Transgender Actress on General Hospital Breaks New Ground

The transgender world is now being portrayed on the ABC soap opera General Hospital in a groundbreaking story! A real transgender actress is portraying a transgender MD. Other TV dramas are also delving into the transgender arena. Find out how hospital culture is changing! Nurses Announcements Archive

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  1. Should a transgender plot be played out in a hospital setting?

    • 15
      Yes
    • 8
      No
    • 2
      Maybe
    • 5
      Never

30 members have participated

General Hospital, the iconic soap opera on ABC for the past 55 years has a new story line that the nursing community may find interesting. This program has been on the air for 55 years and is an innovator for presenting real social issues. Besides the #metoomovement and #Ghtoo hashtag there is another story developing with a real transgender actress.

History in The Making

For those of you who are avid GH watchers or just curious about this groundbreaking soap, there is a new character worth watching. The character of Dr. Terry Randolph as portrayed by real transgender actress Cassandra James is fictional RN Liz Weber's (Rebecca Herbst) childhood best friend. Before we see Terry, Liz makes a point of saying, he was the boy who kissed her first when they were teenagers. This is the first real transgender person to portray a transgender character on a soap opera and therefore, this is historic news. In addition, this is forecast not to be a minor blip in the story. Rather, this is supposed to become a huge story line. This role will be Ms. James' first important role on television.

A little background on this actress is in order. Cassandra James, is a 25 years old Canadian-American actress. She has a grounding in theatre. She came to Los Angeles where GH is taped a year ago. Big leap from unknown to soap opera actress in one year! According to an interview in the Vancouver Sun, she started her transition from male to female 2 years ago, in 2016.

The Mystery Deepens

The jury is still out on what will happen to this character and whose lives she will intersect. We do know that Liz Weber is engaged to Franco Baldwin. He has a shady past to say the least and was just treated as a long-time survivor of sexual abuse. We do not know if Terry's specialty is psychiatry, she leaves Liz's house saying she has a consult at GH.

Transgender Characters in the News

The world of the transgender person is entering the mainstream. Bruce Jenner aka Caitlyn, and Chaz Bono (Chastity) now the son of Cher and the late Sonny helped open the doors to this world. Recently, actress Scarlett Johansson made news for deciding to portray a transgender role. She was cast in a film called Rub & Tug and was supposed to have a role as transgender mobster Dante "Tex" Gill. She did receive criticism for tackling the role as a cisgender actress. Cisgender refers to remaining the sex you are born with. In other words, Johansson was born female and remains female. The actress decided against going forward in the role.

Cassandra James on the Controversy

Cassandra James, of GH, had this to say about the casting decision. Not shy around the press, James has made her support of transgender actors known in interviews. "I have faith in people's ability to learn from their mistakes. It's really important for people who are having their eyes opened to what's happening within our community to commit to making this a learning moment for themselves and also using their cis privilege to lift up trans voices. That's imperative moving forward."

Another Groundbreaking Drama

Other TV dramas are branching out into the transgender world. The FX drama Pose, created by prolific producer/director Ryan Murphy (Nip Tuck, The Assassination of Gianni Versace), has the most trans actors in TV history. Five trans female actresses have continuing roles in the show. The popularity of ballroom dancing is now featured in Pose from a historical point of view. This show revolves around the world of ballroom dancing and what transpired in Manhattan in that world in the 1980s. Even Donald Trump's Manhattan is a theme of the show. He is not seen but mentioned as a presence in the city and one of the characters works for his organization. The LGBTQ era which coincided with HIV awareness is also a story line in this groundbreaking show.

Hospital Culture is Changing

Society, which includes the worlds of nursing and medicine is evolving. GH has a hospital backdrop as the setting of this transgender story line. This is one soap opera that will continue to make headlines and one that will continue to use the fast-paced hospital as its' primary setting.

REFERENCES

1. General Hospital News: Introducing Cassandra James!General Hospital News: Introducing Cassandra James! | Soap Opera News

Published June 18, 2018. Accessed August 6, 2018.

2. Vancouver transgender actress makes history on General Hospital with castingVancouver transgender actress makes history on General Hospital with casting | Vancouver Sun

Published July 12, 2018. Accessed August 6, 2018.

3. 21 Transgender Stars, Creators Sound Off on Hollywood: "I Want to Portray These Characters, and I'm Ready" Gardner, C., Sun, R., Weinberg, L., Goldstein, J., White, B. July 17, 2018 21 Transgender Stars on Hollywood, Scarlett Johansson, Representation | Hollywood Reporter -The Hollywood Reporter. Accessed August 6, 2018.

4. Ryan Murphy Says 'Pose' Could Have Never Happened Without Trans Talent Evan Real June 1, 2018 Ryan Murphy on 'Pose,' Hiring Transgender Talent | Hollywood Reporter -The Hollywood Reporter. Accessed August 6, 2018.

Specializes in Orthopedics and Neurology.

Thank you for responding to the article.

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Specializes in OB.
Thank you for responding to the article.

If you want to respond to a particular post, hit the "quote" button in the bottom right corner of the post, then everyone will be able to actually see which post you're referencing.

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If you want to respond to a particular post, hit the "quote" button in the bottom right corner of the post, then everyone will be able to actually see which post you're referencing.

Thank you for that. Geez, oh Pete!

