The 20 best movies and shows about trans identity

Released in 2023, the documentary Kokomo City focuses on several trans women of color whose lives and experiences as sex workers shape the story. In addition to being visually striking, the film has a frankness and honesty that can be shocking in its bluntness. Indeed, there is something exhilarating and powerful about how these women share their lives with the viewer. The film is particularly notable for the extent to which it gives these women, who often live on the margins of society, the chance to speak in their voice for everyone to hear.

Hilary Swank notched what is arguably the best role in her career with Brandon Teena, the young trans man who is the central character in  Kimberly Peirce’s hard-hitting film Boys Don’t Cry. The film is still challenging to watch for many since it doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to the transphobic murder of Teena at the hands of his male friends. Even so, it remains a masterpiece of queer filmmaking and, at a time when trans people throughout the world, particularly in the US and Europe, face increasing political and social repression.

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert remains one of the funniest films to have emerged from Australia, and it focuses on two drag queens and a trans woman as they set out on a journey across the Outback. Though Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce deliver fine performances as the two drag queens, it’s Terence Stamp’s Bernadette, a trans woman, who steals the show. Stamp allows the viewer to understand her as someone who has endured a great deal of grief in her life but has still managed to survive and even thrive during the course of the film.

Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar has a keen eye and sensibility for melodrama, and he brings all of that to bear in All About My Mother. The film revolves around Manuela Echevarria, who sets out searching for her son’s father after his death. Along the way, she connects with others before reconnecting with said father, who is a trans woman named Lola. Rich, warm, romantic, and deeply emotionally dramatic, this film asks a lot of the viewer but rewards the viewer with an experience unlike almost any other.

The last couple of years have seen a flowering of documentaries focusing on the trans experience in the US. The Stroll, directed by Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker, draws particular attention to the trans women of color who once worked as sex workers in New York City’s Meatpacking District. There’s a poignancy to the film that emerges from these women’s stories as they speak about a part of the city that has now been irrevocably changed thanks to gentrification. Moreover, the documentary is another reminder of the unique power of letting trans women tell their own stories in their voices.

Written and directed by (and starring) John Cameron Mitchell, Hedwig and the Angry Inch follows Hedwig, who begins the film as a gay teen in East Germany but undergoes gender-confirmation surgery to escape and be with an American soldier. However, Hedwig’s life is repeatedly shown to be one of trial and triumph as she struggles to be the musical success she knows is her destiny.  Despite its over-the-topness, there’s still something poignant and even heartbreaking about Hedwig and her story, and it retains its humor and its sadness even two decades after its release. 

Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera are two of the most important figures in the history of the gay rights movement in the United States, even if they have often been excluded from official accounts. They get their time to shine in The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson, and the film is particularly remarkable for how it gives the figures their due and probes the official account of the death of Johnson, which was ruled a suıcide but could very well have been a murder. It’s a film that reminds the viewer just how much is left to be done when it comes to equal recognition and rights for all. 

The story of Lili Elbe, who was one of the first to undergo what would later be known as gender-affirmation surgery, is the heart and soul of The Danish Girl. While the film raised some eyebrows (and ire) for casting cisgender Eddie Redmayne as Lili, the actor nevertheless brings a powerful and poignant humanity to Elbe’s story. Whatever its shortcomings, this film draws important and needed attention to a true pioneer, and all without reducing her (admittedly sometimes sad) story into a trite tragedy. 

There’s no question that the US can be a dangerous and uncertain place for queer people of all varieties. The horror film They/Them  literalizes this phenomenon, focusing on a group of queer teens who are sent to a conversion camp run by the nefarious Owen Whistler (played with sinister charm by Kevin Bacon). The subsequent murder of several camp counselors, though, has everyone wondering when they’ll be next. While it might not hit every note it aspires to, the film is nevertheless a thought-provoking horror thriller in its own right.

While Orange is the New Black begins as a series focused on Piper Chapman's experiences once she finds herself in prison, it soon broadens its canvas to encompass the lives and experiences of the women with whom she is incarcerated. Of particular note is the casting of Laverne Cox as Sophia Burset. The series would not only catapult Cox into true stardom but also draw much-needed attention to the experiences of trans women of color, particularly those who are incarcerated. 

