Degrassi

Jack's Summary:

Degrassi previously had a trans male character named Adam, played by Canadian actress Jordan Todosey. This storyline was praised as being very progressive when it originally aired, but I'm pretty confident in saying we've come a long way since then, judging by the character's use of bandages to bind his chest. All of the scenes I've seen are very cliché and one-dimensional, although that is not limited to Adam’s depiction alone.

You can watch some scenes here and here, but prepare yourself for unsafe chest binding, self harm, transphobia, deadnaming, misgendering, physical assault, and bullying. Chaz Bono, a trans male celebrity and actor, has a brief role in the show, where he provides advice to the trans boy character.

You can read a blow-by-blow account of Adam’s storyline on his wiki page, if you are interested.

Originally, Todosey signed up to play an “androgynous lesbian character”, but after being hired was told that she’d actually be playing a trans boy. Reportedly, she was incredibly uncomfortable presenting masculinely for the role, and said that wearing “guy clothes” while watching “the other girls [get] dressed up and get their hair and makeup done” made her relate to “how a transgender male-to-female might feel”.

In the same interview where she discussed those discomforts, she also mentioned wanting to make Adam “likeable and fun” so that teenage viewers of Degrassi wouldn’t be intimidated by trans classmates. She also said that her dream storyline for Adam would be an "A Plot" (meaning a main plot) which involves him, but does not focus on his gender. “I really want him to just be a guy and do something fun and daring with his guy friends… for him to finally get the girl and have a great relationship with her”. She also referenced feeling a “huge responsibility” to portray him properly.

In my opinion, this was a very flawed depiction of a trans boy, played by a young actress with genuine good intentions.