Historically, the babysitter in film (think Adventures in Babysitting or Halloween) has been a lens for adolescent female anxiety and responsibility. The role is gendered from the start: nurturing, temporary, and often vulnerable. When a trans woman or a non-binary person occupies this space on screen, it immediately complicates that legacy.
One of the most notable examples comes from the horror-comedy genre. In the 2020 film "The Babysitter: Killer Queen" (Netflix), while the lead babysitter is cisgender, the surrounding cast and the film’s campy tone opened doors for more fluid casting. More directly, independent films like "Shiva Baby" (2020) don't feature a trans babysitter but utilize a chaotic, anxious energy that resonates with the trans experience of performance and masking. However, it is in short films and series like "Sort Of" (HBO Max) that the archetype crystalizes. The protagonist, Sabi (a gender-fluid babysitter/nanny), navigates the expectations of the families they work for—expectations rooted in binary gender and traditional caregiving. Sabi’s role as a babysitter becomes a metaphor for the trans condition: constantly attentive to the emotional needs of others, often invisible, yet holding profound responsibility.
For decades, representation of trans people in entertainment content was limited to two categories: the tragic victim (murdered or suicidal) or the deceptive trickster. The trans babysitter subversion is powerful because it reclaims domesticity.
When a trans character is the one feeding a toddler, cleaning up spilled milk, or negotiating a bedtime tantrum, they are being afforded something radical: normality. This is a stark departure from the sensationalism of the past. By placing a trans figure in the most traditional of roles—the caretaker in a nuclear family's home—these films argue that gender variance is not a threat to domestic life, but a valid part of it. Trans Babysitters 5 -Gender X Films 2023- XXX W...
The term "gender films" has often been relegated to the arthouse ghetto—films about transition, trauma, or surgery, intended for film festivals rather than general audiences. Think of the gritty realism of Boys Don't Cry or the French arthouse film Tomboy. These were important but often painful viewing experiences.
Today, popular media is witnessing a genre-blending revolution. Trans babysitters are appearing not in melodramas about medical transition, but in comedies, thrillers, and family dramas where gender is a facet of the character, not the entire plot.
Consider the animated series "Big Mouth" (Netflix). The show features a "Hormone Monstress" voiced by a trans actor, but more importantly, it introduces young characters exploring their fluidity in mundane, often hilarious settings—including sleepovers and latchkey situations. The "babysitting" dynamic becomes a safe space to try on identities. Meanwhile, in the horror genre, the upcoming independent film They/Them (2022) uses a conversion camp setting, where the camp counselors act as a perverse, sinister version of babysitters. The trans characters here subvert the role: instead of being the protected child, they become the protectors of one another. Historically, the babysitter in film (think Adventures in
The trans babysitter, in entertainment content and popular media, is no longer a novelty. They are a barometer. When a family in a sitcom casually hires a trans sitter without comment, or when a horror film reveals the sitter is trans and that fact has nothing to do with the killer in the closet, we will know the landscape has truly shifted.
For now, the image endures: a teenager, checking their phone, stirring mac and cheese, correcting a pronoun, and building a pillow fort. Not a symbol. Not a warning. Just another person, making $15 an hour, wondering if the parents are going to be home on time.
And in that ordinary frame lies the most radical portrayal of all. Alex Reade is a freelance culture writer covering
Alex Reade is a freelance culture writer covering LGBTQ+ media trends and the author of "The Sitter and the Self: Performing Identity in the Suburbs."
Report Title: Representation and Labor in Niche Media: An Analysis of "Trans Babysitters" and Gender Performance in Adult Entertainment
Date: October 26, 2023 Subject: Entertainment Content, Gender Dynamics, and Media Trends in Transgender Adult Niches