Eastenders tackles Crossdressing
I dont watch Eastenders but a news article appeared on my phone which caught my eye about a “Transgendered” role in Eastenders.. Hmm Transgendered like the story line on Corenation Street? ...No Transgendered like a Crossdresser … At last I really hope a main stream soap covering this taboo subject which no one understands.
If the character Les the Undertaker admitted to his wife he was Trans as in a Transvestite or a Transexual it would have resonated well with the world yes we get that but I think and hope the story line is one i've been anticipating a man who crossdresses? I just hope they dont make it weird or turn him into a crossdressing axe murderer and blur the lines as usually happens on anything to do with Crossdressing on TV or film..
Apparently the character playing the wife and fans have been left stunned when it was finally revealed Les has a female alter ego in an emotionally charged episode.. I dont know the ins and outs maybe I'll find it on bbc iplayer and see how it panned out.. maybe I should do that before I blog or maybe blog then do another blog lol.
Apparently ever since the character Les Coker arrived on the Square fans have known he’s been harbouring a secret thinking he was having an affair with his wifes friend… but he's revealed to have an alter ego Christine when called out by his wife over her thinking hes having an affair and whats really been going on is hes been crossdressing round his wifes friends house not having an affair which i suppose is a nice thing to do having someone as a friend so understanding but the wife will feel a double betrayel.. what would a wife find worst her husband and best friend having an affair or her husband crossdressing round her best friends house.. the latter being harmless really.…
I wonder what my wife would say if I had been dressing at her best friends house.. Maybe she'll tell me what she'd think of that after reading this lol Her best friend would probably enjoy meeting Davina.. In disbelief at first lol
Confession ... Les' wife holds back the tears after his revelation but in tonights episode which I had a fleeting glimpse of it looks like shes in floods of tears talking to her best friend.
The good thing for me is it looks to be relating more to crossdressing as the character Les doesn’t want to transition into a woman so I will actually watch Eastenders to see how the storyline pans out.. let hope its a positive one just a guy who likes to crossdress and they dont do something seedy or sinister.
The actor playing Les explained on TV today that he read Kellie Maloney’s book in his research and found it interesting what she went through quoting “There's one part where Frank Maloney was shopping with his wife and completely forget himself picking up clothes, she looked at him and said, ‘What on earth are you doing?’
I think it's good that the actor notes that Kellie like Caitlyn Jenner is transgender, which Les the character is not but what struck him, and helped him with Les, is reading the turmoil that Kellie went through.
It is very interesting to me as a Crossdresser to read into the actors examination of the trans phenomenon and make a statement that Kellie is transgender and Les isnt hes a crossdresser..
I know some in the trans world wont like this but for me its like eureka finally someone in the mainstream media has made this comment … Am I trans because I cross dress.. according to the Trans police yes but according to me no I just dress up as a woman dont think of myself in any terms as a woman just like how I look and feel crossdressed but happy to return to a man.. OK the latin and all that Trans Vesta or what ever translating to Cross Dressing so yes it's trans.. but scrub the gender as my gender is I'm a man I'm not a Cross Gender.. Now that will put the cat amongst the pigeons wont it..
To feel like you are living a lie, keeping all those secrets and then to break it to your wife as Kellie and Caitlyn have done must be so hard .. and I thought it was hard to confess I was a crossdresser…
It will be interesting to monitor this story line and how Les will have to now go through life with his wife knowing hes a crossdresser hoping he emphasises he doesn’t want to be a woman, but really emphasising dressing up as one gives him a kind of release and explaining that to his wife.
Eastenders should be commended for tackling the issue or phenomenon that is Crossdressing where the normal bloke in secret dresses as a woman in wondering why he does it but enjoying the moment all the same which is probably more common than we think and something that probably reflects real life in Britain.
Roger, who describes Les’s female side as “modest and not glamorous,” said: “Obviously I won’t like it if someone shouts something offensive and abusive at me in the street after playing the role of a crossdressing undertaker, but if they do then that’s for them, it’s showing their character, not mine and thats a reflection on anyone hurling abuse and judging someone for crossdressing.. its a very ignorant attitude.
We’re in a situation where the human race is very diverse, no one gets harmed by crossdressing and if that’s how people want to express themselves then fair enough, people rush to judgement and they shouldn’t.
It would seem EastEnders has a duty to reflect life in all its different forms and this is one of those forms and an opportunity to make people think about it hopefully in a positive way.
Maybe someone going through what Les is going through will be watching at home with his wife and be able to start talking about it. It’s a difficult subject, very emotional, but it opens the conversation.