Gender-defined spaces, places and tropes: Contemporary transgender representation in Tomboy and Romeos

Recent trans-cinema releases, Tomboy (Sciamma, 2011) and Romeos (Bernardi, 2011), present compelling alternatives to the traditional representation of transgender characters and issues in mainstream Hollywood productions. They are just two of a number of films in the last decade that challenge the lack of attention given to the complexity of individuals’ identities and the neglect of trans-subjectivities in mainstream representation. These contemporary European independent productions exemplify a shift towards a clearer sense of films being about transgender life: depicting elements of real-life experiences, and transitions, of trans-identities. Utilizing the work of academics Marjorie Garber, John Phillips and Judith Jack Halberstam and the now-out-of-date ‘canon’ of trans-cinema (including Mrs. Doubtfire (Columbus, 1993) and Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960)), this article explores the evolution of fictional cinematic representation of transgender identities. Focusing on a common trope developed in the earlier ‘classic’ Hollywood films – the depiction of urinary segregation – this article will argue how the theme of gendered spaces and places is reappropriated in the contemporary films and used to portray transgender lives and experiences more adequately.