Gender agenda
PICK OF THE DAY
HORIZON: BEING TRANSGENDER
BBC2, 9pm
TEENAGER Jamie carried a letter to his parents in his pocket for a week – he was terrified about giving it to them. In the end, he dropped it on his dad’s lap and legged it upstairs to his bedroom.
Coming out about transgender issues is scary, and this excellent film meets several trans men and women who are going through the process.
“My head has never felt connected to my body,” says Jamie, who, aged 14, was depressed and self-harmed.
Now 19, he is looking forward to having his hormone injections.
Fortunately his mum and dad were entirely supportive, although they admit they were overwhelmed and grieved for the loss of their daughter.
Jamie’s best mate Fletch is also a trans man so they can go through the experience together.
Others have not been so lucky. Samantha remembers her mum being furious to find her sister’s clothes stuffed in her wardrobe when she was a boy.
Now a woman, she talks about previous suicide attempts, and how she only recently feels more comfortable in her skin.
Elsewhere, Charlotte, 24, talks about the challenges of working in a hugely male environment (she’s an engineer for London Midland Trains) since becoming a woman.
With the lines of gender becoming more blurred than ever, this insightful film asks how does a person know their gender? And what happens psychologically, physically and biologically to a person transitioning?
There is expert opinion of course, but mostly it’s an intimate and eye-opening view into an unknown world – and takes great strides to knock down prejudices.