The award-winning Amazon series Transparent has made history by showing the first ever transgender full-frontal nude scene on television.
Transgender actress Alexandra Billings, 55, appears on screen naked in the second episode of the hit show’s latest season, which debuted on Amazon last Friday.
Billings’ character Davina is shown lying face-down in bed getting a back massage from her boyfriend Sal, played by Ray Abruzzo, when he suddenly hits a nerve.
She screams out in pain before flipping over onto her back and exposing her breasts and penis.
Transgender actress Alexandra Billings, 55, appears on screen completely nake in the second episode of award-winning Amazon series Transparent
‘I don’t think it’s ever been done before, where you see someone who’s a trans body that was pre-op, especially of a certain age, who looks a certain way,’ Billings told the Daily Beast.
‘I’m not built like a model. I’m built in a very specific way, and I’m at a point now where I’m okay with my body. I like it. I don’t love it, but I like it. I’m okay with it. I’ve made peace with what I look like.’
The actress said she pushed Transparent creator Jill Soloway for the full-frontal nude scene before production started on season four, saying she was ready to show her body.
‘I asked for this specifically,’ Billings said.
Billings’ character Davina is shown lying face-down in bed getting a back massage from her boyfriend Sal, played by Ray Abruzzo, when he suddenly hits a nerve
Her boyfriend leaned in to kiss her neck when one of Davina’s nerves suddenly twinged
Davina screamed out in pain urging her boyfriend to get off her back so she could roll over
Struggling from the pain, Davina flipped over onto her back and exposed her breasts and penis
‘I’ve traveled through years of not only my HIV and also my silicone injections and all the things we go through in order to survive.
‘I wanted to show everything, but I said I don’t want to be objectified. I don’t want to be sexualized. And I don’t want to be fetishized.
‘I thought Jill’s way of showing it was brilliant. Because that wasn’t my idea. I had no idea how they were going to do it or if they were going to do it.’
Soloway said the everyday normality of the scene was imperative.
‘It’s just life, living it, hanging out in your bed, getting a massage from your partner, turning over – just like life,’ Soloway said.
It is the first time a full-frontal nude scene with a transgender actor has been shown on television
Billings said she had pushed Transparent creator Jill Soloway for the full-frontal nude scene before production started on season four
The 55-year-old actress said she was ready to show her body without being objectified or sexualized
The show, which has won eight Emmys and two Golden Globes, centers around a family patriarch’s (played by Jeffrey Tambor) decision to transition from male to female.
Billings plays Tambor’s friend and mentor in the series.
The 55-year-old was the first openly trans actor to play a transgender character on television. She starred in the 2005 TV movie Romy and Michelle: In the Beginning.
She has also featured in episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, Eli Stone and How to Get Away With Murder.
Soloway said the everyday normality of the scene was imperative and it was important to show Billings’ character living life
Billings (above in 2015) was the first openly trans actor to play a transgender character on television. She starred in the 2005 TV movie Romy and Michelle: In the Beginning