Documentaries on Transgender Issues

The following WMST-L discussion from September 2008 offers suggestions for a documentary appropriate for a college course section on transgender politics. At the end of the file is a message from 2010. For additional WMST-L files on the Web, see the WMST-L File Collection.

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Date: Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:42:57 -0400

From: Gail Dines <gdines AT WHEELOCK.EDU>

Subject: Documentary on Transgender Issues

I am teaching a section on Transgender politics and I am looking for a good documentary. Suggestions most welcome. Thanks, Gail Dines Gail Dines Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies Chair of American Studies Wheelock College 35 Pilgrim Road Boston, MA 02215 gdines AT wheelock.edu

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Date: Sun, 14 Sep 2008 17:09:45 -0400

From: Elizabeth Ruchti <lizruchti AT MSN.COM>

Subject: Re: Documentary on Transgender Issues

Though problematic in areas, the film Middle Sexes is very useful for introducing students to all sorts of issues about gender and biological sex. I also find that even the limitations of the film provide for interesting ways into conversations about things like Eurocentricism within gender/sex discourses and visibility issues for f to m trans. Besides, it is narrated by Gore Vidal and his voice is very pretty to listen to. Elizabeth Simon Ruchti , Ph.D. E.O. Bull 037 Department of Theatre West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA 19383

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Date: Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:34:50 -0600

From: Chelsey Clammer <watermisbehaves AT GMAIL.COM>

Subject: Re: Documentary on Transgender Issues

Two sugguestions: Boy I Am (about FTM trans experience): http://boyiam.mayfirst.org/About.html Cruel and Unusual (about trans women in prison): http://www.cruelandunusualfilm.com/ Hope this helps! -Chelsey

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Date: Sun, 14 Sep 2008 18:20:55 -0400

From: Reese Kelly <rck517 AT GMAIL.COM>

Subject: Re: Documentary on Transgender Issues

Here are a few titles to check out! Transsexual Menace: http://www.mediarights.org/film/transexual_menace.php Screaming Queens: http://www.screamingqueensmovie.com/ Toilet Training: http://www.srlp.org/films/toilettraining Best, Reese Reese Carey Kelly Doctoral Candidate Department of Sociology University at Albany, SUNY

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Date: Sun, 14 Sep 2008 13:42:31 -1000

From: Hannah Miyamoto <hsmiyamoto AT MSN.COM>

Subject: Re: Documentary on Transgender Issues

You specifically asked for "Transgender Politics." "Middle Sexes" does not cover efforts to change laws, etc. The A&E network series "Investigative Reports," produced "Transgender Revolution" in 1998. Among other things, the video introduces Nancy Nangeroni, and her MIT broadcast/Internet radio program GenderTalk. The series is anchored and narrated by the very authoritative Bill Kurtis: http://store.aetv.com/html/product/index.jhtml?id=72200 Hannah Miyamoto Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa hsmiyamoto AT msn.com

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Date: Sun, 14 Sep 2008 19:39:51 -0500

From: Jessica Ketcham Weber <etoilebleu AT GMAIL.COM>

Subject: Re: Documentary on Transgender Issues

I would recommend Transparent ( http://www.transparentthemovie.com/ ), a documentary about 19 transmen who gave birth to children, both before and after transitioning. The film is very good at provoking discussion among students about topics such as essentialized concepts of parenting/mothering and current policies/laws affecting transparents. Good luck! Jessica Jessica Ketcham Weber | www.etoilebleu.com Women's & Gender Studies Program Coordinator | www.lsu.edu/wgs PhD Candidate in Literacy, Media, and Cultural Studies Department of English, Louisiana State University

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Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:29:36 +0000

From: Chris Starkey <cstarkey7 AT COMCAST.NET>

Subject: Re: Documentary on Transgender Issues

You might also look into "Southern Comfort", which adresses the experience more from a f-t-m viewpoint. The documentary takes on a number of issues, but the issue of proper healthcare is the elephant in the living room...the leading figure in the film is dying of ovarian cancer and is repeatedly refused treatment. http://www.nextwavefilms.com/southern/ Chris

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Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:56:08 -0700

