Rewatching “Ugly Betty” these days may be hard for some, as there are numerous problems with Alexis Meade’s portrayal. There’s a copious amount of dead-naming and using the wrong pronouns for Alexis. Numerous jokes are directed at her expense, and her presence in “Ugly Betty” opens up many plot holes.
For example, Alexis pre-transition is portrayed with typically masculine traits, like being attracted to women and enjoying sports. She takes on more traditionally feminine traits post-transition, like being more interested in fashion. She’s not sporty at all, and she’s attracted to men. While it’s possible she’s bisexual or pansexual, it’s never commented upon. It plays directly into heteronormativity, where men must be attracted to women, and since Alexis is a woman, she must be attracted to men. The show fails to recognize that gender identity and sexuality are two different things, and given how the show handled its storylines with homosexual characters, it’s frustrating it didn’t provide the same level of care to Alexis.
As one final point, Alexis Meade sets an unrealistic measure for how transgender women should present themselves to the public. Rebecca Romijn is conventionally beautiful and presents herself in a highly feminine way. It creates an expectation that transgender women who want to pass should look similarly, and that’s not the case. There’s this idea of how transgender women should look rather than recognizing everyone’s experience will be different. There’s little doubt the “Ugly Betty” writers had good intentions with giving a transgender character such a prominent role on a high-profile show. “Ugly Betty” had good representation in other ways, but it’s critical to examine where it fell short so that future shows may do better.
