‘Transparent’ brings gender identity issues to forefront

Amazon’s streaming series Transparent follows Maura Pfefferman (born Morton Pfefferman and played by Jeffrey Tambor of Arrested Development fame), a retired political science professor and parent of three adult children, as she finally reveals to her family that she has always identified as a woman. The show’s creator, Jill Soloway, was inspired by her own father, who came out as a transgender woman. Behind the scenes, Soloway has gone to significant lengths to ensure that the story of Maura’s journey is treated with sensitivity and respect. 

For example, Soloway has enacted a “transfirmative action plan,” which has included hiring at least 20 transgender cast and crew members, more than 60 transgender extras, and two full-time transgender consultants. In addition, all the bathrooms on set are gender-neutral, and Soloway has distributed copies of Julia Serano’s trans memoir “Whipping Girl” to her cast and crew. Not only has the show’s subject matter and Soloway’s hiring/workplace practices broken new ground, but Transparent also has made Amazon the first digital streaming service to win a Golden Globe for Best Television Series with Tambor also taking home the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Series, Musical, or Comedy.

Along with depictions of transgender individuals in popular media like in Transparent and Orange is the New Black, gender identity issues in the workplace are gaining increasing attention as of late. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced in 2012 its position that discrimination based on an individual’s transgender status (also known as gender identity discrimination) is discrimination because of sex and, therefore, a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Indeed, the EEOC’s Strategic Enforcement Plan lists LGBT-related sex discrimination charges as an enforcement priority for 2013 to 2016. The agency has indicated that it received 160 sex-gender identity/transgender charges in 2013 and 140 through the third quarter of 2014.  According to the EEOC, on behalf of individuals filing such charges, it obtained $421,701 in monetary benefits in 2013 and $149,933 through the third quarter of 2014.

Federal employees also may file sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination complaints with the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), which receives and investigates allegations of prohibited personnel practices under Title V of the Civil Service Act. The OSC has taken the position that allegations of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity may constitute prohibited personnel actions; therefore, it will accept and investigate complaints of sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination filed by federal employees.

In Transparent, Maura is in the early phase of her transition, dealing with such issues as hormones and handling awkward encounters with former acquaintances from her pre-transition days, all while trying to guide her often self-absorbed and self-destructive adult children onto the right paths. At the same time, employers and the legal community are in the early stages of addressing transgender and gender identity issues in the modern workplace.  There are surely many new developments on the horizon.  In the meantime, this blogger will continue to tune in (or binge watch, thanks to online streaming) as Maura navigates her transition with courage and a sense of humor.

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  Kristin Starnes Gray, FordHarrison
  Kristin Gray represents management in labor and employment matters in the courts, in arbitration, and before government agencies, including the EEOC, the U.S. Department of Labor, the South Carolina Department of Labor, the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission, and other agencies at the federal, state and local level. She concentrates her practice on representing management in matters related to employment issues including discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims under Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, and state law. Kristin also assists management with issues related to HIPAA compliance, employment policies, handbooks, the FMLA, contracts, separation agreements, wage and hour, and other workplace matters. Find her on LinkedIn here.