Directed by Jennie Livingston, the landmark documentary Paris is Burning focuses on the drag culture of 1980s New York City, paying particular attention to the BIPOC, who made the drag balls an oasis amid widespread homophobia and racism. It’s a moving portrait of a subculture determined to survive everything thrown at them and gives them the chance to speak on their own behalf. Though it has earned its own fair share of criticism, it is still an important document of a perilous historical moment for queer people of color.

Tangerine is remarkable for its mode of production and story. The film was shot on several iPhones, and this gives it a raw and immediate feel that works well with its story, which focuses on a trans sex worker who, along with her friend, pursues the boyfriend who cheated. It’s a film that is at times extraordinarily funny and at other times heartbreakingly poignant, and actresses Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor both give tremendous performances that endow their characters with depth, complexity, and rich human emotion.

Heartstopper has established itself as one of the most beloved shows on Netflix. While much of the action centers on the blossoming romance between Nick and Charlie, it also pays substantial attention to a young trans woman, Elle, who has her own romances and heartbreaks. Elle is a beautifully realized character, thanks in no small part to the tremendous charisma of actress Yasmin  Finney. It’s particularly refreshing to see a trans character whose entire life isn’t defined by their identity and the tragedy that so often accompanies it on movies and TV.

Released in 2014, Boy Meets Girl focuses on Ricky Jones, a young trans woman living in rural Kentucky who finds herself in a bit of a love triangle between Francesa, a woman who has just come to town, and her best friend, Robby. Though understated and a bit rough around the edges, the film has a lot of charm and heart. Moreover, it shines a fascinating and much-needed light on the trans experience outside of the urban milieu and, just as importantly, shows how trans folk are just as deserving of romantic happy-ever-afters as their cis counterparts.

A Fantastic Woman was well-deserving of the Academy Award For Best Foreign Language Film, which it took home at the 90th ceremony. The main character, Marina (played by Daniela Vega), whose life is turned upside down when the older man with whom she has been in a relationship unexpectedly dies. In some ways it’s a heartbreaking film about the struggles that trans women face in their relationships, it’s also a tender story full of triumph and power, and Vega gives a performance which is not easily forgotten. 

Jeffrey Tambor’s Maura is the heart and soul of Transparent for much of its run. The series largely focuses on Maura’s coming out as a trans woman later in life and how this impacts her own life and that of her family. Though Transparent did receive a fair amount of criticism due to its casting of a cisgender man to play a trans woman, it also shone an important and necessary light on the particular experiences of older trans folks, who are so often left out of the cultural conversation around trans issues.

The series Queer as Folk has had several iterations, most recently in 2022, when it began streaming on Peacock. This was the most inclusive version of the series yet, and, like its predecessors, it focused on several queer characters, their lives, and their loves, and it was notable for including numerous trans and nonbinary people in its cast. It sadly only lasted one season, but even in that short time, it was an emotionally poignant and important exploration of queer joy and survival in an increasingly hostile world.

The short-lived Glamorous stars Miss Benny as Marco Mejia, who gets the job of a lifetime when she encounters Kim Cattrall’s makeup magnate, Madolyn Addison. As the series progresses, Marco comes to terms with her identity as a trans woman and also contends with heartache and the messiness of feelings. Even though it only lasted one season, the series still does a very strong job of balancing its fun and frothy elements with the more serious elements of its story and its characters’ lives, trials, and triumphs. 

Ryan Murphy is undoubtedly one of the most prolific creators working in Hollywood, and Pose remains one of his best-loved and critically praised productions. Set in the 1980s and 1990s, it features characters who are part of New York City’s ball culture, and through their eyes, the viewer comes to appreciate the extent to which the Houses provide(d) an oasis from the outside world, particularly since the series takes place during the darkest days of the AIDS epidemic. The fact that it actually includes many trans women in its cast makes it an extraordinary piece of television.

Even though Ryan Murphy’s Glee started to lose its way after the second season, there’s no question that the series still used its popularity to explore several weighty issues. As the series went on, it drew in several characters who were trans or nonbinary, most of whom found in New Directions the sort of safe space they desperately needed. Even at its most meandering, Glee nevertheless wore its heart on its sleeve, providing queer and trans audiences the representation they had so long been denied.