Hunter Schafer Is Tired Of Being Offered Only Trans Roles

Gen Z icon Hunter Schafer is tired of being offered trans acting roles, and wants to move away from or storytelling that focuses mainly on her gender identity.

The Euphoria star first found fame through her activism around trans rights, which launched her modelling career. She then truly became an A-lister through her work on Euphoria where she portrayed a young trans girl named Jules.

For most of her youth — and her career — Schafer has made art about being trans, even at times when she didn’t necessarily want to. And now, she tells GQ, it’s something she is actively trying to get away from — even by avoiding saying the word “trans” in interviews.

“It has not just happened naturally by any means. If I let it happen, it would still be giving ‘Transsexual Actress’ before every article ever,” Schafer said. “As soon as I say it, it gets blastoff.”

“It took a while to learn that and it also took a while to learn that I don’t want to be [reduced to] that, and I find it ultimately demeaning to me and what I want to do,” Schafer added.

“Especially after high school, I was sick of talking about it. I worked so hard to get to where I am, past these really hard points in my transition, and now I just want to be a girl and finally move on.”

The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes actor said that while she understands the importance of representation, and the power of casting trans people for trans roles, she is also exhausted by having to be that representation at the cost of her own creative freedom.

“It’s been very intentional. I’ve gotten offered tons of trans roles, and I just don’t want to do it. I don’t want to talk about it,” she said.

“I know for a fact that I’m one of the most famous trans people in media right now, and I do feel a sense of responsibility, and maybe a little bit of guilt, for not being more of a spokesperson.

“But ultimately, I really do believe that not making it the centerpiece to what I’m doing will allow me to get further. And I think getting further and doing awesome shit, in the interest of ‘the movement,’ will be way more helpful than talking about it all the time.”

That’s the thing with representation — it’s important and empowering for marginalised groups who do not have their stories told often enough. But, we often don’t think about the toll it takes on people from that group who must relive their marginalisation every time they give us “representation”.

In Hunter Schafer’s case, she’s certainly earned the right to say no to gigs that focus on her gender identity.