Essay Proposal

Design Context Issues in Contemporary Design Essay Proposal

word count: 527 student number: B059062

For my essay, I plan to critically examine the presence of transgender individuals in media, specifically in television and film. By referencing critical studies of gender and gender performance, I plan to examine how trans people fit into a world where the gender binary is slowly expanding and distancing itself from two rigid structures of 'male' and female'. My main question is how can designers and artists create content that accurately represents trans peoples experiences without being exploitative or problematic. While the focus of this essay is on trans representation, I feel that it is important to have an understanding of gender as a concept and gender theory, which is why I believe using Judith Butlers work as a source is a good starting point for this essay. It's undeniable that Butlers work encourages conversation of topics that some might shy away from, such as gender and identity. Within her work 'Undoing Gender', Butler clearly explains the ideology that gender is subjective, and that cultures dictate expectations of gender, rather than gender itself creating confines for individuals to pander to. I believe this is a valuable source as it provides an insight into gender and illogical 'gender-norms', where trans individuals are often seen as outliers. A source which has provided me with a lot of information is the Trans Media Watch Research Paper November 2009 to December 2010. The research itself is focused on how trans people respond to current representation, which is very crucial information for this essay, particularly as it is information that comes from trans people directly. The research is conducted over a variety of age groups, spanning from 16 to 80 and includes both male to female and female to male individuals, as well as several genderqueer people. This source states that '70% of the 249 people who responded to this part of the survey said that, on the whole, they felt representations of transgender people in the media are negative or very negative, with just under 5% considering them positive.' This idea is only solidified by GLAAD's finding. GLAAD is a registered organisation specialising in LGTB+ media, and their article Victims or Villains: Examining Ten Years of Transgender Images on Television has provided me with many examples of transgender individuals within popular media, and their impact. The article claims that "anti-transgender slurs, language and dialogue was present in at least 61% of the catalogued episodes and storylines." Using a criteria of language, context and character development, the article also explains how some shows have positively constructed trans characters and story lines, which would provide my essay with a clear outline of positive and negative representation. To solidify my argument, I plan to use an actual television advert by the Boston Beer Company as a source. The commercial itself shows a man and woman on a bed, kissing romantically before the woman announces that she is 'transexual'. The man is outraged, and takes a drink of beer to calm himself down, where he then returns to bed with her. The commercial implies that their beer is so good, that it can make everything okay, even something as outrageous as a transgender woman.

Bibliography

Butler, Judith. Undoing Gender. New York: Routledge, 2004. Print. GLAAD, 'Victims Or Villains: Examining Ten Years Of Transgender Images On Television'. N.p., 2012. Web. 18 Oct. 2015. url: http://www.glaad.org/publications/victims-or-villains-examining-ten-years-transgender-images-television Cael M. Keegan, ‘Moving Bodies: Sympathetic Migrations in Transgender Narrativity,’ Genders Journal 57 (2013) Trans Media Watch,. 'How Transgender People Experience The Media'. N.p., 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2015. url: http://www.transmediawatch.org/Documents/How%20Transgender%20People%20Experience%20the%20Media.pdf Mighty Tasty!" The Boston Beer Company Ad. California: The Boston Beer Company, 2011. video.