Shaping image of the Right to exist

It’s Saturday morning, February 8, 2025, I’m still half asleep while riding my bike to the dance school to take a ballet class. In the corner of my eye I see posters of a new children’s film in the bus shelters. On the way back I take a closer look at the posters and see that they are for the movie Miss Pots, with Tygo Gernandt as Miss Pots. Within a second I feel an explosion of anger, powerlessness and sadness. Such a strong reaction to a stupid movie poster, that doesn’t come out of nowhere.

The movie

When I’m home, I delve into the film. According to producer Independent Films, the film is about students Kaya and Simon. “They can’t get along with the terrible new teacher right away. And even worse: they don’t trust her for a penny. (…) Who will win this duel?” This does not explain why a cisgender man plays the role of a woman. A negative review of the film gives more insight. It turns out the title character isn’t a woman after all, but a male burglar disguised as a school teacher. Why is the burglar disguised as a female teacher and not as a male teacher? An attempt at comedy, as we have already seen in films like Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). I was hoping we were past this harmful trope, but apparently not. So let me explain again in 2025 why a film like this is problematic, especially now.

Comedy?

Fortunately, it is increasingly well-known that it is harmful for trans people when trans roles are played by cisgender actors. For example, if a trans woman is played by a cis man, the image is that trans women are actually men. This contributes to transphobic ideology, which has far-reaching consequences for the trans community. Something similar happens in movies like Miss Pots. A man pretends to be a woman with the aim of an absurd comic effect. After all, in a society with gender inequality where men are dominant, it is absurd and ridiculous when they ‘imitate’ a woman; someone who is seen as male with what is seen as a female expression is crazy and funny. This is harmful to queer, trans, gender and sex divers people who are perceived the same way and are therefore dismissed as absurd.

Drag?

A man who pretends to be a woman, isn’t that just a Drag Queen? No, there is an important distinction. Drag is a form of self-expression in which someone plays with gender roles, often to question gender norms. The moment an actor plays a man who pretends to be a woman, it is no longer a form of self-expression, but an absurdity for comical effect. There are also films where a woman pretends to be a man, often to question gender inequality. However, thanks to the patriarchy, these stories are not seen as comical and there are a lot less of them. Unfortunately, to this day stories about men who pretend to be women get a platform. Especially when these men disguise themselves as women to hide that they are doing bad things, such as theft in the case of ‘Miss Pots’.

Transfobis ideology

So, it is not only a man who pretends to be a woman (which ridicules people who are seen as such) but a bad man who uses femininity as a disguise. This imagery is in line with the misinformation that is spread with transphobic ideology. They reason that trans women are actually men who pretend to be women in order to get into women’s spaces to (sexually) attack women. A man doesn’t need a disguise for this. Men would also go into transition to ‘infiltrate’ women’s sports. These fears are, of course, completely unfounded. Why would a man go through a difficult and expensive transition to win in women’s sport? What satisfaction would a man get out of it? In addition, recent research funded by the International Olympic Committee shows that trans women are physically at a disadvantage compared to cis women.

Negative image

Unfortunately, negative imagery and misinformation has gotten an increasingly bigger platform in recent years. The consequences for queer, trans, gender and sex diverse people have become painfully visible in recent weeks. Right-wing politicians and other influential people use this community as a scapegoat to stay in power within capitalism. The connection between anti-trans ideology and capitalism deserves its own article, so for now I’ll stick to the influence of shaping image. Trump and the billionaires besides him are a clear and current example of this influence. They have fueled the anti-gender movement by creating fear with misinformation. Creating fear of gender-diverse people and other marginalized groups such as BIPOC and refugees is the biggest strategy used during his political campaign and has yielded enough votes for a second Trump term. Even despite the 34 charges he was found guilty of, speaking about absurdity. 

Trans-rights USA

During the first weeks of his second term, Trump continued to attack trans people. For example, a helicopter crash would be the fault of a transgender pilot, but he didn’t stop at false accusations. Trump signed several executive orders to banish trans women from women’s sports. In addition, the Trump administration is taking initiatives to limit trans people in their ability to change papers and by denying access to healthcare and restrooms. Trump has declared there are only two sexes, male and female, and this is determined at conception. This is not only an attack on trans and nonbinary people, but completely ignores the existence of people with an intersex experience. Ironically, this definition makes all cisgender men, trans men and all trans women, cisgender women. Biologically, all embryos start as female and sex differentiation only occurs after 6 to 7 weeks.

Influence of shaping image

In addition to new initiatives that undermine the right to exist for trans, intersex and non-binary people, old laws that improved the lives of these people are also being reversed. Government information about gender has been removed and thousands of books on LGBTQIA+ people have been banned from schools and libraries in U.S. states. Former Trans Magazine editor Tammie Schoots sees a comparison with Nazi rhetoric. It is shocking to see the control over the narrative about gender and sex divers people and the restriction of their right to exist that follows. It is worrying that the world seems to silently watch as this is happening while living as a trans nonbinary person under a radical right-wing cabinet becomes increasingly scary. Especially when Dutch politician Wilders is also speaking of ‘gender madness’ and trans healthcare and rights are under pressure.

Responsibility

The freedom and security of gender and sex diverse people is under international pressure and at the same time money is spent on a story about a burglar disguised as a female teacher. That money could have made space for a story that promotes gender equality and the acceptance and emancipation of gender and sex diverse people. Within this community there are plenty of writers, directors, actors, and other creators who could have made a fun and good children’s film. So yes, I explode with anger, powerlessness and sadness about a stupid children’s movie, because shaping image is a responsibility. And when it comes to my community and that of every other scapegoat, the mainstream media fails. But I can also tell stories and platforms like Trans Magazine do offer space for that.