so they know they are not alone and there’s more that could be done to value themselves and be equals to any other person who lives in the society too.

Now on media sets, numerous folks who have the opportunity to showcase their transgender choices are literally paving way for everyone to feel good and content with the choice they made. To the others who are still finding it hard to accept that which people did to their gender either by transplant or choice, would detest staying and living with such people but that wouldn’t stop anyone from legally changing their gender simply because people don’t like it, it’s now all about choices, freewill and the law giving them the chance to make important calls that would affect their lives. In today’s world, being a transgender has gotten more approval than that of the past ages. This shows the development that have been undergone to help ease the tension and pressure in societies that have been exerted on those we use to call “indifferent” to now become our brothers and sisters regardless the extreme choices they made. It’s now acceptable in the United States and other European countries that people do have the right to change their gender whenever they want to and I believe that would also be a step forward to adapt to the fast changing and developing world we have today.