Exploring the Nuances of Transgender Representation within a New Frame
摘要
Heteronormativity still rules as a majoritarian ideology in India and across the world. The average cinema for popular consumption still uses the frame of gender binary. However, if we take a closer look at the content of cinema and web series over the last 10 years, especially on OTT platforms, we can see some good stories where LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual) people are portrayed in a considerably sensible way. Few cinemas have even tried to show transgenders as strong characters or as their true representations. This study uses Framing Theory which helps to analyze the prejudices about transgenders created by a stereotypical portrayal using the heteronormative lens in popular cinema of the past. The NALSA judgment of 2014 brought about an important change. It created space for the transgenders officially bringing them under the umbrella term third gender. There is a perceptible change in the content of cinema portraying transgender characters after 2014, and it certainly is not a mere coincidence. The content analysis of web series Made in Heaven season 2 is analyzed to bring home this change. This study will contribute to develop an empathetic understanding of the alternative viewpoint regarding gender and sexual orientation that challenges the heteronormative framework and sends a strong message. In Made in Heaven season 2, the transgender character of Meher, played by Dr. Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju, a transgender herself, is a welcome change that sends out a very strong social message to the filmmakers to rethink and make deliberate efforts towards appropriate transgender representation. Content analysis is done using a multipronged psychosocial analysis to highlight the role of cinema for sensitization and social change.