'When kids said I was a boy it made me sad': Transgender eight-year-old reveals why she's much happier living as a GIRL



They are often forced to live in the shadows, condemned as freaks.

But now one transgender child has spoken out about her unhappiness at feeling like she had being born into the wrong body.



Danann Tyler, who was born male but now dresses as a little girl and has long hair, says she was bullied at school and felt hurt by other children telling her she was a boy.



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Torment: Danann, who was born male but now dresses as a little girl and has long hair, says she was bullied at school

The eight-year-old MTF (male to female) from Orange County, California, is the subject of a new feature length documentary about transgender people.



In a special edition of the Anderson talk show, 'Children &Teens Caught In The Wrong Bodies' which is scheduled to air on Wednesday, she told journalist Anderson Cooper: 'My school, people were telling me that I was a boy and it made me really sad.'



Danann's parents, Sarah and Bill Tyler, who also appeared on the show, said they did not know what was wrong with their son when, from aged two, he insisted he was a girl.

He never had any interest in the toys his elder brother Liam had loved. His sippy cup had to be pink. When a family friend playing dress up put him in a princess gown, he refused to take it off.



Sarah , a yoga instructor, wrote on her blog: 'When I picked Dana up at Daycare, he was always with a group of girls, playing in the fabulous faux kitchen or with dolls, dressed in one of the many worn princess costumes that had been donated by parents from the past.'

He insisted on being bought, and wearing a pair of Target high heeled slippers -just like hers, she remembered.



The family pediatrician dismissed it as a phase.

But for her parents the child's angst was heartbreaking.

Sarah said: 'Aged about four she [Danann] said, 'I don't think God is so great because God made a mistake when he made me.' Shortly after she talked about cutting off her penis and that concerned me a lot.'



By age six Danann was so unhappy she was threatening to hang herself.



Doctors diagnosed the child as bipolar, dyslexic and ADHD and prescribed various medications.

The Tylers consulted gay friends, who said that she was probably more than just a gay child.



Confused: Sarah and Bill Tyler say they did not know what was wrong with their son when, from aged two, he insisted he was a girl

Condition: Before the transition doctors diagnosed the child as bipolar, dyslexic and ADHD and prescribed various medications

Eventually the Tylers took the troubled child out of school, as she was getting bullied and was not getting the support she needed from teachers.



Bill Tyler, a police officer, said: 'They would say things like, 'She has to stop bringing princess backpacks to school, lunch boxes. It's confusing the kids, and it's causing a distraction.'



When a therapist eventually showed them a DVD and told them that their child could have gender identity disorder, the Tylers were relieved.



The diagnosis immediately rang true, they said, and despite her young age, the concerned parents made the controversial decision to let Danann live her life as if she were female.



Now, a year and a half on, they say it's like parenting a new little girl.



Sarah explained: 'Once we made the transition, it was like night and day. She was a totally different child. '

Film: The eight-year-old MTF (male to female) is the subject of a new feature length documentary about transgender children, Trans.

Before and after: Danann left, as a little boy and, right, now, with long hair

Dress up: She insisted on wearing high heels and as soon as Danann put on a dress she beamed from ear to ear

Danann said she is much happier now: 'I am who I want to be, and that's well, how I want it.'

The understanding parents say they want to tell their story for two reasons, to educate people and to support those who are dealing with a similar situation.

Sarah said: 'We just felt so alone. The materials we had seen that other parents had done really saved us, and so we hoped that we can, you know, help other people just like that.'

The hardest part is dealing with other people's reactions when they find out, the Tylers told Anderson.



Bill said: 'You never know how they're going to react to something or how supportive they are until you present them with something like this. For a lot of people, it's hard to swallow.'



But parents should not feel personally responsible, according to Sarah.



Transgender: Danann met two other little girls who believe they are trapped in the wrong bodies

She explained: 'You didn't do something to cause this. This is just like conjoined twins are born conjoined or you're born with a cleft palate, this is just how they're born.'



It's vital that transgender children are given the freedom to be themselves, Danann's parents believe.



Bill said: 'If these children are not allowed to be what they are, what they really are, the outcome is something I don't want to think about.



'I have a little girl that needs to be a little girl.'

Sarah has begun writing a blog about being a transgender parent.



The special episode saw Danann meet other transgender children for the first time. Jackie formerly Jack, Singer, and Tammy, formerly Tom Lobel.





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Trans from The Film Collaborative on Vimeo.