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The season does, of course, contend with Maura's unhappiness. But it also uses its extremely visible platform to shed light on trans people who are unhappy and don't have everything they need. Such is the case in the first episode, when a young trans woman from a low-income neighborhood phones into the Los Angeles LGBTQ call center to share the struggles she's had finding proper healthcare. She tells Maura, who happens to pick up her call, that her clinic's location is inconvenient, they don't keep track of their patients, and they require approval from her guardians, who don't care about her wellbeing. Her storyline is short, but it's the kind of subplot that speaks volumes. These are issues we've never had to face with Maura, but which plague the trans community—especially the corners of the trans community whose narratives are woefully lacking from our most visible film and television—just as much, every single day.Transparent finally gets real about these larger issues by expanding the scope of its narrative beyond Maura—who, trans or not, is still white, well-off, and privileged in a way that most trans people are not.
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