“Her Story” creator Jen Richards said in a Variety round table that casting Cis actors in trans roles reinforces negative ideas and beliefs that trans people do not exist. She used an example of casting cis actors in the role of a trans man and the repercussions it causes.

“If they cast a cis woman, they’re ultimately saying a trans woman is a type of woman,” Richards said. “They cast a cis man, they’re saying that, at the end of the day, a trans woman is a kind of man.”

She said it helps support the idea trans people are threats and not real people.

“[It reinforces the idea] that trans women are really men in good hair and makeup, that trans men either don’t exist or are just butch women in a suit and fake mustache.

Richards said the proble often happens in projects that seek to address trans issues, but fail in their attempt when they cast Cis actors in trans roles, as was the case when Scarlett Johansson cast herself in the role of a trans man in the upcoming “Rub & Tug” film.

“Right from the moment you cast a man as a trans woman, you’ve already proven that you are out of step,” Richards said.