It is all the time a blended bag when cop dramas embrace a transgender sufferer.
On the one hand, there’s a greater homicide price for transgender individuals, particularly trans girls of coloration. On the opposite, audiences can get the concept trans individuals are nothing however victims, perpetuating dangerous stereotypes.
Blue Bloods Season 11 Episode 11 did an excellent job of presenting these points to a extra conservative viewers, although it additionally fell into the lure of suggesting trans individuals are all remoted and alone.
One of many issues I preferred greatest about this storyline was that Baez was trustworthy about her discomfort but did not need it to intrude along with her doing her job.
Baez: I am not judging or something, however I’ve by no means been round it and I simply do not get this transgender factor.
Danny: You do not have to get it but. All we’ve got to get is our assassin.
Her dialog with Danny about that was necessary. Typically individuals have a tendency to separate the world up into people who find themselves 100% accepting and cozy and dangerous individuals, nevertheless it’s extra nuanced than that.
Baez’s confession that she did not choose anybody, but felt uncomfortable as a result of she did not fairly get it, despatched viewers the message that it is okay to not absolutely perceive so long as you continue to deal with everybody with dignity and respect.
I usually have conversations with individuals who really feel the way in which Baez does, and I do not suppose labeling such individuals as transphobes and writing them off helps something. Opening a dialogue with such individuals generally helps them to get it, or not less than to really feel extra snug.
And in any case, once more, we’re not asking for everybody to grasp, however solely to be handled as human whether or not you get it or not. So I applaud Blue Bloods for sharing that message.
Danny was slightly additional alongside in his understanding than Baez, however he has work to do too.
Ashley: Most cops do not care concerning the homicide of transgender girls.
Danny: Effectively, I can reassure you that this cop does. We’re treating this case identical to some other case.
Ashley: That is the issue. This is not like some other case. It is a hate crime.
I used to be glad that Ashley known as him out on the way in which cops have traditionally handled circumstances involving transgender individuals, particularly on mentioning that the hate cops get is not straight similar to realizing there are individuals on the market who hate you for a side of your self that isn’t inside your management.
I do not suppose Danny meant any hurt along with his remark — in reality, I feel he was making an attempt to empathize the one manner he may consider — however he nonetheless wanted some schooling on that time, and I used to be glad Ashley gave it.
There have been two areas the place I feel Blue Bloods may have carried out a greater job, although.
No one corrected Peter when he stated that transgender individuals haven’t any mates or household, so it is all the time a useless finish once they’re killed.
Peter was imagined to be a bigot, however that assertion would possibly sound affordable to individuals who do not know higher, which will be dangerous.
Some transgender individuals are certainly remoted and alone. Some dad and mom kick their trans youngsters out of the home for being trans, and a few trans individuals reside on the streets.
However that is not everyone, not by a protracted shot.
Many people reside with and have genuine relationships with our households. I work with dad and mom on daily basis who need to learn to assist their transgender youngsters higher, and there are much more of them than there are those who disown their youngsters for being transgender.
However for those who have a look at TV crime dramas — not simply Blue Bloods, however many different exhibits as properly — you would possibly suppose that each one transgender individuals are lower off from their households and alone.
This dangerous fantasy contributes to individuals believing that transgender individuals are “freaks” that no regular individual needs round and may make transgender individuals really feel extra alone even when their households would assist them in the event that they gave them an opportunity.
And with 41% of transgender youngsters trying suicide earlier than their eighteenth birthday, the very last thing we want is to strengthen stereotypes that transgender equals unloved and even unloveable.
Blue Bloods may have addressed this stereotype, too, by having somebody push again towards Peter’s declare. If nothing else, Sean in all probability is aware of some youngsters who’re transgender at college and will have made a remark on the dinner desk about that to counteract this stereotype.
The opposite factor was that Baez did not get a lot of a possibility to develop all through the hour.
By the tip, she was comforting Ashley after the dangerous man nearly killed her. However she did not actually study a lot about transgender individuals or about the best way to assist them extra successfully.
Danny did most of that whereas Baez and Ashley had a number of mutually uncomfortable encounters, after which Baez was there on the finish.
The implication was that seeing that man name Ashley a freak and attempt to kill her made Baez notice what Ashley was up towards and have extra empathy for her. However I did not suppose that was sufficient.
I would a lot moderately the statistics about trans homicide charges be balanced out with Ahsley and Baez having some interactions apart from Ashley accusing Baez of wanting her to vanish.
One thing so simple as Ashley speaking about how she needed to honor Kayla’s reminiscence by discovering the killer and speaking about how she had hoped to be the large sister to Kayla that she by no means had herself would have helped humanize her and provides Baez extra of a possibility to realize understanding.
Ashley’s need to go undercover made me surprise if there are any overtly transgender individuals serving on the NYPD or different police forces.
Ashley was proper {that a} cisgender cop would possibly give themselves away, particularly contemplating how little Danny and Baez knew about transgender individuals. Nonetheless, a transgender cop can be a better option than a civilian with no coaching.
After all, there was quite a bit else happening apart from this case.
Frank: We had you underneath some fairly scorching lights earlier than I introduced you up right here. So I am unable to think about we missed something.
Garrett: However the lights are completely different now.
Frank: One factor’s the identical: I received your again.
The Gormley storyline was probably the most attention-grabbing.
I adore it when Frank has his cops’ backs irrespective of the results, and this was no exception.
The concept of firing Gormley for issues that occurred 25 years in the past and have been already completely investigated appeared foolish, particularly since Gormley is now in an administrative place.
I am glad that Frank stood as much as the mayor — and to Gormley himself, who was insisting on giving in.
Efforts at police reform, or some other reform, go too far once they attempt to choose issues that occurred years in the past out of context, and this was an important instance of that.
When Gormley talked about how arduous this was for his spouse, it made me surprise what occurred along with his psychological issues.
He took a couple of weeks off, supposedly, however reappeared within the subsequent episode, and his despair was by no means talked about once more.
This might have been a good time to harken again to that and would have been extra practical as a result of psychological well being points do not go away in a day and have a tendency to flare up when somebody is underneath the form of stress Gormley was underneath on this story.
As for Erin’s dilemma, may Crawford be any extra annoying?
She appears to be a very political animal. Supposedly she has morals and excessive requirements, however her rule appears to be that the DA’s workplace will espouse no matter values the governor needs.
And it looks as if Erin all the time has to get the DA’s workplace off some self-destructive path, just for Crawford to whine about being undermined.
Perhaps if she made choices on a rational foundation, it might assist Erin not must go elsewhere to get precise justice for anybody.
Lastly, Jamie’s story was all types of bizarre.
I did not perceive why the cops consistently wanted to work together with Tommy, nor why he received his jollies from punching cops whereas they weren’t wanting.
Jamie’s revenge was humorous, although. I knew he wasn’t actually going to beat up Tommy himself when he appeared to be having bother strolling up that snowy hill.
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Jack Ori is a senior employees author for TV Fanatic. His debut younger grownup novel, Reinventing Hannah, is offered on Amazon. Observe him on Twitter.