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In honor of Transgender Awareness Week, GLAAD and TheWrap partner to bring you these takes on representations in TV and Film

Chaz Bono, Transgender advocate, writer and musician

1. What transgender story or character has been particularly meaningful or impactful to you?

"'Boys Don't Cry' was important to me. It was about a year after I saw that film that I started to question my own gender identity. It's a difficult movie to watch, but it was the first image of a transgender man I'd ever seen in the mainstream media. Even though the character wasn't perfect and there was a tragic ending, I could still identify with Brandon. Seeing that film helped me figure out that I was transgender."

2. What is a common stereotype or cliché in stories about transgender people that you never want to see again?

"I'm so tired of seeing TV shows and films where transgender people are either victimized or killers. And too often those characters that are supposed to be transgender don't look or act anything like actual transgender people. People in the entertainment industry who are writing, casting, directing, and acting transgender roles have a responsibility to do their research and make it more realistic."