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Jay Duplass Sounds Off On 'Transparent' And How The Series Exposes White Male Privilege

Actor Jay Duplass opened up about his experience on “Transparent,” the Golden Globe-winning Amazon series about a Los Angeles family that discovers that their father identifies as transgender, in a HuffPost Live interview this week.

“I learned a ton about the culture and about…specific trans issues, but also just…the struggle to be authentic,” he told host Ricky Camilleri. “In the trans community, it’s very on the surface.”

Duplass, who is also the co-creator of HBO’s “Togetherness,” went on to note that while “Transparent” depicts a lot of challenges facing members of the transgender community, the show’s “amazing and universal themes” are relevant to members of all ages and backgrounds.

“What’s interesting about ‘Transparent’ as a show is that the lead character, Maura Pfefferman (Jeffrey Tambor), has a very clear-cut journey towards her own authenticity,” he said. “It’s not as visible with the other members of the family, but I think what people are connecting to is the fact that every single person in the family is following Maura.”

“Being born a white man in America is, like, the greatest privilege that could ever be handed to you,” he then added. “It’s a bit of luck to be made aware of that and to be given the context to have empathy for people who are not in that position.”