The Trans Visibility of Euphoria

Euphoria is one of the most popular shows around right now and the character of Jules has become a cultural icon for trans teenagers and transgender youth. But I want to answer the question of whether she is part of a long history of bad and stereotypical trans representation or is actually one of the rare cases of good trans representation.

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[ninaandsimone]

i always interpreted " my entire life i've been trying to conquer femininity, but i feel like somewhere along the way, femininty has conquered me" as a way to come out as a trans lesbian, and i found that phrase perfect ngl

[CtrlAltJon]

Sam Livinson also had trans rep in his movie Assassination Nation; it’s cool to see a director who’s consistently including trans people in their work and doing good representation to boot!

[jasperpdf]

I’m currently in university and euphoria was increasingly popular especially while season 2 was coming out. I being a talk white blonde trans fem and as compared to Jules a lot, which was a mixed bag but I find people in that demographic are a lot more chill with trans people maybe it’s not because of Jules but these seemed to happen at the same time in my eyes

[lepannean]

my biggest problem in euphoria was how Jules basically got used for that one guy's gay awakening.

[mistp]

Thank you for this video; I agree with a lot of you said. I love that the characters can't be pigeonholed as either good or bad. Jules is definitely one of the main reasons I watch the show. I know you don't like him, but as crazy as Nate is, he is another character that really interests me. It's harder to know what he is thinking and what his true motives are.

[flask]

Well I’m pretty sure the actress is trans also so good enough for me tbh

[peternicholas]

I think teens can be forgiven for being cringe in fiction and in the real world.

I sure hope so, anyway 😬

[koneko_wings]

Also trans here, i liked jules at first but i really think they just fucked up really bad as they went on with her and i think she does fall into one of the tropes that is trans sex demon,
why tf does she give a shit about that guy, why does she end up making out with him while Rue is in the bathroom, how did we get from her crying on a rooftop feeling guilty cuz she kissed that other girl while high af thinking of rue aka more taken advantage of than cheating on Rue, to openly right in front of Rue cheating on her and then again as i meantiond with the guy in season 2,

What do you see trans people desperate for online all the time what is pretty much a core part of being trans? feeling unwanted, feeling unloved cuz how we were treated for who we are, if i had someone like Rue in my life especially in a time of my life like hers i would hold onto her no matter what i would not be cheating on her and stuff, heck i held onto the closest person i had to that and she didnt treat me even 10% as good as Rue treats Jules,

Admittedly i do as i pretty much just said, have so much personal connection and honestly lots of trauma tied up in her storyline, but its an experience i share with at least a large portion of the rest of the trans community i see them dealing with the same issues all the time, season 1 until she cheats on Rue i related to her 100% it was great to see myself in someone and also a bit painful sometimes of course, but what comes next feels like the show is saying "but the real her is all those things people have assumed about you this is what trans people are really like, she doesnt care she just wants to fuck anything that moves" (insert how it contributes to biphobia to here lol).
Season 1 Jules was shown to want exactly what she got from Rue, the only hesitation was will Rue commit to it cuz Jules needs to know shes going to be on board and like yea, 100% again like so many people just use trans people and go, of course she's want to know for sure Rue will stay with her, which is why its even more jarring when suddenly SHE is the one cheating, how tf does that make sense, its at the very least inconsistent characterization, but i think it destroys any integrity her character has by making it look like everything that came before was a lie, it says you cant trust this character shes playing the game she doesnt actually care,

anyway now that im done with whats probably a massive cope based in not being able to see past my own relationship trauma and how its connected to my experience being trans, im gonna motorboat my wonderful gf the first person to ever treat me right in a romantic relationship i finally met at 26 lol

PS. i have fucked up many things in my life im not saying Jules needs to be a saint but its the way and what shes done that feels like its just playing into negative stereotypes and makes me unreasonably upset LOL

[styleissubstance]

Great analysis. I finished this show today and I honestly think Jules is the best fictional representation of transness I've seen in American media. I'm planning on making a video on this topic too and wanted to see what other trans people had to say.

[JazniaDraw]

Hey, i was just checking some of your older videos to rewach, and noticed this one that wasn't here before, i know you have deleted/privated some old vids, so I'm guessing you just put this one back, still its kinda trippy to have a video you've never seen before appear in the middle of all the other videos you know and have watched lol

[mk-aka-morgan]

I still haven’t seen this show, I have a hard time watching drama shows ever since 13 Reasons Why because they always stress me out. I’d prefer watching children’s shows and the occasional adult animation

[clementineshetheyfae]

Season one Jules was genuinely fucking life changing and then Hunter said I was the reason I’m being genocided and that kinda killed some of it

Sorry not said just agreed with

[marilaynxoxo]

honestly the problematic part would be representing jules as hypersexual, perhaps it is something some trans people are like. But to represent trans women as a monolith of hypersexual people constantly seeking sex even if it is due to a complex trauma or need for male validation, is quite unhealthy as it perpetuates the stereotype that trans women are hypersexual deviants.

I would prefer to see trans women in a less sexualised, objectified, flawless and perfect form. Because I am a trans woman and i do not think that all trans women use gay dating apps to have sex with straight men who have a sexual fetish for 'feminine boys', its quite a disgusting premise because it frames trans people as desperate for sex with people who dont even consider trans people as their gender. The sexuality of trans people could be explored in ways that doesnt frame trans people as desperate for sex.

If anything, more trans people are desperate for support, emotional, mental and social, as they lack it vastly more than any cis population. And have been targetted severely by bigots and countries far worse than anyone else. Jules' representation could still show her imperfect ways of coping with emotions, manipulating, abusing, in ways that show her as a flawed yet complex character and does not frame her transness as linked to hypersexuality. As a result, i really do not like the representation of Jules in so far as it is said to 'represent' the diversity of trans experiences because it reinforces this very problematic view of trans women as hypersexual deviants trying to appeal to straight men and erases the presence of non-sexual trans people, lesbian or generally trans people who arent framed by their sexuality or the amount of sex they have.

Is it healthy to portray trans people like this? when cis people and religious groups already demonise trans people for being sexual in nature. It reinforces this very stereotype and harms the integrity of trans people as people regardless of their gender identity or sexuality or the amount of sex they have.

[flask]

I will point my finger at eddie redmayne

[remybubulka]

perhaps i should watch euphoria
perhaps you should cover the trans mentalist episode 😎👉👉

[flask]

I point my finger at scarlette johanson