Last week, droves of trans and nonbinary TV and film writers descended upon the Netflix headquarters in Los Angeles where an ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike is currently taking place. Joined by allies, protesters on the picket line vocalized concerns regarding equal employment and representation for queer and trans writers as well as LGBTQ-inclusive programming.
At the beginning of May, the union actively went on strike after negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) ended without an equitable agreement. The demands that went unmet during these meetings were better pay for writers who have struggled extensively despite the explosion of the streaming era.
Of those exploited the most, queer writers are amongst those experiencing a lack of representation. The protest raised concerns about equal employment opportunities and how queer people are portrayed on TV. Netflix has previously been embroiled in controversy surrounding the cancellation of several shows that were LGBTQIA inclusive and replacing them with comedy specials from Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais, who have expressed anti-trans sentiments in past statements and programming.
Activists say that they feel “abandoned” by Hollywood in the wake of anti-trans legislation that is sweeping the U.S.
“Trans people are workers too. We’re in solidarity with the labor movement around the world, and we are showing up in ways that we are often not depicted,” says Jacob Tobia, author of the memoir Sissy and a voice actor on Netflix’s She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. “Strikes are moments where you redefine who is at the table, and we want to be sure that we’re sending a powerful message to the world that we’re at the table now and we want to stay at the table.”
In recent weeks, the WGA protests have included the Trans Takeover of Sunset Blvd. where a “Picket Ball” took place, which was emceed by producer and screenwriter Sydney Baloue. This event was intended to bring some light to the circumstances with categories like “Best Sign,” “Best Dressed,” and “Best Pet.” The categories at the “Picket Ball” were juried by Transparent creator Joey Soloway, WGA president Meredith Stiehm, actor/writer/producer Alexandra Grey, and actor Brian Michael Smith.
Participants in these protests have openly criticized cisgender showrunners for working with “token trans and nonbinary writers” and giving “ just enough work so that they can pat themselves on the back.” Claiming that it is reductive to be only offered work on trans-centric stories as trans and nonbinary writers, Mayfair Witches star Jen Richards voiced her concerns over the lack of equal opportunities for them.
“We all came into this industry because we’re storytellers, and we have a breadth of human experience,” Richards says. “And we’re often just reduced to that one aspect of our identity when there’s so much more that we can do.”
Feature image credit Level 11 Content
