1.Describe a moment or scene in the film that you found particularly affirming, challenging, intriguing, or moving. What was it about that scene that was especially compelling for you?
2. The documentary argues that while media affects everyone, media affects trans communities more than cis (non-trans) communities. Why is the media more important in creating beliefs about trans communities (among both trans and non-trans people) than in creating beliefs about cis (non-trans) communities. What does the media need to do with representation in order to support safety, wellbeing, and decriminalization of the trans community? (Decriminalization would mean not treating people as if they are fundamentally criminal rule-breakers who deserve to be watched, controlled, and punished).
3. Bianca Leigh describes having a radar that distinguishes between joking that signals affinity/inclusion and being the butt of the joke. How do you tell the difference between good-natured teasing among friends and making fun of someone in a way that is hurtful? How might your feelings about a joke change if you have a personal connection to the thing being joked about?
4. What do the filmmakers mean when emphasizing the point that trans visibility in the media both helps the trans community and at the same time can make the community more vulnerable to harm? What is needed to prevent this vulnerabilization of trans communities?
5. Jen Richards notes that “a lot of people will look at trans women’s performance of femininity and see it as somehow reinforcing the worst patriarchal stereotypes of women.” Richards goes on to explain that trans women need to go “hyper-feminine” to protect themselves as a matter of survival–it’s their “armor.” Why do you think the performance of femininity in particular is so heavily scrutinized? Why, in particular, do people question trans women for presenting in a hyper-feminine way?
6. What does the PowerPoint explain about the hypercriminalization of trans communities?
7. What does the PowerPoint argue about police interactions with trans communities and trans communities of color in particular?
8. Laverne Cox describes the essence of critical distance when she says, “When you are a member of a marginalized community, most of film and television is not made with you in mind. And so if you are a person of color, an LGBTQ person, a person who’s an immigrant, a person with a disability, you develop a critical awareness because you understand that the images that you’re seeing are not your life.” Are there places in your own life where you have gained important insight from having critical distance? In what ways can being able to look in from the outside be beneficial? When is being an “outsider” simply a harmful function of discrimination or exclusion?
9. Finally, list three new terms you learned and what they mean from the For Harriet site. If you already new them all, good on you! List your three favorites and what they mean.
Be sure you are watching the Laverne Cox documentary and not the Michael Douglas movie from long ago.
https://time.com/5686290/transgender-men-representation-television/
https://transequality.org/issues/resources/national-transgender-discrimination-survey-full-report