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Once better quality programming became widely available, they started dying off some 10-15 years ago.

Comment about better quality programming is debatable. I will take Secret Storm or Dark Shadows, and yes, GH too, over Dr. Phil any day of the week.

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Comment about better quality programming is debatable. I will take Secret Storm or Dark Shadows, and yes, GH too, over Dr. Phil any day of the week.

Yes m'am! Dr Phil is total crap.

But they don't compete very well with Great Courses, or much of what is on Amazon prime

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Specializes in OB, Family Practice, Pediatrics.

Transgender is not the same as being lesbian or gay. Those are sexual partner choices.. Transgender is a psychiatric/psychological identity disorder; which is being politicized and exploited, rather than being treated for the disorder that it is. Trying to list Gender Dysphoria in the DSM V as a stand-alone diagnosis, and removing Gender Identity Disorder was a slight of hand by the APA. Gender Dysphoria is part of the Criteria for the Diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder, not a Diagnosis itself. The appropriate treatment is psychotherapy, not hormones, surgery and glorification. Even a large portion of the LGB community are dropping the T; and subsequent letters because it has gotten out of hand and diminishes their struggles.

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Specializes in Certified Medical Surgical Nurse.
Transgender is not the same as being lesbian or gay. Those are sexual partner choices.. Transgender is a psychiatric/psychological identity disorder; which is being politicized and exploited, rather than being treated for the disorder that it is. Trying to list Gender Dysphoria in the DSM V as a stand-alone diagnosis, and removing Gender Identity Disorder was a slight of hand by the APA. Gender Dysphoria is part of the Criteria for the Diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder, not a Diagnosis itself. The appropriate treatment is psychotherapy, not hormones, surgery and glorification. Even a large portion of the LGB community are dropping the T; and subsequent letters because it has gotten out of hand and diminishes their struggles.

Wow... There is so much wrong with your post, I wouldn't even know where to begin. No major LGBTQIA+ group has tried dropping the T as you say. Your obvious transphobia is disgusting, and words like yours do nothing to help those going through such a difficult time of their lives. Just because *you* cannot accept how modern medicine has advanced its view towards these individuals, doesn't give you the right to spread hateful misinformation like this.

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Specializes in ER.

These haters. They are very, very bad. Extremely so!

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Specializes in ER.

And to the unenlightened, misinformed cavemen out there, wake up! The psychologists have spoken the newest, better, and more enlightened version of wisdom, and redefinition of normalcy. Listen to these wise ones words of acceptance and inclusion. Banish those narrow minded dissenters!

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Specializes in Critical Care and ED.
Transgender is not the same as being lesbian or gay. Those are sexual partner choices.. Transgender is a psychiatric/psychological identity disorder; which is being politicized and exploited, rather than being treated for the disorder that it is. Trying to list Gender Dysphoria in the DSM V as a stand-alone diagnosis, and removing Gender Identity Disorder was a slight of hand by the APA. Gender Dysphoria is part of the Criteria for the Diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder, not a Diagnosis itself. The appropriate treatment is psychotherapy, not hormones, surgery and glorification. Even a large portion of the LGB community are dropping the T; and subsequent letters because it has gotten out of hand and diminishes their struggles.

You literally have no idea what you're talking about. I'm a lesbian and no major gay group is looking to "drop the T" as you call it. There are a small amount of radical lesbian feminists who want to separate themselves as they don't agree with transgender women calling themselves lesbian, but they are a small minority. That's it. You need to do some reading and stop pushing your anti-trans agenda with twisted half-truths. There are lots of educated people on this board that will rip your ideas to shreds because we don't like misinformation here.

I knew it was just a matter of time before something like this happened on this thread. You guys are so predictable.

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Your obvious transphobia is disgusting,

This is not an argument. This is a call down from your moral superior high ground. The fact that he questions the current care model adapted for trans individuals is merely the standard process of all care. "Is what where doing the correct treatment?" To shut down dissent on your opinion is paramount to silencing the scientific process. If you are so sure of your correctness on the topic, then please list those reasons as empirical data. To do otherwise is tantamount to proving your argument is just as valid, or invalid, as the other poster.

...redefinition of normalcy.

Could you expand on this please. I'm unsure whether you mean allowing the progression of group consensus to establish norms, or force people to accept the minority viewpoint as the norm. You must understand that one is the human condition, the other is more of a utilitarian thought policing.

You literally have no idea what you're talking about. There are lots of educated people on this board that will rip your ideas to shreds because we don't like misinformation here.

Then please supply us with your information. Obviously the poster has some knowledge on the subject seeing as they used the appropriate terminology for their post. Please keep in mind that there are many educated people on this board, and some may not agree with you. Some may not agree with the poster. But the dialog is important for the continuation of ideas and discourse.

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Specializes in Orthopedics.

I think this poll is kind of silly, respectfully. The article was decently written though, for the most part. I agree that soap operas are terrible. Also, there's a trans actor on Grey's anatomy as well; hospital dramas already include trans people. Let's celebrate the fact that an actual trans actress was cast, but most of all, let's celebrate and advocate for the transgender people we know in our daily lives. If you don't think you know anybody, you've probably met one of us before and didn't know it.

With love from a transgender RN who is trying to blend in. (But in some cases, as in this one, it is necessary to advocate for my community and speak up for the greater good.)

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