SARA HEUMANN, Daniel’s Mother: As soon as Daniel could start to express preferences in clothing, he was gravitating toward the boy section, hand-me-downs from cousins, wanting to wear just boy T-shirts and boy shorts. I think it’s hard to get used to it because I was a girl for so long, and I haven’t been a boy for a very long time. I don’t like to be called a “she” anymore, and I just- I really like it that they think of me as a-as a boy. Ready? Go!ĭANIEL HEUMANN, Age 9: My given name was Naima, and now my name is Daniel.
Naima, Naima, do you like the bubbles? Let’s count to 10, ready? 1, 2, 3, 4- count, Naima. This is a new generation, growing up trans. But today, as transgender adults gain wider acceptance, many children are transitioning, too, with new medical options and at younger and younger ages. NARRATOR: Just a generation ago, it was adults, not children, who changed genders, usually late in life and often in the shadows. And that’s really all you need except for the fifth one that I still need- surgery and medicine to help me look like a girl. I’ve changed my name, my clothes, my room, and my pronouns. And this year, I changed my name officially. And now I’m- well, almost completely female. I transitioned when I was 6 or 7 to more of a girl. But I like to say that I’m a girl stuck in a boy’s body. "But wherever we went, we realized we're on the verge of a generational shift." Their film sheds light on why.LIA HEGARTY, Age 9: I am transgender. "We aren't minimizing stories of real anguish out there," says O'Connor. But its storytelling speaks of hope for what emerges as a breakthrough quest for being true to oneself. I don't really like making it a big deal."įor her and the others the film profiles, it's too soon to declare any happily-ever-after outcomes, and "Growing Up Trans" doesn't. But her so-called bottom surgery is much ado about next-to-nothing, she says cheerfully: "I'm just a girl. Then we meet 18-year-old Lia Hodson, who has run the gantlet of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones and now is ready for the final step. John's father refuses to accept his son's chosen gender identity, explaining he feels "robbed - my daughter's gone" and voicing disbelief that life as a male is "the path that God has planned for her."
"When you see a child suffer and struggle the way we have seen Alex struggle," his mother sums up, "we don't have a choice." When his parents meet with Alex's doctor to sign consent forms for his testosterone regimen, they are braced for the necessary leap of faith. He loves to skateboard with a couple of guys who, in a boys-will-be-boys display of male bonding, share how they "show him the ropes" of being a dude - like directing him to burp out loud ("don't try to hold it in"). At 13, Alex (formerly Karen) dreams of a flat chest, a deep voice and an Adam's apple. "What do we do when faced with our child's pain and anguish, in whatever form, and when faced with so many choices and medical unknowns?"Īlex's parents feel burdened as they weigh the unknown consequences of puberty blockers meant to halt his menstruation. "It also becomes about parenting," says O'Connor. Meanwhile, the filmmakers realized they were telling a larger story than that of transgender people. The veteran "Frontline" filmmaking team spent more than a year on "Growing Up Trans," which left them marveling at how their young subjects "had processed an enormous amount about themselves and how they function in the world," says Navasky. Indeed, they have journeyed back to square one for this new wave of subjects, capturing them much earlier in life than widely recognized trans trailblazers like Chaz Bono and Caitlyn Jenner. "We thought going inside a world that appears more accepting, and, through that lens, trying to tease out all the complications, might allow us to learn things that hadn't been shown before," says O'Connor. That was what led filmmakers Miri Navasky and Karen O'Connor to choose kids as their focus. Though some adults may face a steep learning curve about transgenderism, the younger generation - whether trans or not - seems to be dealing with it. Me turning into a man is just probably the most horrifying thing ever." Otherwise, she is pleased with the path she has chosen, and considers her puberty-blocking drugs "my lifesaver.
0 kommentar(er)
