Jill Soloway Explores Her Own Identity in Her New Novel
*By Madison Alworth*
After four seasons (soon to be five) viewers are well-acquainted with the Pfefferman clan of "Transparent," but now, series creator Jill Soloway is inviting readers to meet her real-life family.
“I was writing this book about creating the TV show 'Transparent' and my parent coming out as trans and what it meant to find myself as a director at the same time that our family was finding ourselves," Soloway said Tuesday in an interview on Cheddar.
Soloway has written an autobiography of her own story, which closely mirrors that of her characters, who are forced to reevaluate their lives when the family's patriarch ー played by Jeffrey Tambor, who was [fired](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/jeffrey-tambor-officially-fired-transparent-wake-harassment-claims-1085236) after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced ー reveals himself to be transgender.
Not even Soloway, an Emmy award-winning director, could anticipate how timing and the larger political forces at work would shape her series and, eventually, her book.
"One of the things I’ve been thinking about for decades is this idea of gender and consent, to wondering why it's harder for women to be trusted around issues of consent. And then of course last year the reckoning happened, and our whole country became obsessed with these same questions, and I was able to synthesize some of what was happening in our lives on the set into the book.”
As the country changed, so did Soloway ー and that transformation is captured in her memoir.
“For me personally, I started off the book identifying as straight and maybe more feminine and heterosexual, and as I went through the process writing the book and working on the show, I then identified as non-binary and queer."
Much like the characters in the Amazon-produced ($AMZN) "Transparent," Soloway's self-discovery was part of a larger movement in the country.
“It was really more about my own family. When my own parent came out as trans, I think I realized I came from a legacy, a queer legacy where it was okay for me to explore different avenues for myself.”
Soloway, along with her cast, had a public-facing moment of reckoning when sexual harassment claims were leveled against Tambor last February.
“It took us a minute, it was such a shocking experience because we thought of ourselves as a feminist show," Soloway said. "We always felt like people were really aware of their environment and that people were really comfortable, and I think it really showed that it can happen anywhere."
But Soloway knew she wasn't alone, and in a way that made the experience less painful and more productive.
"I feel like I would have taken it really personally and freaked out a lot more if it had only happened on our show, but because it was happening in the whole country and even the whole world, where powerful men were having to look at their behavior to see whether or not it was being received the same way that it was happening in their mind."
Soloway's memoir, "She Wants It: Desire, Power, and Toppling the Patriarchy" is available in stores and online.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/transparent-creator-jill-soloway-out-with-new-memoir).
President Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" bill could mean cheaper electric bicycles and scooters as the nation attempts to shift away from gas-powered cars. Noa Banayan, the director of federal affairs at PeopleForBikes, joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to provide some background on the E-Bike Act included in Biden's reconciliation bill that would provide tax credits for qualified purchases. "We want to make sure, from the bike industry's perspective, that this is a technology and a product that is available to the majority of Americans who want to lower their carbon footprint and get around town faster and do everything that they would normally do in a short car trip but by bike, because it's healthier, it's fast, it's efficient, you're not in traffic," she said.
It's being called the next big trend in crypto. A decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO, is an internet community of different types of groups and businesses. The purpose is to allow people to commit funds to a specific cause in a safe way. Now, one social platform is creating a do-it-yourself kit for those who want to step into the space. Upstream Collective just launched the beta mode of its platform with the goal of putting all facets of running a DAO in one place. Alex Taub, co-founder and CEO of Upstream, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Walmart and Zipline have teamed up to launch a drone delivery service in Pea Ridge, Arkansas. The service delivers products to customers within a 50-mile radius of the store. Liam O'Connor, COO of Zipline, joins Cheddar News to talk more about the partnership.
A NASA spacecraft that will deliberately crash into an asteroid is preparing to launch this week. The goal of the DART mission, or the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, is to hit the smaller of the two asteroids, Dimorphos, with the spacecraft at about 15,000 miles per hour and see how the impact changes the asteroid’s trajectory. Joey Roulette, space reporter at The New York Times, joins Cheddar News to talk more about it.
After a pandemic pause where the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was closed to the public, the annual tradition is returning to the streets of New York with some new, yet familiar, faces. In addition to 10 marching bands, dozens of floats, 30 heritage balloons, and five other newcomers, one creature from a galaxy far, far away is joining the festivities, courtesy of toy manufacturer Funko. Coming in at 41 feet tall, 29 feet long, and 37 feet wide, the Funko Pop!-inspired Grogu balloon, from "The Mandalorian," will make his debut this year. Cheddar's Michelle Castillo reports.
AAA is expecting 80% more airline passengers and almost 10% more road trips in the pandemic’s biggest holiday travel surge. Melanie Lieberman, senior travel editor at The Points Guy, joins Cheddar News to detail what travelers are up against.
Protests across the country continued all weekend following the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse. A jury found the 18-year-old not guilty of all five felony charges. Rittenhouse was accused of killing two people and wounding another during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year. Jaha Howard, political strategist and civil rights advocate, joins Cheddar News to breakdown the verdict.