By Cake Staff:

Treasured Hollywood feminist Mark Ruffalo and stereotype busting gay actor Matt Bomer have come together for the film “Anything.” That sounds pretty exciting, but your bubble is about to burst real quick.

Just like the Eddie Redmayne starrer “The Danish Girl” and Amazon network’s “Transparent,” Ruffalo’s film has a cisgender man (Bomer) playing a trans woman. So a couple of days ago, actor and producer Jen Richards went to town on it via her Twitter account.

Richards, who is trans, had auditioned for the role, but was passed over for Bomer. Detractors on Twitter tried to slam her for simply being ‘jealous’ about not getting the role, but she recently put out a series of tweets about the larger and more violent politics behind it all:

I’ve made this point in a few interviews, but never on Twitter, so let me lay it out. Reasons not to have cis men play trans women:

— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016

First, there’s the practical/economic one. It denies actual trans women opportunities, jobs, resources, which hurts entire community.

— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016

Then there’s an aesthetic. Now, I agree, in principle, that anyone can play anyone. As an artist, I want that kind of freedom myself, but…

— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016

Having trans people play trans people allows for more informed, subtle, authentic performance. It makes for BETTER ART, which is the point.

— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016

There’s a reason why @HerStoryShow has resonated so much with trans people, why we love @Lavernecox, @MsJamieClayton, @angelicaross, etc.

— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016

Eddie Redmayne, Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto, etc., are great actors, but we, and those who know us, see the difference between them & us.

— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016

Cis audiences reward them because they see being trans itself as a performance. Trans actors rather perform THE STORY, not our gender.

— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016

But all of this pales to the main reason not to have cis men play trans women. This is the reason that is making me cry as I type this…

— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016

It will result in violence against trans women. And that is not hyperbole, I mean it literally. Cis men playing trans women leads to death.

— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016

Here’s why. I’ve spent years looking at violence against trans women, particularly who does it & why. I talk to survivors. There’s a pattern

— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016

Straight men are attracted to trans women. They always have been, always will be. We are some of the most popular sex workers. It’s a fact.

— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016

BUT they are afraid that being with trans women makes them gay/less masculine. They seek us out, enjoy us, then punish us for their anxiety.

— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016

Let’s be more direct: They have sex with us, worry that makes them gay, then reassert their masculinity through violence aimed at us.

— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 28, 2016

A heated conversation broke out on this thread, but Richards’ point about violence is something we need to recognize. In India, the deplorable way our media represents trans people only perpetuates further violence on an already disadvantaged community. There is a relationship between what we see and what we do. Richards has also reacted to the most common excuse given to normalize the lack of trans representation in media:

“No trans actor big enough to carry movie”

Did one of last year’s most successful films have 2 unknown trans leads? pic.twitter.com/Buiq9xN6sY

— Jen Richards (@SmartAssJen) August 30, 2016

Several other prominent trans people have responded to issues surrounding “Anything,” as well. Actor Laverne Cox tweeted in support of Richards:

I love @smartassjen so much. This I believe is a must watch video on cis folks playing trans roles. https://t.co/uivAcyDxSH

— Laverne Cox (@Lavernecox) September 1, 2016

Artist Shadi Petosky, who was at the receiving end of trans discrimination just last year, had this to say:

Timeline full of people telling me that trans performers aren’t valuable enough for a film. But our stories are? That’s appropriation 101.

— Shadi Petosky (@shadipetosky) August 31, 2016

Jamie Clayton, who plays Nomi Marks on “Sense8” also weighed in:

I really hope you both choose to do some actual good for the trans community one day. @MRodOfficial @MattBomer https://t.co/9WHwNu7HFm

— Jamie Clayton (@MsJamieClayton) August 30, 2016

And soon after, Matt Bomer blocked her. Ruffalo on the other hand seems to be more responsive to the criticism, tweeting that he was glad to have this conversation. But his explanation for casting Bomer leaves a lot to be desired:

In all honesty I suggested Matt for the role after the profound experience I had with him while making "The Normal Heart".

— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) August 31, 2016

This is precisely what Richards is arguing about. If you pay no heed to representational politics even in casting, then how exactly are you challenging cisnormativity? Further, casting cis people in trans roles perpetuates ideas like “trans women are just men in dresses,” completely invalidating trans identities. What this amounts to is misgendering, which – as actor Laverne Cox categorically says – is also an act of violence. So really, when Richards equates bad or lazy casting with the alarming rate of transgender deaths, it isn’t a dramatic jump. Because it’s all of these “little” things that combine to create a culture of transphobic violence. And we have to think about the role we play in all of it.