TransTainment 6/12/23
Remember Paris Hilton? The former reality show star who was mostly famous for being famous? Fifteen years ago she increased her fame by recording a song that became a hit single. It was called Stars Are Blind and Hilton is hoping to squeeze more fame out of a new version of the song that features Kim Petras. Hilton is a long-time pal of the transgender singer. She starred in the video for Petras’ debut single I Don’t Want It All. Now she and Petras perform together on the rebooted Stars Are Blind: Paris’ Version. Get more info on the story from Variety.
Daya Curley
A Transparent Musical, based on the Emmy winning Amazon series Transparent, is on stage in Los Angeles til June 25. The creators of Transparent, Joey and Faith Soloway, were taken by surprise when their father announced, at 75, that he was transitioning to she. After the initial shock they were first inspired to make a musical theater production out of their real-life experiences. Then came an offer from Amazon to make a series. With the series behind them the Soloways decided to make the musical. It stars Daya Curley as Maura, with Adina Verson (Only Murders in the Building) as Ali Pfefferman, Liz Larsen (Beautiful) as Shelley Pfefferman, Zachary Prince (Honeymoon in Vegas) as Josh Pfefferman, Sarah Stiles (Tootsie) as Sarah Pfefferman, Kasper (Amina) as Ezra, Peppermint (RuPaul’s Drag Race, Head Over Heels) as Davina, and Murphy Taylor Smith (Love in Hate Nation) as Rabbi Raquel. Also in the cast are Samora la Perdida, Justin Rivers, Futaba Shioda, Natalie Weiss, Robert Pieranunzi, Jimmy Ray Bennett, Pat Towne, and Dahlya Glick. Check out a review of the show in The Los Angeles Times.
Gwen Stacy
The animated feature Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse recently debuted in theaters. It is the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Why do we mention a Spider-Man movie in TransTainment? Fans of the film have a theory that one of the female versions of Spidey (there are many iterations of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in the film) is a transgender woman. Her name is Gwen Stacy and while nothing blatant is said about her gender identity there are clues pointing in that direction. Fans are looking at Gwen’s story and finding a correlation between her experience and that of trans women. And there is one blatant clue; the ‘Protect Trans Kids’ poster in Stacy’s room—and the trans flag pin on her father’s police jacket. If you haven’t seen the film you should go and then take a look at the fan speculation on FandomWire. There be spoilers.
Lil Wop
Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. who helped pioneer the hip hop sub-genre of trap music. One of the rap artists he discovered and signed to his label, known professionally as Lil Wop (legal name Louis McPherson) came out as bisexual in 2022 and has now come out as a trans woman. When Lil Wop made the announcement on social media fans were split on what was happening. Some gave kudos to Lil Wop for bravery while others were wondering if it was a trolling hoax. We don’t know if Ms. McPherson has adopted a femme name or whether she will be sticking with Lil Wop. We’ll have to wait and see.
From across the ocean we find English trans woman singer Princess Alice Manor, who will release her “eagerly anticipated” new EP, Outer Demons, on Friday, August 18. Preceding the arrival of the EP Manor has released a single titled Alive. Fans of dark heavy metal should be thrilled. You can watch the Alive video right here.
Detroit-born trans artist Baddie Brooks has been making music since middle school. As an undergraduate at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) she started doing solo shows that demonstrated her proficiency in songwriting, singing and playing the trumpet and euphonium. How many euphonium players do you know? This month she releases her debut album Reclamation and is set to perform at two Pride events in Michigan. Learn more about Baddie Brooks from Pride Source.
News Flash from Archie Comics; Jughead is asexual. Well, at least since Archie Comics did a reboot in 2015 and changed the sexuality of several characters. This year they’re taking things further with the introduction of a trans woman character in the Archie horror imprint, Strange Science. Fans of old Archie Comics may not be into the new Archie crew but change can be good. Learn more about the trans character Danni Malloy from Gizmodo.
Death Drop
Also from the world of comics comes Death Drop: Drag Assassin. It’s a five part graphic novel series created for Pride Month. In the story the Gayborhood is run down and shady. Thugs from outside the area feel safe beating up young gay men. A drag performer from the club Posterior Delusions has disappeared and the police are not likely to expend much effort searching for her. Who can the Gayborhood turn to for help? Death Drop! She’s a former hit man who becomes a vigilante drag queen avenger. Learn more from the publisher’s website.
In the fight for transgender rights we all do what we can to help. A group of trans ladies in Melbourne, Australia raised $12,500 in 5 hours selling lap dances. They called it Lap Dance for Trans Rights (LD4TR). The event was envisioned by artist, director and producer, Ripley Kavara and held in the former backroom of Nico’s East Brunswick Sandwich shop. All proceeds from LD4TR were split between local organizations Beyond Bricks & Bars and Many Coloured Sky, with a further 10 per cent going to Pay The Rent. Get more on the story from Vice.
Category: Music, Transgender Fun & Entertainment
