Finding Femininity: a Representation Analysis of Trans' Femininity on Screen

Sammanfattning: The aim of this thesis is to analyse the representation of trans' feminine women in popular media. This is done by presenting a theoretical background focusing on a specific minority group in society – namely, trans' feminine women – femininity, and heteronormativity, as well as by taking a poststructuralist approach to the applied theoretical framework in order to conduct a representation analysis of three trans' feminin characters from three different films. The analysis consists of a discussion of how trans' femininity is portrayed in the films, using a theoretical toolbox covering existing tropes seen within trans' representation, as well as a broad discussion of what femininity is and does. What the analysis shows is that there is a clear relation between the stereotypical ideas of what trans' is and what femininity is, and how the trans' feminine characters are portrayed. While the media's representation of LGBT'Q+ identities dating back to the 1950s and up until more recent years has received scholarly criticism, I argue that while awareness surrounding these identities and issues is more present in popular media today, the heteronormative stereotyping of these identities is as present as ever.