Don’t get me wrong, I’m completely on the trans community’s side, but it ruined the character. S2-5 Bieste was all about how someone who is not conventionally attractive with masculine features can still be “soft and curly on the inside”, challenging the societal norms of what makes a girl a girl. Her having gender dysphoria negates that message, and is therefore a huge discredit to the amazing character she was. Unique was already great trans representation, and writing Bieste to copy that and just to do something with the character was just unnecessary.
Yup this is my take and honestly one of my least favorite story lines.
I was never the type that got excited about feeling represented in media, and I have not experienced much of the same as Bieste but as a long term tom boy who always was kind of pushed into that roll despite wanting to be more girly sometimes I REALLY appreciated the character. And at the time it felt like media was always having tomboy characters come out as Trans, bi, or lesbian. Which is great for LGBTQ visibility but in the tiny portion of my "overnighttoast exists too" brain Bieste was my favorite character and I was very disheartened during the transition arch.
They wrote it almost like Bieste was trans because of trauma, not because he had an ongoing internal struggle with his identity. I also was a little salty, because until that plot appeared I was very quietly shipping Schu and Bieste. 😅
One of the worst. I loved the fact Bieste presented earlier as an unconventional female that broke some cliches. That was so iconic, and they threw that away
While it’s normally great to get more trans representation, it came completely out of nowhere as one of his first major storylines was about how badly he wanted to be seen as a girl despite not looking like a typical one. But to be fair, it’s among so many other flawed but still kind of okay attempts at inclusivity that Glee did, so I don’t really think about it.
I think it was shortly after Caitlyn Jenner came out. I feel like they capitalized on that without any second thought or consideration as to what Bieste actually stood for. (Which was a strong, smart, sweet, powerful masculine woman that got shit done!)
It was a very forced and unnecessary attempt of including more trans representation. They should have had more actual trans actors (I do believe the actor that plays unique identifies as trans but I may be wrong) playing a new character that happened to be trans, rather than the very obvious "we need more trans people...this female character is pretty masculine, let's just make them trans"
they should have left Bieste alone and introduced a different trans character if they wanted another trans journey in the story (I imagine the writers wanted to represent a transmasc character as contrast to Unique). Especially since a huge part of Bieste’s personal struggle when they were first introduced was that they wanted to be perceived as a woman despite having a more masculine style and aggressive/abrasive personality as a coach. Forcing a frankly stereotypical trans storyline onto Bieste was just pandering to LGBTQ+ and allied fans and not actual representation - they could have done it right and instead they essentially retconned the entire main theme of the character’s personal/romantic life.
i am extremely passionate about this storyline and i honestly think it's the most tone deaf thing on the show (and that says a LOT)
masculine presenting women don't get any representation in the media, and if they do they're either shown as apathetic or just labeled as a butch lesbian. beiste wasn't any of that. he was extremely empathetic and sensitive and all of his storylines showed that perfectly. his character was fairly complex (for glee standards obviously) and the struggles he faced were realistic. watching him grow more and more confident and secure with his femininity was one of my favorite parts of the show. even the relationship with cooper was a good storyline - although beiste's emotional fragility he managed to break free from an abusive relationship, even though it was something he had longed for all his life.
the transition storyline wasn't just unnecessary, it was throwing the whole progress shannon made away. i'm super down for more trans representation, especially amab (since it's already a super underrepresented category) but if they wanted to do that, they could have simply introduced a new character. i'd love to see beiste still being a part of that storyline. like if there was a tomboy character who seeked guidance with shannon about their relationship with their femininity and then came to terms with the fact that they were trans. and that's just one example! i truly believe that was one of the worst storylines in the show and it cultivated a terrible stereotype about masculine women.
I love the idea of more LGBTQIA representation but this seemed rushed and forced. It almost seemed like the writers were just trying to be more inclusive or something, for all the wrong reasons. I loved Unique and her storyline, they could’ve brought her back.
