“Disclosure” (2020) Media Guide

“We’ve been around since there was footage. You just have to look for us.”- Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen (2020)

“Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen” is a documentary released in 2020 directed by Sam Feder. It can be viewed on Netflix. You can view the cast, including Laverne Cox, Bianca Leigh, and Jen Richards, here. Disclosure is “an in-depth look at Hollywood’s depiction of transgender people and the impact of those stories on transgender lives and American culture.”

Movies from the early 1900s portrayed crossdressing and blackface in gender non-binary characters as a joke. This documentary plays clips from those films. Additionally, it examines the more modern problematic portrayal of trans characters from the ’90s to today. That includes shows like “How I Met Your Mother”, and movies like “The Danish Girl”.

The movie shares that most people do not know a trans person. People go to the media to learn about what they don’t know, and when seeing the portrayal of trans people as a punchline, or by cis actors, this is not an accurate portrayal, nor is it affirming to people that are trans.

Just five minutes into the documentary I already learned more than I ever knew about inaccurate and racist trans representation. I highly recommend you take an hour and a half of your day to watch this film.

If you are still learning about the vocabulary surrounding gender and sexuality, check out my LGBTQIA+ Dictionary. If you are part of this community and need support, head over to my Resource Hub.

While watching Disclosure, I created a lesson plan that can be used to bring about discussion and empathy for people that are transgender. Given the content regarding sex and sex workers in the documentary, I recommend for high school and college age students. These products are featured on Teachers Pay Teachers for free, or you can download them below. You will receive the files as google documents, which you can make a copy of or download into Microsoft in the case of editing the Lesson Plan for your needs. If you have questions, concerns or feedback about the lesson plan, email me at norah.aljunaidi@gmail.com.