Maite Lanata, the girl who made gender identity visible on TV: "Many parents started asking"

From the hand of a fiction, important topics such as gender identity and badual diversity were discussed at the family table. In 100 days to fall in love, Maite Lanata (18) plays Juani, a young girl who feels born in the wrong body.

Monday evening, Telefe airs a moving scene in which Juani tells his mother, Antonia (Nancy Dupláa) who does not feel like a woman and wants to be seen as she "is": a man.

With the situation raised, the character of Sandra Mihanovich a psychologist specializing in the genre, began to give them tools to understand what is happening to Juani, causing the rich journey to and from them. characters revolutionize social networks.

With the story taking flight (and a lot of dramatic height) City Magazine contacted Maite Lanata to discover how to enter the world of transgender to give life to Juani.

– How do you take the repercussion Does your character have it, as he begins to address the issue of gender identity in more depth?

-I am very happy. The scene with the psychologist and Antonia had a lot of repercussion, especially in social networks, where they wanted to make a TT with the hashtag # 100díascontralatransfobia. I saw this and I liked it a lot. This shows that they are getting the question seriously and it's awesome! But at the same time it surprises me what's going on with Juani. When I started doing the band, I did not know that the subject of gender identity was going to be treated so completely.

– How is your relationship with Nancy Dupláa, your mother in fiction and with whom did you interpret these moving scenes?

-The link with Nancy is amazing. She is very mother and that shows that she puts him in play in the band. This love naturally transmits it. She gives me mom's advice, she accompanies me a lot, and that's why I find that the scenes are so beautiful.

-This is the first time that this topic has been addressed in a prime time fiction. As an actress, is it a greater responsibility?

– Yes, it is the first time that it is a question and for me it is a responsibility. It's good that you give these stories a chance. Trans guys are very happy that the subject is made visible. For the moment, there are no complaints. We do consultations to keep learning and being able to inform by knowing what we are saying.

– Thanks to your character, have you been contacted by trans people to tell you about their experiences?

-Yes. I do a play in San Martín and many boys come to see me, because they like the character very much, and they talk to me about their badual orientation. Even, a trans guy said that it was reflected in some of the character's things. Of course, every individual has a personal story.

– How do you feel when you know that with your character you can change the lives of people who are going through this reality?

– For me it's great. Now, all three comments, they tell me that their parents have started questioning them about their badual orientations or that they are talking about gender identity. It seems very crazy that a novel can generate that.

– In your house, before this job proposal was sent to you, did you talk to your family about badual and gender diversity?

– Yes, that was the case. In addition, I went to a school where the law on bad education was respected. Therefore, there were not only discussions about badual care, but also about badual orientation and gender. Education in my school was very open, compared to other places in Argentina. Fortunately, I had an information base that was good.

– That's why it's good that it's also told in a fiction, which affects so many homes, boys and adults alike.

-Before schools do not talk about it. And it's good that a band can bring you information, beyond the theory that a teacher or specialist can teach you. It is good that the information also reaches them in another way, here you see a person who is going through these changes. While it's a fiction, she is treated seriously.

-You recently told us that you let your hair grow in the armpits to give masculinity to Juani, are we going to continue to see changes?

– We do not know very well on which side the character will go. The hair in the armpits began to have since the beginning of the novel, maybe it would have been good to go develop the process. But from the beginning it was a character who did not feel comfortable in the female world, it was like that. Juani still had doubts about his gender identity. And regarding physical changes, we do not know if Juani will have a beard or start treatment with testosterone. I do not want to mess up either.

– In an interview, Malena Narvay (the actress who plays Emma, ​​Juani's girlfriend) said that the scene of the first kiss was liberating and that she lived it from natural way. How did you live?

-I spent in Male. At first I was a little nervous. So, we try to use this nervousness on the stage to show the nervousness that two people feel during this first kiss. And the scene broke down, we did not have to repeat it.

-In staff and play, how do you feel that Juani enriches you by composing?

-I am enriched by the fact of knowing different people, with whom I had no contact before or that I had not had the opportunity to meet. Now, they tell me their stories and it does not only allow me to compose a trans, but to make other characters. This enriches in every way … They tell me a lot about their experiences in the networks.

– Have you received offensive criticism for giving birth to a story like Juani's?

– I did not receive any comments from this guy on my networks, but I saw them on the 100 days page to fall in love. For example, people say that "it is not good that it happens on television because children are going to be abnormal or that they are going to confuse teens". Fortunately, these opinions are the minority.