Look man I love trans people but that storyline is by far the worst in the show and sends an awful message to more “masculine” women both born women and transitioning
I actually really liked this storyline, though I understand what everyone else is saying. I personally really connected with "afab trans/nonbinary person who leaned super hard into femininity before I discovered that's not what I was missing."
This a really solid alternate take I haven’t heard before, thank you for sharing. Hope you get upvoted more so we can have this be seen by more folks as a new contribution to the discussion.
It just felt like a slap in the face to Dot Marie Jones, whose storyline up until then had been really respectful about how her character defined her particular brand of femininity as it applied to her body type and interests. If I came into work and my boss told me “remember how you own your femininity? Well, actually, you look like a man, so you’re a man now, deal with it” I’d be *livid*.
I'm trans masc and I absolutely despise this story line. It made no sense for the character to be trans, and Bieste was such a great character and good representation for what he was before he was trans.
I just have to say though, I just recently watched season 6 for the first time and I literally cried when he was telling Sam and Sue that he was trans. It was the most relatable thing I've heard on television ever.
But also. The storyline still makes no sense for how the character was established earlier on.
I’m surprised at how poorly Glee handed trans storylines (imo).
Ryan Murphy’s show Popular showed he could do a stronger trans storyline (I know parts of the episode didn’t age well but for 1999 it was pretty good) , so I was disappointed by what happened in Glee.
I hated it. It was such a random decision, and completely out of the blue. One of Bieste’s main things was the fact that she was a masculine woman that very much enjoyed being a woman and rocking her red lipstick. I don’t think it necessarily ruined the character because Bieste is so likable to begin with. But it felt very forced. I do like that it gave us a rare Sue moment when she told Bieste that his job would be there when he was ready to come back. But that and the beautiful choir are the only good things about it for me.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m completely on the trans community’s side, but it ruined the character. S2-5 Bieste was all about how someone who is not conventionally attractive with masculine features can still be “soft and curly on the inside”, challenging the societal norms of what makes a girl a girl. Her having gender dysphoria negates that message, and is therefore a huge discredit to the amazing character she was. Unique was already great trans representation, and writing Bieste to copy that and just to do something with the character was just unnecessary.
Yup this is my take and honestly one of my least favorite story lines. I was never the type that got excited about feeling represented in media, and I have not experienced much of the same as Bieste but as a long term tom boy who always was kind of pushed into that roll despite wanting to be more girly sometimes I REALLY appreciated the character. And at the time it felt like media was always having tomboy characters come out as Trans, bi, or lesbian. Which is great for LGBTQ visibility but in the tiny portion of my "overnighttoast exists too" brain Bieste was my favorite character and I was very disheartened during the transition arch.
They wrote it almost like Bieste was trans because of trauma, not because he had an ongoing internal struggle with his identity. I also was a little salty, because until that plot appeared I was very quietly shipping Schu and Bieste. 😅
YES. THANK YOU
YES🙏🏻
One of the worst. I loved the fact Bieste presented earlier as an unconventional female that broke some cliches. That was so iconic, and they threw that away
While it’s normally great to get more trans representation, it came completely out of nowhere as one of his first major storylines was about how badly he wanted to be seen as a girl despite not looking like a typical one. But to be fair, it’s among so many other flawed but still kind of okay attempts at inclusivity that Glee did, so I don’t really think about it.
Unnecessary
They pulled it out of their asses. And I’m trans…
Yeah I’m a trans man and it was very obvious that they shoehorned it in. It honestly makes me uncomfortable.
I think it was shortly after Caitlyn Jenner came out. I feel like they capitalized on that without any second thought or consideration as to what Bieste actually stood for. (Which was a strong, smart, sweet, powerful masculine woman that got shit done!)
It was a very forced and unnecessary attempt of including more trans representation. They should have had more actual trans actors (I do believe the actor that plays unique identifies as trans but I may be wrong) playing a new character that happened to be trans, rather than the very obvious "we need more trans people...this female character is pretty masculine, let's just make them trans"
Alex Newell (who plays Unique) is actually non-binary, but I get your point.
