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Now Streaming on Netflix: Transphobia

It’s the summer of transphobia!  Ticked off  Trannies with Knives, is now available streaming anytime on Netflix (and now showing on Showtime as well). Netflix describes the film this way:

“After psychotic bigots brutally beat them, Bubbles Cliquot (Krystal Summers), Tipper Sommore (Jenna Skyy), Rachel Slurr (Willam Belli) and Emma Grashun (Erica Andrews) vow to seek vengeance in this campy thriller. Now the empowered transgender divas won’t let anything stop them from settling the score. Israel Luna directs this controversial film that was an official selection at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival.”

and Showtime:

A group of vengeful “trannies” learn martial arts and seek bone-crushing revenge on the dim-witted thugs that assaulted one of their own in this violent, gleefully trashy homage to ’70s exploitation flicks starring Krystal Summers, Willam Belli and Erica Andrews.

Oh, how far we’ve come as a community!  As I said when it opened at the Tribeca Film Festival, TOTWK was “controversial” within the trans community because:

“A comedy about Matthew Shepard coming back from the grave and eating their brains wouldn’t be seen as funny or acceptable as this film. He used transgender people because it’s still acceptable to do so. Imagine the following:

‘Pissed-Off Niggers With Glocks’
‘Zombie Nelly Faggots with Knives’
‘Mad Kikes With Flame Throwers’

None of these films would ever make it into production, yet this film did.”

The wide distribution of this film is proof of how the exploitation of trans people is still acceptable  and even seen as entertainment.

Related content:

  1. Tribeca Film Festival Promotes Exploitation of Transgender People
  2. Update: Facebook Ban and Lost Corporation Status of “Ticked-Off Trannies” Film
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Transadvocate contributor: Marti Abernathey  (1926 Posts)

Marti Abernathey is Transadvocate.com's blog editor. She's also a podcaster, activist, and radiologic technologist in Madison, Wisconsin. She's been a part of various internet radio ventures such as TSR Live!, The T-Party, and The Radical Trannies, to name a few. As an advocate she's previously been involved with the Indiana Transgender Rights Advocacy Alliance, Rock Indiana Campaign for Equality, and the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition. She's taken vital roles as a grass roots community organizer in The Indianapolis Tax Day Protest (2003), The Indy Pride HRC Protest (2004), Transgender Day of Remembrance (2004), Indiana's Witch Hunt (2005), and the Rally At The Statehouse (the largest ever GLBT protest in Indiana - 3/2005). She was a delegate from Indiana to the Democratic National Convention and a member of Barack Obama's LGBT Steering and Policy Committee.


  • http://womenborntranssexual.com/ Suzan

    The problem is I can see the cathartic aspect of these sort of films.  As a rape victim I had a hard time getting past the rape scene in “I Spit on Your Grave”  but the brutal dispatching of the rapists was … Priceless.  The same for “Hard Candy”.

    Have you seen “Hobo with a Shotgun”?

    “Machete” ?

    This sort of revenge plot is as common as dirt.  As for “trannie” or “tranny”, I remember it as being commonly used  in the various communities years before I ever heard the word “transgender”.

    Trans-activists have given this straight to DVD flick more publicity than it deserves, with out your free publicity it would have sunk like a stone.

    • http://twitter.com/valeriekeefe Valerie Keefe

      Once again hate is the fault of us not-so-stealthy, not-so-normative types… thanks for the lesson, oh enfranchised one.

      • http://womenborntranssexual.com/ Suzan

        Say what?
        Y’all gave a low budget piece of crap far more publicity than it would have gotten otherwise.

        But mostly your reply makes little sense.

        • Kathleen

          Actually Suzan, I’m finding it hard to see how your comment responded to the point of the post – which was that the depiction of transsexuals and Transgender women in this film is offensive. To respond – but the revenge fantasy is what’s really important is like saying they had great sets. It doesn’t address the concerns raised.

          As regards a minority using what many consider a slur to refer to themselves, among themselves – this is hugely different than having it applied by others. And hey – I’m old enough to remember when it was used mote frequently – just as I’m old enough to remember when homosexual, colored and broad were. I knew a guy who used these words back in the day isn’t much of an argument.

          • http://womenborntranssexual.com/ Suzan

            Actually the real point is without people giving it a ton of free publicity it would have sunk like a stone into the 2.99 DVD bin.

            As for offensive stereotype…  We are talking Hollywood aren’t we?  Without offensive stereotypes there would be 90% fewer movies released.

            Outside of documentaries I do not think there has been an inoffensive trans-themed movie, possible exception Ma Vie en Rose and Better than Chocolate.

            Mostly though the energy spent calling attention to TOTWK and I might add Raymond’s execrable book keep them alive in the public consciousness.

            As for “Tranny” are people going after Katy Perry with the same sort of energy for her gratuitous rolling Stone remarks?

          • Kathleen

            “Outside of documentaries I do not think there has been an inoffensive trans-themed movie, possible exception Ma Vie en Rose and Better than Chocolate.”

            OK – then we all agree it was offensive. You just think we should shut up when offensive movies appropriate our lives. We’re not going to agree on that. And frankly – I don’t see you following that approach on other things you take issue with. You’re not going to change my mind on this – bit you write about it – why roll over for Luna?

  • http://translegalhistorian.wordpress.com/ Kat

    But is releasing Israel Luna’s Wet Dream About How He Really Feels About Transsexuals, er…, TOTWK on Netflix okay if the end result is generation of a lot of hits on Bil Browning’s website? 

    Whay say you, May-gun Stay-bluh?

  • Pingback: Joe Fudgepacker, Israel Luna, Capricorn and Jones « ENDAblog

  • Doveimdove

    It is controversial because the trans women in the film are nothing more than bad stereotypes that are set up to represent transfolk as vapid caricatures of humans and not really valid as humans, Luna is a bigot and his (art?) Nothing more than infanti hatespeech