8 replies to this topic

[MsBeth]

U.K.

“Actress Chloe Sevigny "felt like a freak" while filming upcoming U.K. TV show Hit And Miss because she struggled to get used to wearing a prosthetic penis to portray a transsexual.” – Toronto Sun

Actress Chloe Sevigny wears prosthetic penis to portray a transsexual

[tbirdgal]

The article never answers the question as to why she took the part if it was so bothersome to her ........

[UsernameOptional]

I think she already had the role, and then discovered that wearing the prosthesis was uncomfortable to her own personal character.  I sorta have to applaud her for doing what she did and having the experience...because now there is one more [cis]person in the world who should be able to say s/he can understand what it's like to have the wrong body parts - even if they were fake.  Just the idea made her very uncomfortable.  This should surely have given her insight as to how TG/TS people feel and what we have to deal with on a daily basis.

-Michael

[Lori]

Sevigny: Transgender Killer Role Terrifying
Sky News
Oscar-winning actress Chloe Sevigny has told Sky News that playing a transgender assassin was a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity which she could not turn down. In the new six-part series, her character discovers she has a son, now 11...

[Daneela]

This brings up some other phenomena including phantom pain in missing limbs and the well documented illusion that tricks the brain into accepting a prosthesis as though it were a real limb capable of pain.

If you haven't yet learned of the second, I'll try to describe it. The researcher and participant sit opposite each other at a small table. There is an opaque barrier extending from the participant's shoulder across the table. The participant puts her/his arm on the other side of the barrier and the researcher places a realistic prosthetic arm and hand in approximately the correct position as the participant's real arm would rest on the top of the table; if you don't know about realistic prosthetic arms, let me mention that my father owned one after losing his right arm below the shoulder. Next, the researcher takes 2 feathers and strokes the participant's hand and the prosthetic hand, simultaneously, for some period of time. Without warning, he/she reaches under the table, retrieving a mallet with which she/he whacks the prosthetic hand. The illusion is such that many participants feel the shock of real pain, even though there is nothing between the prosthetic hand and their brains that can carry that sensation; the only pathway is eyesight.

I say this is well documented because I have both read of the study and seen videos of participants jerking in reflex.

That Sevigny was caused discomfort by an artificial appendage that some others enjoy is not weird, it's proven psychology.

[Lori]

Should non-transgender actors play transgender characters?
Chloë Sevigny plays a transgender assassin in the new series. Paris Lees, who is trans, also went for the part...

[UsernameOptional]

A classic debate that has played out even here on the TGG forums.  I'm not sure what the answer should be.  If we look at this in another light, quite often nowadays, people are cast in roles according to the character.  In other words, if the character is black, producers look for a black actor.  If the character is hispanic, or from India, producers look for such people.  And, in some cases, even deaf or mentally handicapped people are cast to play deaf or mentally handicapped characters.

So perhaps it would be only fair to cast a transperson for a transcharacter.  While I agree that actors are actors because they can portray what the producer wants to present to the viewer, had a transwoman been cast, in the case of "Hit & Miss," perhaps the discomfort of having to wear a prosthetic may have been avoided.  On the other hand, a post-op transwoman would surely not like wearing a prosthetic either.

Something else that could haveen be considered...since this is not a pornographic production, why is it even necessary for any genitalia to be shown anyway?  Or the suggestion that it exists?  Why can't the program be produced in such a way that the impression is given that the character is yet pre-op especially since many transwomen do all they can to hide the bits and pieces so that nothing shows when they are dressed?

[Lori]

Hit & Miss Trailer

Hit & Miss starring Chloë Sevigny premieres on DIRECTV's AUDIENCE Network™ Wednesday, July 11, at 10 p.m.

ET/PT.

[Lori]

Chloe Sevigny Talks Playing a Transsexual with 'Out' Magazine
By Just Jared
Chloe Sevigny Talks Playing a Transsexual with 'Out' Magazine...