Representation Matters: Why Hedwig Should Be Played by a Trans Woman
by Clara Tan
Clara Tan is a Trans actress based in NY.
It seems that trans people are all over the news today, with the continuous attacks on the very rights of trans people to live and exist from the far right, legislative warfare enacted upon a group of people who comprise approximately 1.6% of the population, according to figures from 2022. It also would not be controversial to say that trans women are the specific targets of these attacks, with specific laws targeting trans women in sports, barring access to bathrooms, and even in the halls of Congress, with freshman Congresswoman Sarah McBride of Delaware being misgendered in official documents, meetings, and being singled out for abuse by Rep. Nancy Mace (who has to be once of clockiest cis women I’ve ever seen).
None of this is surprising, of course, since trans women represent an outright rejection of patriarchal norms and standards. In her book, Whipping Girl, Julia Serano writes:
This is most evident in the fact that, while there are many different types of transgender people, our society tends to single out trans women and others on the male-to-female (MTF) spectrum for attention and ridicule… because we, by necessity, embrace our own femaleness and femininity…
When a trans person is ridiculed or dismissed not merely for failing to live up to gender norms, but for their expressions of femaleness or femininity, they become the victims of a specific form of discrimination: trans-misogyny. When the majority of jokes made at the expense of trans people center on “men wearing dresses” or “men who want their penises cut off,” that is not transphobia—it is trans-misogyny. When the majority of violence and sexual assaults committed against trans people is directed at trans women, that is not transphobia—it is trans-misogyny.
When it’s okay for women to wear “men’s” clothing, but when men who wear “women’s” clothing can be diagnosed with the psychological disorder transvestic fetishism, that is not transphobia—it is trans-misogyny. When women’s or lesbian organizations and events open their doors to trans men but not trans women, that is not transphobia—it is trans-misogyny (Serano, Whipping girl: A transsexual woman on sexism and the scapegoating of femininity).
Trans women exist at the specific intersection of both transphobia and misogyny because, in so many words, we choose to upend and transgress against the status quo. If masculinity is seen as desirable, then the corollary is that femininity is undesirable. Trans women, not only reject their positions of privilege within society, but actively choose to subject themselves to positions that are subjugated within the hierarchy.
Why then, am I starting a discussion about Hedwig and the Angry Inch with an academic look into the nature of trans-misogyny? Because I believe this text, insofar as it exists and has been produced, is one that discusses the trans feminine experience, and that the character of Hedwig should be portrayed by a transgender woman.
“But, wait!”, I hear you say. “John Cameron Mitchell doesn’t consider Hedwig to be a trans woman, he said she’s non-binary!”
Well, in that very same interview, Mr. Mitchell also states that he does not consider non-binary people to be transgender at all. From Pride.com:
“I'm not trans, I'm non-binary, but that's a slippery slope because the character is forced into an operation and is not really trans.” (Emphasis mine)
Now, to get down to the nuts and bolts of the discussion, Hedwig and the Angry Inch tells the story of Hedwig Robinson (née Hansel Schmidt), a woman of East German descent, her botched gender reassignment surgery, and her subsequent move to the United States and pursuit of musical stardom.
In the play, Hedwig uses female pronouns and refers to herself with such, and is also recognized as female by her bandmates, the titular Angry Inch. The name derives from the outcome of her surgery, resulting in vaginal stenosis and the neovaginal canal healing closed, leading to what she refers to as the “Angry Inch”. Hedwig describes it as a “Barbie-doll crotch”. The reason Hedwig chooses to transition is to pursue a relationship with an American soldier, Luther Robinson, so that they can marry and leave for the United States. Robinson then leaves Hedwig for a man on their first wedding anniversary. Hedwig then focuses on her pursuit of music, forming the Angry Inch and writing music.
Now, with these relevant plot points discussed, let us examine the facts. There are two forms of analysis one can take, the first being that the character of Hedwig represents the seduction of young gay men into “transgenderism”, transitioning so as to be able to exist in society as straight women without the stigma associated with being gay. This is a common TERF(trans-exclusionary radical feminist) talking point, and it also seems to be the perspective that Mitchell has, since as he has said, he does not consider Hedwig to be a trans woman.
