Sorry, I can’t answer these kind of questions as they are very broad, and the main focus of this blog is not law. I can only answer those kind of questions when it’s narrowed down to just one country or so, and typically by looking up a government website. So I suggest you do that. It may not be made clear in the outlines you find, because sometimes you have to read between the lines to find out what is allowed and what is not allowed.
If you are unsure, the best thing to do is to send an email to an official government site asking them the question.
Also try the following link. It might be a good starting point for you to research this (see the chart at the bottom of the page):
Great…… just after that blog… I have no words except this just makes me sad.
Now we will never know whether she would have performed well or not, because people didn’t even give her a chance. What a shame. No words.
I’m ashamed to be part of a community that can’t tell the difference between a real enemy and a harmless person… Intention is everything.
She had every right to take on any role she wanted as long as her intentions were good. It’s NOT right that she had to go through this…
Looks like Hilary Swank got her role during a time when the trans community wasn’t yet full of immature idiots addicted to outrage….. thank god for that – Or we would have missed out on THAT brilliant performance too.
So my gf told me about a new film about a trans guy who is being played by Scarlett Johansson.
She said something about people freaking out (trans community?) because they feel the role should be given to a trans guy.
Welllll… I’m trans too. This matters to me. I’m also working on a trans story myself (fiction) and this is a topic I’ve wondered about before (cis actors playing trans people)… I have a unique perspective on this and I want to comment.
I haven’t looked up the film or any of the commentary around it, so this is purely a first reaction based on my girlfriend’s news alone.
I understand why some people would be upset, but there are other things I’m more concerned about than who is playing the trans character, like whether the writer actually understands the difference between a ‘tomboy’ and a TRANS guy.
~~
An actor or actress is doing a job. It’s their expertise to take on roles that may differ drastically from their own experiences. Some of the best actors/actresses for queer or trans characters have been straight/cis people. Look at Hilary Swank in the 1999 movie ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ and Jennifer Beals playing Bette Porter on ‘The L Word.’ There are so many other similar examples out there. Those are just two examples of acting that amazed me when I first watched that film and that show…
[Jennifer Beals as Bette Porter]
[Hilary Swank as Brandon Teena in Boys Don’t Cry]
Hilary Swank is a cis woman who acted for a trans man.
Jennifer Beals is a straight woman who played a lesbian.
I’m sure everyone can think of at least one non-queer, non-trans actor or actress that captured the essence of the queer or trans experience so well that they were surprised to learn the person wasn’t LGBT.
Yes, sometimes it can be disappointing to learn that the actor is not themselves LGBT… (I will admit it crushed me to think of the person who plays Bette being straight in real life, b/c when I first came out I identified so much with her character). But acting is an art. Just because someone’s life is similar to the character does not mean they will play the character well.
So a trans guy playing a trans guy might not do the role justice, if he doesn’t have the necessary acting skills. Plus, if he had already transitioned, it would be hard to pull off a pre-transition trans guy.
When it comes to actors playing roles, the most important question shouldn’t be, How do they identify? It should be: How well can they play this role? CAN they play it authentically? Do they have the skills/ the passion/ the appreciation for the story and character necessary to give it their best? And, if you’re like me.. you might also ask: Do their personal values reflect a non-judgmental attitude?
[Scarlett Johansson – just look at that sweet face. How can you hate on that?]
The only thing that surprised me when I heard of this new movie is that it’s SCARLETT JOHANSSON… She was the last person I would expect to play a trans GUY – only because she always seemed to be the embodiment of femininity in her features / outfits / gender expression.
So it’s kind of funny to me. But at the same time, it’s great. It’s great that a cis woman who has that kind of reputation would care enough about the trans male experience to take on a role like that.
That’s a beautiful thing. Why is anyone saying negative things about it?
People need to go watch some movies and films with great acting for LGBT characters and then go check out the actor/actress’ real life sexual orientation/gender identity. Do it the other way around too (for queer actors playing straight characters).
That’s the other thing people need to remember. If you start demanding that actors only play characters with the same sexual orientation as them, it’s going to affect queer actors/actresses too. Imagine how limiting that would be for their career if they can only play queer or trans characters always (Especially considering there’s already a sore lack of these in mainstream fiction.)
