Supergirl's trans actress Nicole Maines.

TV Guide/YouTube

Twitter dunks on conservatives who think Supergirl’s trans character is too ‘woke’

It’s a terrible take.

Photo of Ana Valens 

Ana Valens

IRL

Posted on Dec 12, 2018   Updated on Dec 12, 2018, 8:18 am CST

In a first for TV, the CW’s Supergirl now has a transgender superhero. Nia Nal, better known as Dreamer, debuted this past October and appears on the show as a reporter working alongside Kara “Supergirl” Danvers at CatCo.

For most Supergirl viewers, Dreamer’s trans status is a point of pride for the series, in part because trans actress Nicole Maines portrays her on the show. But not everyone is happy about Maines’ appearance and her character’s gender identity. Case in point, the Washington Examiner published a piece claiming Supergirl has a trans woman on the show “just to be ‘woke.'”

“This effort to cast a transgender character in a main role on a popular show for kids is a blatant attempt to normalize a movement,” writer Nicole Russell says in the post. “This not only fails to represent the majority of children’s experiences, but attempts to indoctrinate them at an age when they are the most impressionable.”

Of course, the Washington Examiner’s take is incredibly transphobic. Russell acts as if Supergirl is indoctrinating children and fails to acknowledge the fact that trans children are out there and real. Likewise, she also attacks Maines by unfairly claiming she has “few acting credits to her name,” as if Supergirl chose the actress solely because she’s also an activist.

“If children watch shows like this without interacting with adults about it or observing it with critical reasoning skills, they could end up more confused than inspired, more frustrated than encouraged,” Russell concludes.

Twitter quickly fired back, pointing out that the show has a trans woman… because trans women exist in the world and deserve representation.

https://twitter.com/owillis/status/1072376160338800641

https://twitter.com/_DivideXZero/status/1072378931913871360

https://twitter.com/RobvillaNYNY/status/1072392904923074560

https://twitter.com/PhillipBuck95/status/1072820965254578177

Then there’s the Examiner’s cringey usage of the word “woke.”

https://twitter.com/PirateWench/status/1072376469366681600

Not to mention, there’s tons of queer and trans kids out there that want to see trans representation on TV. It’s not like trans children are a myth.

In short, throw this piece where it belongs: in the trash.

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*First Published: Dec 12, 2018, 8:09 am CST

Ana Valens

Ana Valens is a reporter specializing in online queer communities, marginalized identities, and adult content creation. She is a former Daily Dot staff writer. Her work has appeared at Vice, Vox, Truthout, Bitch Media, Kill Screen, Rolling Stone, and the Toast. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, and spends her free time developing queer adult games.

Ana Valens