I wholeheartedly agree. The reverse argument in this case makes a nonsense of the original. If the argument put forward is 'cis people can't play trans' - then this doesn't acknowledge the skill of an actor. One doesn't have to be a thing in order to play it. I don't like many of the 'woke' arguments (this particular one is being ridiculued in the article but may not have come across) I don't like them becuase their lack of forethought contains a reverse slap they haven't considered. Of course EP could play a cis-woman, he's done it either unconsciously or consciously for the best part of thirty years.

You should explore the comments section too where I believe I've come to the same conclusion as you. There needs to be widening of the roles. This means trans-people playing cis (if they want to) - it means writers like me suggesting that there's nothing in my characters to suggest they're anything other than human. Given that trans is a subsection of human, my characters could be trans. This wouldn't be a political statement about having a trans-character, simply a trans-person either playing the cis character, or playing the character as openly trans and getting on with the rest of the plot - which has nothing to do with being trans.

I don't comment on my own identity - it's my thing, everyone needs to have a thing - but I can't imagine for one second that left to their own devices that trans-people exclusively think and talk about being trans. Such people would be unbearably dull and they'd never take the bins out or function in any meanignful way.

If you haven't found Jenny Ian Ascensio then I highly recommend reading him. There aren't enough trans people on my reading list, so I'm going to add you too - and I'm glad you've commented and added insight to the story. If you choose to read wider I'm fairly outspoke on a lot of things - so feel free to disagree with me whenver you like. I don't have preferred pronouns or any pronouns at all, you have to guess or call me Penguin :o)