The way lads behave to each other can be very toxic
There is drama in Emmerdale for Matty, the soap’s first transgender character, as he tries to impress new friends. Actor Ash Palmisciano, 29 – transgender himself – brings GEORGIA HUMPHREYS up to speed
Can you explain who these new mates are, and how he gets involved with them?
MATTY is still trying to settle in. He’s feeling more like himself and he’s feeling pretty great. And then what happens is that as he’s playing football, he’s picked last a lot of the time, he’s left out by the other lads.
And then he learns that Victoria (his best friend) is leaving for Cornwall and he’s pretty upset about it. So, he just feels not good enough, basically.
He meets some lads who are playing in a team against him, called Steve and Jonno, and they’re pretty bad boys really.
And Ash feels that in order for him to be respected by the other lads, for him to be a “proper man”, he has to be like one of those guys.
What impact will we see Steve and Jonno have on him?
IT taps into the whole toxic masculinity thing. Matty feels as though he has to be more like them in order to fit in.
Basically he’s going though it a little bit late in life – something that most lads go through at about 12 or 13 – trying to figure out how to act with the lads.
It’s definitely a side to him that we haven’t seen before.
What kind of bad behaviour does he get up to?
TALKING disrespectfully to women. Getting into fights. Alienating himself and not talking about his emotions.
Also, this is a bit of an issue with having Cain (who’s in a relationship with Matty’s mother Moira) as a role model.
He’s the big man who sorts everything out, and so Matty feels that’s how he ought to behave.
Matty finds out that these so-called mates have been saying hurtful things behind his back...
THIS is the thing – in Matty’s head he thinks it’s all going well – he thinks he’s doing the right thing knocking around with these guys.
But, actually, they’re taking him for a bit of a ride, and that’s the really sad thing about it.
He thinks he’s got mates, but actually they’re just taking the mick out of him. They’re bullies, really. They’re using him to get what they want, and they eventually use him to help them break in to Butler’s Farm.
They know about his background (being transgender), and they are using his need for acceptance to manipulate him.
Can Matty see that he’s acting like an idiot, or is he oblivious?
HE can, and he knows that he doesn’t want to be acting like this. He’s a good egg, you know?
He doesn’t want to be offensive to people in the village. But it’s what he thinks he needs to be right now.
Also, he’s never had a group of lad mates before, and he’s just so wanting to be liked. He’s desperate for people to validate him, and so he goes down this dark path.
Have you ever felt a similar sort of pressure yourself?
YEAH, definitely. I think everybody goes through it at school at some point, when you’re growing up and want to fit in, and you just copy everyone else.
It’s a bit of a hot topic at the minute, isn’t it? The way lads can behave to each other can be very toxic, and that gets passed down.
There are strict rules for lads when it comes to behaviour – not showing emotion, not talking about feelings.
How have you found filming the scenes where Matty is being aggressive?
IT’S been quite fun actually! Before it had been just sort of cute and chatty bits in the shop, and little comedy bits, so it’s good to do something different and play a bit of a baddie.
Will Matty take the bad behaviour too far, or will it stop before he ruins his future?
HE does take it to a point where he’s a bit out of control.
I think it will be beneficial in the long run, because now he knows it’s
OK to be different. And he has this beautiful friendship with Ryan where they can both say: “You don’t have to be like everyone else.”
So, I think he’ll be his own person after what, and we’ll finally see the real Matty, which I very excited about.
Why do you think toxic masculinity is such a topical issue at the moment?
I THINK things are slowly getting better all-round in our society... We’re looking more at the way we behave.
I know, from when I was at school, the pressure that’s put on young people about how to act.
#MeToo has been a great movement, looking at the way women are treated, and now we’re looking at men and how they behave with each other and thinking if maybe that can change, then things will be better.
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