WARNING: The following contains spoilers for We Are Who We Are Season 1, available now on HBO.
Director Luca Guadagnino of Call Me by Your Name delivers yet another compelling piece of LGBTQ media, this time in the form of the HBO series, We Are Who We Are. The series elicits that nostalgic effect only Guadagnino can produce with the tone, the scenery, dialogue and characters. However, one character stands out from the rest: Caitlyn Poythress, a 14 year old exploring her gender identity.
Played by the talented Jordan Kristine Seamón, Caitlyn is a teenager growing up on a military base in Italy. She runs in a tight circle of friends who get up to all sorts of crazy antics throughout the series, and it's clear that others define her by her beauty and social status. However, it's her new friend, Fraser Wilson, that helps her begin to realize who she -- or maybe, he -- truly is.
When Fraser Wilson first arrives on the military base in Season 1, Episode 1, he's viewed as an outcast by Caitlyn's friend group, but it's clear that he feels drawn to Cait for some reason. It's more of a curiosity than a romantic attraction. At the end of the episode, he follows Cait to a cafe. She's dressed in her father's clothes and her hair is tucked away in a baseball cap. Fraser watches as she walks up to the counter and orders a drink just as a girl begins to flirt with her. When Caitlyn is asked what her name is, she responds, "Harper." After the exchange is over, Caitlyn turns to see that Fraser has been watching her and quickly leaves the cafe, realizing she's been caught. The episode ends with them sitting on the beach together, watching their friends play in the waves as Fraser asks, "So, what should I call you?"
This moment is the catalyst for Caitlyn/Harper's gender exploration arc that defines this season. From here, Fraser and Caitlyn become close friends, sharing this secret that only they know. He is a huge support to Cait, introducing her to the term "transgender," showing her pictures and testimonials online of other trans men, gifting her with new "men's" clothes so she doesn't have to wear her dad's and helping her shave her face for the first time. All of these things lead up to possibly the biggest moment in Cait's journey thus far: in Episode 5, Fraser helps her cut off all of her hair. It's a beautiful and emotional scene, symbolizing the death of a former self and the emergence of a true identity.
We Are Who We Are's Caitlyn Poythress is the transgender male representation that is so needed in the media. The transgender experience in general is largely dismissed in television, movies and books, but it's even more rare to find an accurate representation of trans men.Even more lacking is the representation for transgender people of color. The character of Caitlyn/Harper finally fills that gap in the most raw, honest way. The audience is introduced to her at the very beginning of her "gender journey" and get to see all of the pain, struggle, beauty and victory of the process. This is what's compelling about the way the series portrays the character -- it balances out the hardships and victories one has as a transgender person. We Are Who We Are presents the trans experience in a way that other trans people can relate to and that those who aren't trans can empathize with.
Understandably, Caitlyn remains very hesitant about her gender experimentation, not revealing her feelings to anyone but Fraser and still using the name "Caitlyn" as well as she/her pronouns. This secrecy is also a very relevant piece to the trans experience, and should a Season 2 be ordered for the series, hopefully it'll explore the character of Caitlyn/Harper more, seeing her become who she truly is.
HBO's We Are Who We Are stars Jack Dylan Grazer as Fraser Wilson, Jordan Kristine Seamón as Caitlyn Poythress, Chloë Sevigny as Sarah Wilson, Kid Cudi as Richard Poythress, Alice Braga as Maggie Teixeira, Spencer Moore II as Danny Poythress, Scott Mescudi as Richard Poythress, Faith Alabi as Jenny Poythress, Francesca Scorsese as Britney Orton, Corey Knight as Craig Pratchett, Ben Taylor as Sam Pratchett, and Tom Mercier as Jonathan Kritchevsky. Season 1 is available now.