Six Transgender People Share Real-Life Stories During Unique Taping

ABC’s popular daytime drama All My Children broke new ground in January with the introduction of a transgender character, Zoe (Jeffrey Carlson). On March 9, the series will mark another first when six transgender people appear on the show, sharing their personal stories in a rare unscripted format.

GLAAD Media Programs Coordinator Tom Ogletree visited the set of All My Children on the day of the historic taping and had a unique opportunity to speak with executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers, several All My Children cast members, and the transgender guests who came to share their stories. "Being on-set during the taping, watching the actors and their characters interact with real people's stories, was an amazing experience," Ogletree said. "And it was evidence again that All My Children really is committed to the story of Zoe’s transition, to telling it accurately and to telling it well."

Caruthers said that the episode represents an important moment, both for Zoe and viewers. "The audience will be given the rare opportunity, along with Zoe, to experience the real unscripted stories and issues experienced by real transgender men and women playing themselves. We are very proud to showcase their compelling stories."

Jennifer Finley Boylan, a transgender advocate and author of the bestselling memoir She’s Not There, was cast as the leader of a support group attended by Zoe. "It’s really quite a risk they’re taking," she said about the format of the taping, a first for All My Children. "They’re just going to turn on the cameras, and we’re all going to tell our stories, and it’s unscripted – we don’t even know what is going to happen. It’s very exciting." 

"I feel really privileged to be part of this project because I think it’s extremely powerful because so many people watch it," said participant David Harrison, an actor and playwright who has performed a one-man show about his own transition experience. "The potential is enormous to help not only trans people coming out but their families."

Betty Crow, another participant, pointed out that the episode will also help friends and family. "Transgender people don’t exist in a void – they have people who love them and family," she said. "We’ve actually heard stories about people that because of this storyline have been able to wrap their heads around their son, daughter, husband, wife – that seeing it in this context has brought a sense of normalcy."

Actor Jeffrey Carlson, who portrays Zoe, knows first hand the impact this storyline has had on viewers. He spoke with GLAAD about the fan mail he has received from people ranging "from an eleven year old girl to a woman in her eighties" whose previous misconceptions had been challenged. "People say – and there’s always a qualifier – that I didn’t think I was going to like this story, but I wanted to hold Zoe in my arms when she came out."

Boylan said she hoped that someday a transgender character would not merit any special notice, saying, "There’s an old line from a song about dreaming of a day when things we’ve never seen will seem familiar. That’s what I hope for – when people out there in television land or book land or radio land understand that this is something familiar, this is something that is another good way of being human."

GLAAD collaborated with All My Children since last fall, helping to educate those behind the scenes to ensure that Zoe’s story is told accurately and with integrity. Since Zoe's introduction, the ABC family comedy Ugly Betty introduced the transgender character Alexis Meade, played by Rebecca Romijn. On cable, The L Word has featured a female-to-male transgender character for two seasons, and Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy recently announced that he is developing 4 oz., a new series for FX that will follow a male sportscaster's transition.

"There will never be acceptance of an issue without visibility," says GLAAD Entertainment Media Director Damon Romine, "and it's these kinds of representations of the transgender community that will ultimately make the unfamiliar familiar."

For a complete Q&A with Jennifer Finley Boylan, please click here.

For hi-res photos, click here.

About GLAAD
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

Resources:
GLAAD's Media Reference Guide: Transgender Terminology

All My Children's Official Web Site

Jennifer Finley Boylan's Web Site

My Husband Betty

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Michael A. Cohen, ABC Daytime Media Relations
Phone: (212) 456-1429            Email: michael.a.cohen@abc.com           

Sarah Holbert, GLAAD Entertainment Media Manager
Phone: (323) 634-2013            Email: holbert@glaad.org