One thing that’s bothering me about this is the fact that the actor playing this transgender woman has an obvious 5 o clock shadow where his mustache was, so it kind of looks like they just hired a man because they think transgender women are ugly
That’s one way to look at it, but I think it’s also unfair to suggest that trans women are universally seen as unattractive just for appearing more masculine by having a 5:00 shadow. Many women, trans or otherwise, can’t help facial hair, and this is especially true for those who can’t afford treatments to reduce it. And inability to afford treatments is (to my understanding, based on the article) the premise behind this character. Whatever the case, I’ve just never felt comfortable with the expectation that one needs to “pass” or else you’re failing at gender.
There are a number of trans women who choose not to seek any medical/hormonal interventions for their gender presentation at all and are fine with that, though presumably not applicable in this scenario in Squid Game. But I can always respect the “Venus Barbata”-representing folks out there.