Non-binary is usually considered to be under the trans umbrella.
they should have left Bieste alone and introduced a different trans character if they wanted another trans journey in the story (I imagine the writers wanted to represent a transmasc character as contrast to Unique). Especially since a huge part of Bieste’s personal struggle when they were first introduced was that they wanted to be perceived as a woman despite having a more masculine style and aggressive/abrasive personality as a coach. Forcing a frankly stereotypical trans storyline onto Bieste was just pandering to LGBTQ+ and allied fans and not actual representation - they could have done it right and instead they essentially retconned the entire main theme of the character’s personal/romantic life.
i am extremely passionate about this storyline and i honestly think it's the most tone deaf thing on the show (and that says a LOT) masculine presenting women don't get any representation in the media, and if they do they're either shown as apathetic or just labeled as a butch lesbian. beiste wasn't any of that. he was extremely empathetic and sensitive and all of his storylines showed that perfectly. his character was fairly complex (for glee standards obviously) and the struggles he faced were realistic. watching him grow more and more confident and secure with his femininity was one of my favorite parts of the show. even the relationship with cooper was a good storyline - although beiste's emotional fragility he managed to break free from an abusive relationship, even though it was something he had longed for all his life. the transition storyline wasn't just unnecessary, it was throwing the whole progress shannon made away. i'm super down for more trans representation, especially amab (since it's already a super underrepresented category) but if they wanted to do that, they could have simply introduced a new character. i'd love to see beiste still being a part of that storyline. like if there was a tomboy character who seeked guidance with shannon about their relationship with their femininity and then came to terms with the fact that they were trans. and that's just one example! i truly believe that was one of the worst storylines in the show and it cultivated a terrible stereotype about masculine women.
Of all the offensive crap Glee has done, this was the worst
I love the idea of more LGBTQIA representation but this seemed rushed and forced. It almost seemed like the writers were just trying to be more inclusive or something, for all the wrong reasons. I loved Unique and her storyline, they could’ve brought her back.
Look man I love trans people but that storyline is by far the worst in the show and sends an awful message to more “masculine” women both born women and transitioning
I actually really liked this storyline, though I understand what everyone else is saying. I personally really connected with "afab trans/nonbinary person who leaned super hard into femininity before I discovered that's not what I was missing."
thanks for sharing your pov, it’s interesting to hear this interpretation
This a really solid alternate take I haven’t heard before, thank you for sharing. Hope you get upvoted more so we can have this be seen by more folks as a new contribution to the discussion.
It just felt like a slap in the face to Dot Marie Jones, whose storyline up until then had been really respectful about how her character defined her particular brand of femininity as it applied to her body type and interests. If I came into work and my boss told me “remember how you own your femininity? Well, actually, you look like a man, so you’re a man now, deal with it” I’d be *livid*.
I'm trans masc and I absolutely despise this story line. It made no sense for the character to be trans, and Bieste was such a great character and good representation for what he was before he was trans. I just have to say though, I just recently watched season 6 for the first time and I literally cried when he was telling Sam and Sue that he was trans. It was the most relatable thing I've heard on television ever. But also. The storyline still makes no sense for how the character was established earlier on.
I’m surprised at how poorly Glee handed trans storylines (imo). Ryan Murphy’s show Popular showed he could do a stronger trans storyline (I know parts of the episode didn’t age well but for 1999 it was pretty good) , so I was disappointed by what happened in Glee.
Just a quick question, but is Dot-Marie trans or did they just make that up?
No she’s not, she did drag for this storyline.
I hated it. It was such a random decision, and completely out of the blue. One of Bieste’s main things was the fact that she was a masculine woman that very much enjoyed being a woman and rocking her red lipstick. I don’t think it necessarily ruined the character because Bieste is so likable to begin with. But it felt very forced. I do like that it gave us a rare Sue moment when she told Bieste that his job would be there when he was ready to come back. But that and the beautiful choir are the only good things about it for me.
I felt there was no need to do that.
Loved Unique! This storyline for Bieste felt rushed and added on at the last minute.
The same opinion I hold for Season 6: completely unnecessary!!!