From: Kiesa Kay <oleander_cottage AT YAHOO.COM>

Subject: Re: viewing suggestion for trans-positive material

My fave trans-positive film is the sweet French film Ma Vie En Rose, about a youngáperson andáfamily. (Not to be confused with the Edith Piaf flick of similar title). Kiesa www.oleandercottage.com kiesa AT oleandercottage.com

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Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:16:46 -0400

From: Gail Dines <gdines AT WHEELOCK.EDU>

Subject: List of Transgender Films

Thanks to everyone who replied. Below is the list: TransGeneration Transsexual Menace: http://www.mediarights.org/film/transexual_menace.php Screaming Queens: http://www.screamingqueensmovie.com/ Toilet Training: http://www.srlp.org/films/toilettraining She's A Boy I Knew Boy I Am Cruel and Unusual Southern Comfort 100 Percent Woman Middle Sexes You Don't know Dick No Dumb Questions Transgender Revolution http://www.trans-academics.org/films (list of movies) Gail Dines Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies Chair of American Studies Wheelock College 35 Pilgrim Road Boston, MA 02215 gdines AT wheelock.edu

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Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:10:35 -0400

From: Joelle Ruby Ryan <joeller AT BGSU.EDU>

Subject: Transgender Documentaries

Trans documentaries for possible use in the classroom include: Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria: Susan Stryker's brilliant work about transgender resistance to police brutality in 1966 San Francisco Cruel and Unusual: the plight of transgender women in men's prisons Fenced Out: the activist work of LGBT youth of color in NYC to protest police brutality and gentrification on the Christopher Street piers Toilet Training: the harassment and organizing efforts of transpeople and allies in public restrooms Transgender Revolution: an overview of trans identity and trans activism in the US Boy I Am: one of the few films which engages with feminist and lesbian critiques of trans identities through exploring the lives of three FTMs TransAmazon: A Genderqueer Journey (full disclosure: I co-produced this): my trans life and activist efforts in rural NH Paris is Burning: gay and trans African Americans and Latinos in 1980s NYC and the house system and balls they participate in The Believers: the story of the world's first transgender gospel choir Pick up the Mic: an interesting film about LGBT hip hop artists, it is inclusive of bi and trans artists Southern Comfort: the poignant story of FTM Robert Eads and his fight to receive culturally competent medical care in rural Georgia when he is diagnosed with ovarian cancer You Don't Know Dick: profiles of several female-to-male transsexuals Trappings of Transhood: profiles of trans-masculine spectrum people in the Bay Area Call Me Malcolm: documentary about a transgender seminary student and his struggles with faith and gender identity Mind If I Call You Sir?: doc about the lives of Latino FTMs in the Bay Area Georgie Girl: Documentary about Georgina Beyers, a Maori transsexual elected to Parliament in New Zealand Paper Dolls: story showing the lives of Filipino MTF transgender immigrants to Israel who care for Orthodox Jewish men by day and by night perform in a drag troupe Bombay Eunuch Harsh Beauty: two docs profiling the lives of hijras, gender-variant persons often called "eunuchs" in India Enough Man (this title includes sexually graphic footage): interviews and scenes of sexuality from a diverse group of female-to-male transpeople Outlaw: a documentary about the life and work of transgender warrior Leslie Feinberg A Boy Named Sue: portrait of an FTM Girl Inside: portrait of a young MTF and her close relationship with her grandmother Juggling Gender: film about a bearded woman who discusses her life on the gender line Sir: Just a Normal Guy: portrait of an FTM Shinjuku Boys: the lives of gender-variant natal females in Japan who work as hosts to entertain heterosexual women Adventures in the Gender Trade: profiles the life of the amazing Kate Bornstein, transgender writer, theorist and performance artist Becoming Ayden: profile of a young trans man in Toronto who must deal with the objections of his father, a conservative rabbi Joelle Ruby Ryan joeller AT bgsu.edu

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Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:51:57 -0700

From: Trystan Cotten <trystan38 AT HOTMAIL.COM>

Subject: Re: WMST-L Digest - 14 Sep 2008 to 15 Sep 2008 (#2008-239)

There is a new film out on African American FTMs called....Still Black...Just released last year...You can google it.

