Ellie Kendrick Quotes

Three trans women came up to me separately to tell me they had felt such a connection with Ava in 'Ex Machina' and her dream of finally coming to full female fruition. They had all cried; one said she was very emotional during the scene where Ava finally puts her skin on for the first time.

Growing up, I never saw images of trans people succeeding.

I knew 'Transparent' and saw a few episodes of 'Orange is the New Black,' so I knew about the trans actor in that cast. Of course, I saw 'Boys Don't Cry' back in the day. But the path that led me to this subject was different... it's just my curiosity as a human being more than my awareness of any political struggles.

What's hurtful is when you have portrayals like, you know, when you have someone like Jared Leto who accepts an award for 'Dallas Buyers Club,' after playing a trans woman, standing in a full beard and looking fully cis male: it is communicating to our audiences that underneath all of that, it's still a man under that.

I'm loving the fact that Hollywood is telling trans stories.

I lived what we call 'stealth' for a number of years. Even when I started acting in the industry, I didn't disclose. I didn't come out. My first job on 'Law & Order' was not a trans role.

I don't want the same trans story to be told over and over again. I don't want people to get stuck on this very western idea of what it means to be transgender.

I consider myself true, which, I know, some people look at as radical, but I enjoy the normalcies of life. I'm not out there trying to transform things, but somehow, by being easy to talk to, and easy to look at, and on a mainstream TV show, I think that I'm helping the public's opinions about transgendered people to change, slowly.

I am not a spokesperson for the trans community, I am not. The media kind of projects me as being the spokesperson, but from my standpoint, I am not. I am a spokesperson for my story, and that's all I can tell.

I always enjoyed doing transgender songs.

'Clocked' means someone sees you for being transgender.

Transgender women especially feel like we have to fit the binary system to a T in order to not be recognized as trans.

It seems only fitting that we have a trans superhero for trans kids to look up to. I wish there was a trans superhero when I was little.

When I was on 'Doubt' on CBS, there was a 60-second scene, but in that 60 seconds, people were so affected because it was trans women in a very normalized situation.

Being able to write about love through a trans lens is something that's not really represented when it comes to love songs.

What's infuriating is when cis people think celebrating me is celebrating transness.

These past six years, people have seen me as a woman, not a transsexual. People in the gym, people I train with, it's been great, it's been awesome. I'm just a woman to them. I don't want that to go away. It's unfortunate that it has to.

We don't agree with Caitlyn Jenner deciding she is the spokesperson for trans people.

I was pretty sure, going along the timeline, I was going to have to embrace being a role model for transsexuals in mixed martial arts, and I'm willing to embrace it - of course.

There are no trans roles, and if there are, they go to Jared Leto or Eddie Redmayne or Elle Fanning... Will there ever come a point where I could play a woman in a realistic, naturalistic drama and have there not be the word 'trans' in the script?

My experience with 'Transparent' has completely spoiled me because it was the safest, most transpositive set ever. I didn't have to worry about all the usual things - like when people have a vision of your transness that you're not comfortable with. When they don't know the correct gender pronouns by which to refer to you.

Having trans people play trans roles show that we are valid in our identities, and we exist.

Now that I'm out there and it's known that I'm trans, I think that sometimes might hinder my opportunity in snagging a big cis role.

We exist in a culture where trans people are constantly delegitimized.

I think, for all trans people, it's not our only defining feature, but it is a defining feature.