Appearing in the must-see documentary
Disclosure, a clever and concise history of transgender and non-binary representation in the media, actress-writer Jen Richards made quite an impression on the creators of
Clarice, the new
Silence of the Lambs spinoff on CBS. Brilliantly deconstructing Hollywood’s pervasive trans killer narratives, Richards discussed the impact in her own life of one particular negative portrayal in
Silence: the character of serial killer Buffalo Bill.
“There was a moment many years ago,” recalls Richards, “when I wasn’t out yet as trans and, at my workplace, I started kind of feeling my colleagues out to try and figure out if I could safely transition and not lose my job. I mentioned it to one of my coworkers that I was thinking of transitioning, and she looked at me kind of quizzically and said, ‘You mean like Buffalo Bill?’ It was her only touchstone for what a trans person was, and that was horrifying to me in the moment. In my head, I