Presentation Schedule
Denied Through Death: Representation of Transgenders in Bangladeshi Movies (104681)
Session Chair: Farzana Akhter
Monday, 11 May 2026 14:35
Session: Session 3
Room: Room G404 (4F)
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Bangladeshi cinema made history when, in 2012 it produced its first movie centered on the most neglected and marginalized community of society— the transgender people. While transgender visibility in Bangladeshi cinema has been limited and often negative, Noman Robin’s 2012 "Common Gender" and Mohammad Hannan’s "Shikhondi Kotha" released in 2013, break away from the stereotypical representations of this community and present transgender individuals in a way that has never been shown before on screen. Both movies emphasize how transgender individuals are often dehumanized and seen as objects of fear and contempt. However, although the movies advocate for the acceptance of trans people, the death of the protagonists at the end of both the movies raises important questions about such endings. Examining the representations of transgender protagonists in these two movies and their on-screen deaths, this paper argues that despite the sympathetic portrayal of their deaths and the attempt to highlight the subjugation and ostracization of the trans community, both films, unfortunately, reinforce the very heteronormative and binary gender norms they aim to challenge. Drawing on the key debates in transgender theory, this paper contends that such representation undermines the films’ progressive intention by perpetuating the denial of their call for acceptance and inclusion and forecloses the possibility of social justice by suggesting that transgender existence is tolerable only in death.
Authors:
Farzana Akhter, East West University, Bangladesh
About the Presenter(s)
Farzana Akhter is Professor of English at the Department of English, East West University in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
See this presentation on the full schedule – Monday Schedule
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