The other is that Hedwig was able to find herself through crossdressing and later through her surgery and reclamation of her identity, which is one that many trans women themselves describe experiencing as they reflect on their own personal journeys. Of course, the play premiered in 1998, so the understanding of transness at the time could not be said to be as advanced as it is today, but even then, I subscribe to this latter analysis of the text. When all is said and done, it seems to me that Hedwig ought be portrayed by a trans woman when the play is staged. “Why?”, you ask? Because her character’s journey is so intimately tied into the act of medically transitioning. Her surgery becomes the effective focus of her mental attention, even going so far as to name her band after her vagina. The titular song, “Angry Inch” describes her initial reactions to waking up post-op:
A long story short:
When I woke up from the operation
I was bleeding down there
Bleeding from the gash between my legs
My first day as a woman
And already it's that time of the month
But two days later
The hole closed up and the wound healed
And I was left with a one inch mound of flesh
Where my penis used to be
Where my vagina never was
A one inch mound of flesh
With a scar running down it
Like a sideways grimace
On an eyeless face
It was just a little bulge
It was an angry inch
Graphic description aside, this is a fear that every trans woman who does pursue reassignment has, which is why the necessity of dilation and vaginal packing exists, to prevent this very outcome. TERFs frequently use the description of an “open wound” to refer to trans women’s vaginas, to discard the validity of their identities as women. It should also be noted that there is a medical condition known as vaginal agenesis, when infants are born without vaginas. All this to say, Hedwig certainly isn’t the only woman in the world with this condition. I think it is very telling that Mitchell doesn’t consider Hedwig to be a trans woman, when in presentation, and biology, she certainly would be.
It should also be noted that trans people who choose to medically transition, effectively changing their biological sex, have different material and medical needs from those who do not. For example, a non-binary person who does not take hormones would not have to receive care that might be fundamentally different from a cis person. However, there are additional medical considerations for trans men and women who undergo chemical and surgical intervention. It is never explicitly mentioned in the text if Hedwig is undergoing HRT or not, but certainly post-op, her medical care would be closer to that a woman might receive than a man. The film of the play even refers to Hedwig as a transsexual in various newspaper clippings, which is strictly accurate as a term, Hedwig being somebody who has actively changed her biological sex.
Now that I have definitely scared off all the cis people who decided to peek in, let’s get into the internecine discussion that this is all about. A theatre company in Buffalo, New York is staging a production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and has cast a local drag queen of note to play the titular character. I would note that this is the same company that also cast a white woman to play Marcy Park in their production of Spelling Bee. If this were any other play, such as say Rocky Horror where the androgyny of the queer characters was more vague, I would not have concerns. However, the choice to cast a drag queen to play a character that is clearly trans femme is troubling to me, considering that drag queens and trans women have been conflated much in our current culture war. Drag queens, in the eyes of the general public, are the very epitome of “man in a dress” that trans women are frequently characterized as.
In a Facebook comment, the director of the play responded to me, stating, “The actor in this photo playing Hedwig identifies as non-binary, and I would also point you to this quote from the author regarding Hedwig’s trans identity”, with the quote in question being what I responded to earlier in this piece.
The actor’s identity is not at issue here, more so the fact that they are known for doing drag. My concern is that this simply becomes another example of trans women being conflated with drag queens, who can just take off the wig and makeup at the end of the show.
On top of that, since the playwright does not consider non-binary people to be trans, that in and of itself would invalidate the director’s statement. I certainly think it’s a step to cast a non-binary actor, kudos to the theatre company, but why not go the rest of the way and find a trans woman? There is also a discussion to be had in that many casting directors frequently treat non-binary people as being “trans-lite” or “trans-safe, however, that’s for another day.
I often wonder if the American theatre is moving in a direction where producers make vague overtures to the direction of progressive politics, but when a text is presented that has a clearly transgressive theme, retreat to the safety of tokenism. Of course, one could argue that it has always been such, but we strive to be better. I don’t expect this article to change anything, but I hope that maybe those who read it will consider uplifting the trans women in their life. We tend to face the largest amount of housing discrimination, hiring discrimination, as well as pay discrepancies (trans women make 60¢ on the dollar compared to their average counterparts).
Of course, as this recent election has demonstrated, things can always get worse.
“Here we go again
Same old shit again”
– Army Marching Song