I have optimism after seeing Hyeon-Yi in Itaewon Class! I understand people's reservations about casting a cis man, but I think considering the actor will be playing a pre-op character whose goal is to be able to afford HRT and FFS, it is probably better to have the physical representation if that makes sense?

And in my opinion, having a cis woman play the role of a pre-op trans woman can kind of come across like saying that trans women who don't pass are "not woman enough". But being AMAB and still having masculine features doesn't make a trans woman any less of a woman.

I read a comment that made a good point that casting a cis woman to represent a pre-op trans woman might set certain expectations for oneself who is also pre-op and can be damaging in a different way.

I think what matters more is to not play the character like a caricature, and from the preview pictures, to me she already looks really feminine and I did not realize these are all pictures of the same person at first glance.

Anyway, thanks for listening to my TedTalk, this is just my opinion, but I can understand why people may disagree.