Transgender and cross dressing

Jared Leto as Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club.

Last weekend I saw the amazing Dallas Buyers Club. Jared Leto is really incredible and incredible cute as the HIV positive transgender Rayon. Well he should be because he got an Oscar for the part. Then it hit me that there is really almost no transgender or crossdressing in soaps anywhere. I can't recall any transgender or crossdressing in a swedish soap for instance. But there is some exceptions.

Well, there are some guest characters in both soaps and drama series both here and there, but regulars who are transgender or crossdressers in soaps are not really that common. In drama series there are some more like Sophia in Orange is the new Black for example, but that will be a post of it's own.

The first example of a transgender character in a daytime soap opera (that I know of) is the character Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street played by Julie Hesmondhalgh.

Hayley Cropper.

Hayley, who first appeared on screen in January 1998, is told to be the first permanent transgender character in the world of serialised drama. Way to go Julie! Hayley revealed quite early the she was a pre-operative male-to-female transgender woman who was originally called Harold on a date with her husband to be Roy Cropper. But it doesn't go as smooth as you might hope for Hayley. At first, Roy rejects her because he can't bear the truth (but then repents) and then she looses her job when her boss get to know the truth. But she will have some happy years with Roy and a couple of on and off foster children before she learns that she has cancer and takes her own life in November 2013. What a sad ending for such a nice, and important, character.

Jeffrey Carlson as Zoe in All My Children.

Another transgender character is the character of Zoe in the american ABC soap  All My Children. Zoe, who was played by Jeffrey Carlson, first appeared in August 2006 and last appeared in April 2007. A half a year was all we got from the americans. And that was the first, and as far as I know, only transgender in an american daytime soap. That is not enough I would say. And this seems to be a quite brief and not that deep storyline about a male international rock star who falls in love with a lesbian, comes out as a transgender, has some problems with her parents and then leaves for London. Why did yoy not develop that storyline ABC? But I can guess that the transgender story didn't appeal to the audience. But maybe I am wrong.

Victoria Atkin as Jason Costello.

Hollyoaks is a series that has had numerous gay characters through the years, and they have also had three characters worth mentioning here. We had Jason Costello, played by Victoria Atkin, who was a regular between August 2010 until December 2011. Jason was born as Jasmine and started up by becoming friends with Bart McQueen and pretends to be aboy without his family knowing. Jason and Bart has a fling, Bart thinks he has a gilrfriend, but Jason only wants to be a boyfriend. But to make a long story short, that contains some curing attempts from his mother, a suicide attempt, a serial killer as a grandfather and some jelousy from Bart when Jason dates another guy, Jason leaves for America to start over as Jasmine never existed. So that was an early end for that story as well. I for one, would have wanted to see a development in the relationship between Jason and Bart. But that is just me.

Blessing Chambers.

In February this year (2014) Blessing Chambers (Modupe Adeyeye) entered the Hollyaoks drama. Blessing worked as a glass collector in a strip club when one thong led to another and Dennis Savage was the reason she was sacked. Dennis then offers her somewhere to stay and attractions develops. Dennis can't cope with the fact that she is a transgender though, and there will be a knot on the thread (fnurra på tråden). Blessing kisses Finn O'Connor (that bastard! I wil tell you in another post) who later attacks her and then I don't know more what happend. I haven't seen all the episodes from this year yet because or swedish streaming service is a little behind. But I am very excited what the wrighters has for us!

Well, we have four transgender characters where two of them are from Hollyoaks. But what about transvestites and cross dressing? If you google 'transvestite soap opera' you find nothing! Just a little something about transgender characters. But I happen to know one. And this is also from Hollyoaks.

Kris Fisher.

In 2006 until 2010 we had Kris Fisher (Gerard McCarthy) and I love love love that character! Kris is, even today, the only permanent cross dressing character in an british soap. He is the only permanent cross dressing character in any soap as far as I knows! And he really was great. He was quirky, a bit vulgar, confident and just fabulous! And he was also kind and funny. And a little bit rude, Love him! Over the years we was in a relationships with both boys and girls, and he also had a brief polyamorous relationship with Ravi and Nancy. The actor, Gerard McCarthy once said that he thought that Kris wasn't trying to cross dress or to be a transvestite, he just had an own style. But I don't give a damn about labels, because I think that it is just what cross dressing and transvestitism is all about. To dress, feel and be just as you want. And Kris did that. And Gerard McCarthy was very praised for that. But he also was a bit criticized when his character wore LGBT campaign t-shirts. To that I can only say as the t-shirt: Some people are gay. Get over it!

Gerard McCarthy and Bronagh Waugh.

Unfortunately I couldn't find any pictures with Kris in a skirt. But I hope you enjoy this wonderful picture with the beautiful Bronagh Waugh as Cheryl Brady. Cute and cuter.

Was that all? Yes, unfortunately I think it was. Except for when Romanpretended to be Stella and wore her clothes in an ice skating competition with Deniz:

Deniz and Roman.

...and Janne dressed in womens clothes and presented himself as Jane just to be able to visit Iida in the eating disorders clinic:

Hemmo Karja as "Jane" Haukkala.

...but that doesn't really count. Even though they were very cute, both of them! But we need more transgender, transvestitism and cross dressing in soaps. Because it is more common than you think, and that's why it needs to be more visible. That's what I think!

If there are some more examples of transgenders, transvestites, cross dressers or others who fit under the T letter, please let me know! Leave a comment or send me an e-mail! I am reading them all.
Hugs and kisses!