Today is Friday, so let's talk about Female Filmmakers who are responsible for sexy scenes. Today's director is a trailblazing Black female artist who also happens to be trans. She has done a lot in the last decade alone and she's only just getting started. Let's highlight the work of Janet Mock.
Janet Mock is a trailblazing content creator. She is a writer, director, an author of two memoirs, and a producer. She is one of the few openly trans-Black women behind the camera in mainstream Hollywood. But before she became an icon at the helm of several major TV shows, who was she? Let's get into her background!
She was born and raised in Hawaii and is part Native Hawaiian. She spent a lot of her youth in Honolulu before going to Oakland and Dallas where she began to transition as a teenager. She began saving money for her medical transition, but to get money she worked as a sex worker for a while. She said that time that it makes her sad to dwell on, but she knows that it was her best means of survival at that time.
She wound up going to the University of Hawaii at Manoa to study fashion and then she earned her master's degree at New York University. She graduated in 2006 and began working for People Magazine and eventually came out as trans with an article in Marie Claire. She became a contributing writer to a lot of magazines which gave her some book deals. After her books were released, Hollywood took notice. Could she write TV and movies? It turns out that she could!
She first produced a special on HBO highlighting trans actors. She became a writer, director, and producer for the FX series Pose which premiered on June 3, 2018. She was the first trans woman of color to ever be hired as a writer for a TV show!
Pose became a cultural moment and it was known for casting actual trans woman in their roles. This series introduced us to some skincredible actresses such as the stunning Indya Moore.
Mock did a lot of firsts. Her episode titled "Love is the Message" made her the first trans woman of color to write and direct an episode of TV. She earned Peabody Awards, Television Academy Awards, Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, and two AFI awards. She is a highly decorated woman working in the industry.
Not only that but actress MJ Rodriguez, the leading lady of Pose, was the first trans woman to be nominated for an Emmy and she won the Golden Globe that year for Best Actress in a Television Drama.
Janet Mock signed a three-year deal with Netflix which also made history. She wrote on the shows The Politician and Hollywood which were executive-produced by Ryan Murphy. The Politician was buttoned-up, but Hollywood had some seriously sexy scenes. Leave it to Hollywood!
Janet Mock is known, however, for raising hell. She speaks up about mistreatment in the industry which has slowed her down in recent years, but she has some upcoming projects on the docket according to IMDB. Let's hope to see more of her work very soon!
