GLAAD has issued a call to action against the Tribeca Film Festival over the planned screening of an indie flick called Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives.

By marketing Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives as a “transploitation” film, by using the word “trannies” (a pejorative term for transgender people) in the title of the film, by casting transgender women in some roles, and by citing the murders of Angie Zapata and Jorge Mercado in the trailer, Israel Luna has attempted to place his film squarely within a transgender narrative. However, while some of the actors in the film identify as transgender, the characters are written as drag queens, “performing” femininity in a way that is completely artificial. The very names of these over-the-top female caricatures (Emma Grashun, Rachel Slurr, et al.) drive this point home. Because of its positioning as a transgender film, viewers unfamiliar with the lives of transgender women will likely leave this film with the impression that transgender women are ridiculous caricatures of “real women.” It demeans actual transgender women who struggle for acceptance and respect in their day-to-day lives and to be valued for their contributions to our society.

WATCH the Trailer and YOU decide…..

Thank goodness GLAAD is around to protect the delicate sensibilities of viewers who might have wandered into this well-titled movie, expecting a sensitive exploration of trans issues.  WTF.

Okay I WILL admit that thr mentioning of Angie Zapata in the trailer was insensitive and not a grewat move.  And I would see no problem with GLAAD asking them to remove the references to real life victims in the trailer.  But for GLAAD to go so over the top on this low budget film that was obviously ment to be guerilla filmaking is ridiculous. 

I wonder what GLAAD would do if Pink Flamingo’s was released today?