On Oct. 20 in the Fresno City College’s Old Administration Building Auditorium actor Zach Barack spoke out about problems surrounding the LGBTQ+ community, primarily Transgender issues.

Though not a part of the main cast, Barack is described as the first openly transgender person to be featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, having played one Peter Parker’s classmate in Spiderman Far From Home.

Barack spoke to a crowd of over 40 people about his journey regarding his identity.

He recognized that he didn’t have it as bad as other trans people out there and encouraged people to understand their frustration and anger for the things that they deal with throughout their lives.

At the age of 15 Barack came out as bisexual and due to unspecified reasons during that period, he was put into a wilderness youth program for troubled teens. 

Barack attended an all girls school, which he described as a “huge win” due to how progressive things were there. And not only to how he was treated but how he “scored” with women there.

“It was kind’ve lit because I was a slut,” Barack said. 

According to Barack, it wasn’t all fun and games because he wasn’t the most “ethical slut” which had affected his mental health, having to go to treatment for it which took him many years to get sober.

The subject of representation came underway as Barack criticized the way transgender people were being represented in the media, saying they were being boiled down to vagrant and angry.

Barack wants people to sympathize with the transgender community saying that they’re allowed to get pissed off when they are misgendered.

He puts it into perspective from someone who maybe isn’t well versed with people’s pronouns.

“My understanding of you is shaped from a very narrow perspective of gender and sexuality, so help me fill in my blanks instead of letting me fill yours out,” Barack said.

Barack accepts people coming up to him and making mistakes by misgendering him, but asks people to be a little more sympathetic when not everyone is.

Rather than getting upset over misgendering, he welcomes people to the fight who show an interest in joining and learning.

 “I don’t expect that patience from anyone else, just those who can sit down and can have a conversation,” Barack said. 

He will not tolerate those that are unwilling to change and there are some values that are non negotiable. “When your words become violence, when your actions become violent, that stops,” Barack said.

He pushes for Hollywood to get writers in the room who can actually speak from a transgender person’s perspective. 

Barack now stars in “Dead End: Paranormal Park,” an animated series on Netflix. He voices the main character Barney, a teenage transgender boy working as a security guard at a paranormal park. 

The show represents a variety of issues, including transgender acceptance and what it means to be an ally. 

Barack uses his show “Dead End: Paranormal Park” as a way to represent the transgender community the right way as he says, without it bordering the “trauma porn territory” that most of the media utilizes.

Corrections made on Oct. 31, 2022