Hang on, rockyhorrorshow.net says Transsexual is the planet and Transylvania is the galaxy.
In my experience…a large number of younger transgender people hate the film with a passion, and the news that Laverne Cox will replay the role has a lot of collective eye-rolling. The film has actually been banned from showing at one local University as a result.
Cox has gained a steadily worsening reputation within the transgender community, largely as a result of her very high fees for speaking, her tendency to no-show and to delay returning fees, and her message being essentially the same thing again and again. I’ve met Ms. Cox and spent some time talking with her face to face, and I’ll just say that neither of made a favorable impression upon the other. I think that she has a lot to lose by appearing in this film, and nothing to gain other than cash.
Older transgender persons seem to love the film, many of them almost obsessively (no more than the usual fans who go to the midnight showings and sing along, I mean). Some feel nostalgic because it was one of the few times back in the day they could crossdress in public without fear of immediate harm.
When the film comes up for discussion at a trans* event, I just sort of check the exits and edge slowly towards them, as the debates can become pretty hostile. I’ve seen people in tears over debates whether the film is offensive or not.
Myself, I think the film is a product of its time. I think it’s exploitative but not hostile - I guess like “Blackula.”
That website seems to be using Transsexual and Transylvania interchangeably. Are there planets besides Transsexual in the Transylvania galaxy?
I’m guessing nobody thought it out that far.
I’m with **Chronos **- we know they’re bi or pan (most likely pan, given “alien” as a baseline) but that’s sexuality, not gender identity. As far as I can tell, there’s not much interest paid to gender - the focus is on Frank being so outre in their whole presentation and personality in relation to Jane and Brad (and presumably, to a lesser extent, to the Prof and to Eddie).
For all we know, normal dress where they’re from is more risque and lines up with what Americans from the time period would consider “feminine” and they’re just trying to dress in clothing that reminds them of home. Or, entirely absent gender presentation or the customs of their home, that they’re purposefully wearing clothing and acting in a manner that they realize will cause mental dissociation and discomfort in their “guests” since they seem chaotic and controlling and a bit unhinged.
I’m a pansexual cisgender woman, and I have always enjoyed Rocky Horror from the first time I saw it in college, but nowadays I do feel a bit guilty for liking it. 
If anyone with any trans* experience was speaking against it around me, I’d happily defer to them in the moment - but I’ll still go to shows for the experience, and just have to hope they wouldn’t hold it against me too much.
Just cause you’re a dude doesn’t mean you don’t like to feel pretty sometimes.
Neither?
I thought the whole point was that no one had to defined in inflexible terms, even gender fluid, that one may dress and partners as one likes, without claiming a label.
(Or that he was just a twisted manipulative ass - I wasn’t certain.)
Isn’t he an alien? I dunno. I never really thought about it. It’s just a silly musical full of fun songs with distasteful characters in garish costumes. I took it at face value.
It’s tenuous in queer circles in general. I’ve seen similar arguments about whether is celebrates homo/bi-sexuality or not.
I think a big thing is that regardless of authorial intent, the time was different, nomenclature was different, and the entire societal understanding of the gender spectrum was different. The whole transgender/transsexual/transvestite line wasn’t as bright or well understood, and it’s hard to ascribe intent, or even understand what they meant the character to be. Even now, trans characters written by someone outside the LGBT community tend to not make a whole lot of sense with a few exceptions (David Lynch is surprisingly good at queer stuff in general, even if there are some missteps).
Not that the trans spectrum really contains many bright line anyway, and even within the trans and trans-ally community there’s a lot of unfair stereotyping that all “real” transchicks are trendy queen bee fashionistas and transdudes are bearded macho lumberjack dudebros (I mean, when people remember transmen exist that is). Like, one of my best friends is a binary transman who wants to be a drag queen after he takes T and gets top surgery. He even says “I’m fine if someone uses female pronouns for me as long as I’m dressing overtly feminine and they know I’m a dude.” Quite a few binary transwomen are tomboys or straight up intentionally butch/non gender conforming girls. And these people do not consider themselves non-binary or genderqueer.
I think comparing RHPS to blackula or other demographic-based exploitation films is a really good angle.