Please watch in 480 p for best quality, on a smaller video size, not full screen.
What is this?
Well, it’s a little video I made, to better visualize something. It’s meant to be a kind of Character Reference video. I made it purely for myself. If there was one real life person I’d say happens to look a lot like how I imagine my character would look from late teens and beyond, it’s this guy, the actor Will Tudor, the way he looks in this show. I have not read or watched Shadowhunters, so this video might seem utterly nonsensical to people who have… It’s not meant to be for other people. It’s just for me. Half the time I don’t even know what’s happening in the actual clips.
But since I heard of this show on a shipping blog, IF someone does see this and likes it as part of their ship, I hope they enjoy it… even though the original ship is sadly one-sided.
Read More for more.
The reason I made this video is because this guy’s mannerisms/looks clicks with something in my head, something abstract that I’m always trying to define, because I like visuals. I set it to a song I’ve always thought of as the perfect character song for my OC, which captures his spirit best: “Over My Head” by The Fray. Conveniently for me, some clips in this show went well with this song.
The abstract in my head for my OC has been like this, with minor alterations, for years:
-He must be blond – a light blond, not exactly golden. Green eyes. -He must be tall. -He must look somewhat androgynous (without being too masculine OR too feminine). -He must be able to show a range of emotions. -He must look good without looking like a stupid Barbie – (barbie = the overly shiny, conventional look (ugh). -He must have both mischief and innocence in his eyes. -He must have bangs, a hair cut that matches my understanding of androgyny. -He must be able to fight/sword fight… must display believable fighter/aggressive side. -He must be a jerk and charming by turns. (basically, contradicting qualities) -Shy and confident with women, by turns. (but the shyness is only with those he likes) -Has to be on the “evil” side in one form or other. -Modern fantasy setting with some traditional fantasy elements.
Then I saw this guy……. and those clips. And I was like… CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECKCHECKCHECK. So… you have this video.
Have you ever had an idea in your head for the longest, longest time and then came across a show or film with characters/scenes that ‘click’ with that image and thought… “F***, did someone take my idea already?” then “No, no…it’s just a surface resemblance… but, damn, is it a perfect surface resemblance! Must make video for self.” …. that’s what happened.
Also, the guy in the show knows what it’s like to have “taboo” feelings for someone in his family. (That was just a bonus.) AND it’s originally a good girl/evil guy kind of dynamic… which is like my favourite thing ever.
Ultimately, my OC very much has his own story and persona that has nothing to do with this show (which really doesn’t look like my kind of story anyway). The video is purely for Looks/Mannerisms. The basic storyline I made up for this video is that things are falling apart in a team… maybe an army… disagreements among comrades who used to be close. And meanwhile, the guy is in love with a girl, but it’s complicated. I wanted to convey turbulence, emotions, and a bunch of things that I would like to explore in my own way in my fiction. I picked only the scenes that were relevant to this purpose.
Again, this is a personal video. I’m only sharing because I like having bits and pieces of personal stuff on my blog. 🙂
Hey, at the moment, I don’t know of a list that covers those countries specifically.. (If someone has an updated list, please share) But you can try looking up the government websites for those places and see if you can find information on marriage. Type in “[name of country] marriage laws”.
Sites like this would be more reliable than just any site:
When you said that bit about Sweden, I knew it couldn’t be true because I had heard that Sweden allows half SIBLINGS to marry under certain circumstances, so no way would they ban cousin marriage.
I looked it up and found this document (official government document) dated to 2013. If the laws haven’t changed since then, this should still be in effect:
[On impediments to marriage, Sweden] “Persons who are related to one another in the direct ascending or
descending line, for example father and daughter, may not marry. Nor
may brothers and sisters of the full blood enter into marriage. However,
following application, the county administrative board may grant permission
to half brothers and sisters to marry each other.”
There’s a lot of misinformation floating around. If you read it carefully, you’d see by the wording that first cousin marriage should be legal, because they often mention that siblings can’t marry OR anyone in the “direct” line – key word: Direct.
Cousins are NOT in the direct line, therefore they can marry (as long as it’s not arranged or forced). Many descriptions are worded in this way. As long as it doesn’t specifically say you can’t marry a first cousin (defined as being the biological child of your parent’s sibling) then it should be legal.
rainbowamory 