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Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2010 11:24:32 -0500

From: Outcast Films <vdomico AT OUTCAST-FILMS.COM>

Subject: Transgender Films

As seen in this month's Video Librarian, our collection of award winning transgender films are now on sale. Place your order today by visiting www.outcast-films.com She's a Boy I Knew (70' Canada, 2007) Screened at more than 100 festivals world-wide - Winner of 16 audience and jury awards "A breakthrough doc of the transgender movement .goes where no film on this topic has dared to go before: the complex politics and emotions of the intricate, delicate web of family, friends, lovers and community. an eye-opening, engrossing odyssey through battles with the health care system, the physical challenges of surgeries, and the psychological pain of reclaiming one's self and one's family. Adroit, sharp, and agile in its hybrid cinematic style, She's a Boy I Knew invites us into not only a life in transition but into activism." Patricia R. Zimmermann, Ithaca College and author, "States of Emergency: Documentaries, Wars, Democracies and Reel Families" "A a moving story of self-discovery and individual becoming. Haworth joins autobiographical narrative home movies from childhood to interviews with friends and family. These creative juxtapositions open the film up beyond an individual story of change. One of the real strengths of She's a Boy I Once Knew is its ability not to judge any of its interview subjects and its richly layered depiction of the social matrix within which gendered being unfolds, changes, becomes." Ann Pellegrini, New York University, Co-author of "Love the Sin: Sexual Regulation and the Limits of Religious Tolerance" Gender Redesigner (72', USA, 2007) "A provocative, honest, and engaging exploration of the FTM transitioning process. A documentary about gay life in America quickly transforms into another type of journey as the subject in the film, fAe, begins efforts to transition to a male. Facing a series of challenges - financial, familial, and cultural/geographic - fAe's personal strength and supportive network serve as clear resources in the transitioning process. Exploring complex links between biological sex, gender construction, sexual orientation/identity, and gender passing or blurring, Gender Redesigner is perfect for classroom use," Lee Harrington, Miami University, Sociology Affiliate, Women's Studies Program Dept of Sociology & Gerontology. "Gender Redesigner a touching and personal documentary, an earnest work that hearkens to the tradition of queer road movies like TRANSAMERICA and PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT. fAe is funny, insightful, and inspiring, and the film's real power comes from a concern for its trans subject that resists sensationalizing or glamorizing. Bergman has constructed a portrait of a queer protagonist just as he is - an average American young person trying to find his way in life. Young audiences in particular deserve the opportunity to experience this optimistic and endearing glimpse into fAe's life." Christian J. Gay, Ph.D., SUNY Purchase College, Assistant Professor, Cinema Studies Cruel and Unusual (64', USA, 2006) "Cruel and Unusual is an in depths look at the plight of transgender women in men's prisons. This film skillfully weaves moving interviews with transgender inmates and former inmates with important medical and legal information about male to female transgenderism. The women are articulate and their testimonies, as presented here, make a powerful statement about the conflation of gender variance and criminality in the eyes of the law. This film would make an invaluable teaching tool in courses on women, class and race; gender identity; social justice and incarceration." Judith Halberstam, USC, author of "Female Masculinity" and "In A Queer Time and Place: Transgender Bodies, Subcultural Lives" "This film is an excellent resource for classroom use! Cruel and Unusual's smart, compelling and complex treatment of the issues associated with transgender women in prison totally captivated my students. It is a great resource for discussing theories of sex and gender, the criminal justice system, the treatment of prisoners, and human rights in the United States. The filmmakers successfully show the humanity of their subjects while simulateously providing a sophisticated analysis of how prison policies address the issues sex and gender. This film is compelling, entertaining, provocative, accessible and thoughtful. I highly recommend it." Debra Liebowitz, Associate Professor, Political Science & Women's Studies, Drew University For additional information including full reviews, to view clips, and to place your order please visit www.outcast-films.com ABOUT OUTCAST FILMS Outcast Films, your resource for the very best in LGBT film, is a distribution company dedicated to the fair and equal representation of media made by or about the diverse Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender community. We are also educators and activists and want to be a vehicle for voices that may not otherwise be heard. Outcast Films outreaches to thousands of teachers, community leaders, activists, policy makers and breakers, institutions, and individuals. By doing so, we hope to foster critical discussions around social justice issues, as well as providing the public with a resource of cutting edge films and videos created by and impacting the LGBT community.

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