The first transgender superhero will be featured in CW's television series, "Supergirl." The show makes media history as it casts Nicole Maines, a transgender actress, and activist. The young entertainer will portray Nia Nal, who is also known as "The Dream."
The cast, who sat down with Kevin Smith for an interview with IMDb, seemed very pleased about the news.
Maines hopes her new roles will offer another perspective to the show's viewers: "We can be whoever we want, we can do whatever we want, we can be superheroes, because in many ways we are," she told Variety. "We've had trans representation in television for a while but it hasn't been the right representation."
Though the new star seems confident about her role, she still feels the weight of responsibility. She voices her concern by stating how "It feels fitting to say with great power, comes great responsibility" Then, she adds, "I’m nervous because I want to do it right."
Maines' awareness of the societal stakes of representation is clearly on her mind: "I think we’re in a time right now where more than ever representation in the media matters," she said. "And what we see on television has a very dramatic effect on our society."
[via]